While I was digging into the green revolution in Detroit, the ghetto palms world kept right on spinning, so here is a quick catch-up: about the time NY was getting into Christmas bashment, Brazil set a hell of a precedent by arresting four baile funk “singers” in December, including MC Smith, a leading proponent of the raw-dogs funk prohibido style that’s currently dominating. Seems like after the wave of sappy funk romantico that drove away all the hipsters, shit just got real again. Watch a documentary called Grosso Calibre (High Caliber) about it/him and the favela reality he raps about here. And for more info follow MC Lapa on twitter. In other news, CNN just discovered dancehall (in Canada?), Generation Bass dropped a new transnational dubstep mix and Chief Boima is starting a new Africa-themed night in NYC tomorrow.
Swappi, “Any Day” (1st Klase productions)
TOK, “Super Soaka” (Sumo riddim)
Lil Rick f. Machel Montano, “Go Dung” Jillionaire’s African Talk refix
Schlachthofbronx, “???” (Mixpak)
Schlachthofbronx, “???” (Mixpak)
Poirier f. Imposs, “Sak Te Gen Tan Gen La” (Haiti Kanaval 2011)
Download: GP 127: Soca Rave Blend
Meanwhile in Trinidad, preparations for the 2011 Carnival season are getting underway and that means soca! The whole genre has been building in nastiness for the last several years and it’s looking like it could be for the next decade what dancehall has been since the '90s—not only the default soundtrack for the West Indies but also the primary inspiration for innovative dance music in the rest of the world. Cases in point: Swappi getting all Kartel-ish over a track that sounds like afro-house with a heavy soul-jazz sample, TOK crossing boundary lines for their toughest tune in years, the 2010 anthem “Go Dung” getting reworked with berimbau and b-more snares by Jillionare and these two pieces of exclusive, unreleased instrumental soca-rave brilliance from Schlachthofbronx (ostensibly from a whole soca-inspired EP slated to drop this summer on Mixpak records). Last but not least, Northern soca champ Poirier gets ready for Kanaval with this francophone monster featuring Haiti-Montreal MC Imposs. Also exclusive! So exclusive in fact it doesn't even release to Haitian radio 'til later this week. I don’t know how things run down there but I can’t see how this song could not destroy any session it touches. I only teased in a few bars so to catch the full force, watch the YouTube rip below:
And that’s all the punny that’s fit to print. See you next time.
