‘Active’ begins with melancholy chords and Jelacee bringing that classic UK rap on top. The first drop blends UK grime with a haunting oriental flute melody and incredibly wiggly, sometimes heavy fills that are a signature of Stooki Sound. The second drop hits so much harder, taking inspiration from hard trap, ‘Active’ explodes into a more freeform bass track that is sure to drive crowds wild.

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Dave’s previous releases have been poetic and creative throughout, but when it comes to Psychodrama, you can really see the vision of the project as a whole whilst you listen throughout. One of Dave’s manager’s Jack Foster took to Instagram after the release to say “Dave is the living personification of dedication and I have no hesitation in stating he really made a classic album. It’s deeper than music.” Dave is a man who has worked solely on his craft to create a masterpiece. 

Tracks like ‘Lesley’ and ‘Black’ take you on a real journey, making you genuinely think after listening. The poetic nature and incredible storytelling make an 11 minute song one of the most gripping to come from a U.K. rapper in years. Pyschodrama showcases the best of British Urban Culture and shows that talent beats hype every time. The album hit number 1 in its first week in the U.K. and has beaten the record for Most Album Streaks in week 1 for any debut album of all time & Highest week 1 album streams for a rapper of all time. The most deserving, humble man and the most deserving, brilliant album. Psychodrama. 

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‘Becky’

Stepped in with the Mandem on freeze. Too cold. His last proper single and his most successful to date. Jay1 simply skates through every verse and sounds beyond confident in his delivery. The beat is incredibly simple which makes this song all about the lyrics, which are of course, great. The fan favourite, ‘Becky’.

‘Daily Duppy’

Jay1’s ‘Daily Duppy’ dropped on the 27th January on GRMdaily and started making noise immediately. The visuals demonstrate how clever and thought out his lyrics are with repeating themes and wonderful wordplay. The video really shows Jay1’s confidence in what he does; so he should be. 

‘Love Yourself’ Cover

This one’s the odd one out. Valentine’s day 2017, Jay1 dropped a cover of ‘Love Yourself’ by Justin Bieber. His original lyrics, over the acoustic beat, have a warm heartfelt tone. His variance of talent is clearly demonstrated and it’s delivered in a brilliant way. 

Jay1 is dropping his next tune ‘Your Mrs’ at some point in the next week on GRMdaily, with no confirmed date. He originally teased the tune on his Instagram [@jay1official_] back on 21 January. With the rising success of the young star, this song is set to do well on a staple YouTube channel for chart toppers. Watch that name as he’s set for huge growth this year. 

The post Across The Pond: Jay1 appeared first on FUXWITHIT.

DJ Lukey and Jelacee @ CODA in Toronto

Jelacee and DJ Lukey, the lads that comprise the London-based production & DJ duo, pride themselves on their ability to read a room. They know the ins and outs of music – both theirs and others’ – on a level that raises the art of production to a sixth sense.

“We perform in the way of like, energy – so we’ll make sure that if we want you to be here you’ll be here, if we want you to be there you’ll be there. […] We just wanna redirect that negative energy and turn it into positive energy, to get it out of you so that by the time it comes to next week you’re like, ‘Aight cool, I’m fresh again – let’s go.’”

Like many artists, Stööki Sound has a give-and-take relationship with the necessary evil of simplified labeling that is a by-product of cataloguing and promoting music:

“We don’t really classify our selves as like, trap artists. We’re trap-esque, where we take elements from trap but then we take elements from grime and we take elements from here and there and there. We’re not sure what to call it, really […] nobody knows what it is.”

On the topic of how they continue developing a sound that is already unique, Jelacee continues:

“We’re still developing our sound and still progressing, so this year the sound’s gonna be different, but you’re still gonna know like, oh yeah – Stööki Sound made that. We’re always staying in that same realm but expanding that realm, and trying to introduce people to different sounds and introduce ourselves to different sounds as well.”

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The Stööki movement began when DJ Lukey created custom screenprinted t-shirt-and-jewelry combos the summer he graduated from graphic design school. Early showcases introduced Stööki to the public through workshop-like-pop-ups that urged people to call upon their eyes, ears, and hands to interact with multimedia art. The idea was to produce art that extended itself as an experience, inviting the viewer in to add their point of view.

And what’s more participatory than a dance floor?

