Roots Manuva

June 5th, 2006

Following on from my feature on The Herbaliser the other week, I thought I'd use today's entry to discuss another artist that has long remained high on my last.fm charts; Roots Manuva. Mr Manuva is currently my third most listened to artist since Feb 2005, amassing a huge 495 plays. Most people know him, but just how well? And what of the people that have never heard of him? I'll try and shed a bit of light…

Roots Manuva is Rodney Smith, a UK hip-hop/dub artist from London. Although he was brought up in the Stockwell area of London, his parents are of Jamaican origins - his father was a preacher. He emerged on the music scene in '94, appearing for the first time under his name of Roots Manuva on a Blak Twang track called Queen's Head. Later that same year he released his first single, Mind To Motion. In the years following this he collaborated with artists such as Skitz and also worked alongside the guys at Big Dada (a sub division of Ninja Tune).

Then in '99 came Roots Manuva's debut album release, Brand New Second Hand. For god's sake, if you don't have this album… get it! The same year he won a MOBO award for this album. It blends elements of ragga, dub, and hip-hop - Roots Manuva has a really unique way of emceeing, too. Where other British emcees had either gone for faking an American accent or over doing the cockney thing, Roots focussed on the structure of his verses and the content of the lyrics; often telling stories from his childhood and upbringing.

A second Roots Manuva album came out in 2001 and was named Run Come Save Me. Although it maintained the Roots Manuva sound, the content revolved more around political views, as well as his life experiences. This album also contained the absolute storming and legendary track Witness (1 Hope), this track was to become a real UK hip-hop anthem. To this day, at live performances, it is evident that the crowd is waiting for that track to drop, and when it does the place goes mental. Although Brand New Second Hand was a fantastic album, this follow up seemed to show a more polished product than previously seen. A year later, in 2002, a dub version of this album was released, named Dub Come Save Me. Below is a little taster from Run Come Save Me…

Roots Manuva - Witness (1 Hope)
>> download <<
This download is a sample of the music only and must be deleted from your computer within 24 hours of downloading. This download link will expire on 12th June.

Awfully Deep was the third album to be released and was done so in 2005. This album was typical Roots Manuva, but yet again just showed the progression that had been made. All of the Roots Manuva albums have been very good in their own separate ways, yet have been different enough to warrant their own existence. Earlier this year a follow up album named Alternately Deep was released, this was evidently the tracks that previously didn't make it on to Awfully Deep. Some people were ruined by the misconception that this was full of tracks not good enough to make the last album - but if you give it the time it deserves, you'll see it is just more of the same good quality.

Roots Manuva is a UK hip-hop pioneer. Sadly this doesn't necessarily count for much other than his own huge reputation. There's plenty of piss-poor UK hip-hop and grime being created and gaining airplay, whereas the better quality UK hip-hop still struggles to gain much need recognition. Last year Rodney was beaten to the best hip-hop act at the MOBO awards by Sway. Some people seem to really like this Sway fella, but I've listened to his album a few times and I really don't think it's anything special. Sway's not a bad emcee, but I think his music is pretty poor. However, he obviously has the right hype and connections behind him and he is doing well for himself.

Still, Roots Manuva isn't bitter. He's worked with plenty of fantastic artists, including; Amon Tobin, The Cinematic Orchestra, Coldcut, DJ Shadow, The Herbaliser, Leftfield, Mr. Scruff, Ty, and Chali 2na. He continues to work with Big Dada and regularly plays at festivals.

If you like experimental hip-hop, dub, funk, ragga, dancehall, you'll love Roots Manuva - although anyone reading this that has never heard a Roots Manuva track must have been in a coma for a long time or something! I think most will know all about Monsieur Manuva, so feel free to share thoughts on tracks, albums, and live performances - I'd be interested to hear.

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The Herbaliser

May 24th, 2006

So, this blog is already one week old! Thanks to everyone that has read the entries, and even greater thanks to those people that have left me comments, you guys really are fuelling this thing.

Today I decided I'd feature the group that have remained at the top of my last.fm charts for a long time now; The Herbaliser. Since 8th February 2005 I've, apparently, listened to The Herbaliser 654 times - so they must be pretty good, right? Right!

Ollie Teeba and Jake Wherry formed The Herbaliser back in the early '90s in good old London town. They are one of Ninja Tune's more famous/popular artists and to date they have released five full albums;

Remedies (1995)
Blow Your Headphones (1997)
Very Mercenary (1999)
Something Wicked this Way Comes (2002)
Take London (2005)

Essentially The Herbaliser are a jazz/hip-hop group. Their earlier releases were more of a beat driven hip-hop experience, but over time their sound has matured, the jazz element began to take more of a shape and then in the later years they experimented using an actual jazz band to play instruments on their tracks. Another, more constant, feature in their music has always been the appearance of guest emcees. Many have returned to work with them time and again, whilst others were one off, such guest appearances have been from; Jean Grae (credited in earlier work under the name What What), Roots Manuva, Raaka Iriescience (from Dilated Peoples), Blade, Phi Life Cypher, and MF DOOM.

But… so as to not make this entry read like a page from an encyclopedia, let's get down and dirty and delve into the wonders that are… my opinions!

The first record I actually heard from The Herbaliser was Something Wicked this Way Comes, when it was released in 2002. I didn't really know much about them, but my cousin assured me it was a good UK hip-hop record, so… I bought it. The album took some getting used to (I was young and uncultured!), but the title track instantly grabbed me - the eerie samples and hypnotic beats putting me in some sort of trance, but a good trance. If you haven't heard that track, then give it a 'sample' here…

The Herbaliser - Something Wicked (feat. Seeming To)
>> download <<
This download is a sample of the music only and must be deleted from your computer within 24 hours of downloading. This download link will expire on 31st May.

After that I pretty much made it my mission to check out all of their stuff. Each album has it's own charm, plus what I love about these guys is that they manage to keep the crux of their music whilst nothing sounds repetitive. You know what I mean, some artists (although great) manage to release 5 albums that sound pretty much exactly the same - not The Herbaliser. I really love particular tracks off each album, few to pick would be; Wrong Place, Ginger Jumps The Fence, Mission Improbable, Let It Go, Something Wicked, and Lord Lord.

The Herbaliser have also been successful with mix-tapes, releasing Solid Steel Presents Herbal Blend (2003) for Ninja tune, and also Fabric Live 26 (2006) for the continuing Fabric Live series.

To compare The Herbaliser to other similar acts, I guess names like these would perhaps come to mind; Nightmares On Wax, Coldcut, DJ Vadim, DJ Krush, Bonobo. Basically if you are into your jazzy hip-hop and you haven't heard anything by The Herbaliser, then get some quick before the music police bust yo' ass! Feel free to comment on The Herbaliser or detail your favourite tracks in this post.

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