Raging face at CODA

Last Thursday night, under the synchronized ceiling lights of CODA in Toronto, the lads of Stööki Sound delivered on their vision.

Local genre-agnostic favorite HRMXNY warmed the crowd up to a low-medium frenzy. His opening set dipped into the realms of bass-y house and techno rhythms that spiced up an otherwise (appropriately) trapped-out vibe. Drake cuts abounded.

HRMXNY @CODA

When Stööki Sound took over the decks, a brief lull occurred due to issues porting the duo’s Macbook Air into the Pioneer deck system. This resolved when Jelacee made use of the two gold-plated USB keys he keeps on a chain around his neck – backups of his music library (“These are my saving grace; nobody can ever tell me I can’t play”). The duo then proceeded to play an off-the-cuff DJ set, which, though unplanned, was a damn good harbinger of sweat, screwface, and trap arms.

Stööki Sound @ CODA

Over the course of the hour-and-change set, there were very few tracks whose creators were easily identified; everything was a remix, an edit, or a mashup that spanned genres and tempos while maintaining an impressively consistent vibe. Dark, raw, grimy; however you name it, there were reworks of everything from Drizzy’s ‘Know Yourself’ to the duo’s take on Missy’s ‘Work It’. Rhythmic treats included banging four-to-the-floor instrumentals followed by a melodic and anticlimactic mix of ‘Mosh Pit’. The show peaked twice during raging mosh pits, both incited by Jelacee himself.

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Stööki Sound strives to cross borders and is spearheading a movement for which a word does not yet exist –drawing on multiple aesthetics (light and sound, energy and feeling) to inform its meaning.

For the niche of trap-and-UK bass lovers congregated under the flashing ceiling lights of CODA last Thursday, Stööki Sound delivered – and participated in – an authentic sensory experience that will only serve to further build out their movement in the underbelly of Toronto’s rave and rap scenes.

By: Sally L and Kevin G

The post Gold-Plated Bass & The Genre Thing – Stööki Sound Talks and Hits Up CODA appeared first on FUXWITHIT.

For the first installment of this series, I want to talk about a genre that has been steadily growing in popularity since the early 2000s in Europe and the UK especially, but remains mostly under-the-radar in North America; Grime. I will admit that when I first encountered this music years ago, I was off-put by the the rapping style; my sensitive North American ears being accustomed to hearing only a small variety of American dialects in rap music. After giving it some time and digging to find a few tracks that really did it for me, my opinion has completely changed. In the same way that American rappers use their local vernacular to stylize their own flow, grime music takes this practice to an international level. Paired with the permeation of dub music and Jamaican culture into British arts, I now see that there is a huge sub-genre of rap music that many in North America are missing out on. If you are a fan of rap and bass music as separate entities, grime may have something to offer you. Blending bass music production with a wide variety of rap styles, grime is an often overlooked genre that deserves more attention. With current artists like Skepta and Stormzy‘s names ringing out across Europe, I would think it’s just a matter of time before this truly grimy blend of bass and UK and European-style rap starts to gain momentum on the other side of the Atlantic.

To highlight the weight grime has to throw around, I turn to two big influences on the genre; a collaboration between well-known English producer The Bug and legendary grime MCs, Flowdan and Killa P. I first heard this track in a Zeds Dead mix years ago and looking back now, realize it was the primer I needed to be more open to exploring this genre in the future. With a MASSIVE beat courtesy of The Bug, proving that the influence of Jamaican culture on English music is still as prevalent as ever, Flowdan and Killa P utilize much Jamaican patois to flow their way through the song. ‘Skeng’ (meaning a knife or blade) is a heavy track with both a beat and vocals that individually could make a song complete. Released on The Bug’s album London Zoo in 2008 under Bonobo’s Ninja Tune label, this track has some serious power. Both The Bug and Flowdan are legends of the genre in their own right, and this track remains in my opinion, one of the best grime tracks out there.

For more check out THIS VIDEO of Flowdan tearing it up on RINSE FM‘s THE GRIME SHOW

The post Bass Boost v.1 – Grime appeared first on FUXWITHIT.

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‘Hail,’ is the perfect example of how grime artists are one step ahead of the game. Incorporating the thrash of distorted guitar and crash cymbals, Rustie perfectly matches the fury of Kano’s jagged bars. Check out the stream below, and expect an official release from Kano on April 13th.

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