Radio 1/ BBC1xtra’s Ras Kwame returns to the recoding studio and cooks up a flawless banger of a record. Ras and Orange Hill Productions have teamed up and widened the frontiers of dancehall music. The newest collaboration is a joint production from Jnr. Tubby and Ras. Titled ‘Dan Man,’ the track is a progressive merge of dancehall and dance music. Whether you’re a gritty grinding dancehall supreme or club track bubbler, this one meets in the middle to give you the very best of both worlds.
 
Due for release January 2011 on Ras Kwame’s new ElectroBashy Recordings imprint on LMJ Records, the release will also feature electro/dance and dubstep remixes, courtesy of Str8Jackets, Cut N Paste, Silent Witness and up-and-coming dub-step monsters, Dynasty. Here’s what happened when CAS's girl-about-town, Fadah Jassem, caught up with the Ras-Man.

So you’ve been back in the recording studio, what have you been cooking?

Well I’ve been working on a new style, a new sound, and a new approach. It’s a style I’m calling electro-bashy, which is the name of my new label, which will start to put out records in 2011. It’s more or less UK dance beats with dancehall top layers, in a nutshell it’s a very dancey sound, but it definitely has a lot of the bashment influences in there as well.

Do you think this was a natural progression for dancehall / bashment?  

Well it’s a natural progression for me; it’s something that I like to explore. I like UK beats and I like dancehall and reggae. So for me as a creative person I’m looking to marry the two things that I like the most and create a sound. As for dancehall evolving I’m not too sure about that, because dancehall has always done that.
 

When did you decide you were musically inclined?

As far back as I can remember I’ve been musically oriented. I’ve been drilled to it. Actually working as a DJ takes me way back to my teenage years, so it’s been a while. I’m happy to have a job working in what I like doing!

"From my position in the game, I do quite a bit of social stuff.  I’m a spokesman for a lot of music-oriented social activities. I work with people like Urban Development the My Place organization, which is all about creating radically different used spaces around the country..."

What inspired you to be a musician?

I came up on a lot of reggae. Bob Marley being an obvious one, people like Burning Spear, and classic roots music from the '70s. I was also influenced by a lot of traditional African music like Fela Kuti. Through the' 80s I really got into old school hip-hop with Run DMC and co, I really just caught that vibe.

Do you engage with social issues or activism? How?

From my position in the game, I do quite a bit of social stuff.  I’m a spokesman for a lot of music-oriented social activities. I work with people like Urban Development the My Place organization, which is all about creating radically different used spaces around the country, and I’m an ambassador for those projects.

Do you think music is an important way of conveying messages to young people? Why?

Yes, definitely music is a very important tool for conveying messages and young people who have an interest should defiantly pursue their passion. Traditionally I’ve seen that being a musician hasn’t always been seen as a serious job, but over the last decade or so we’ve seen that there’s serious money to be made in the industry, and there are many levels which you can partake in it. Music is not just about being in front of the microphone. 

What has been your experience of poverty?

Being of Ghanaian descent I’ve been around Africa a bit. I’ve seen extreme conditions in which people live, and how they get by on daily basis surviving on very small amounts, but the perception poverty is relative in different contexts. There are people living in tough conditions who don’t consider themselves to be poor. A UK perspective might call certain circumstances poverty, but in reality these people are just getting on with their daily existence. I’m not saying that I’m naïve and that I don’t know that there are people suffering and starving all over the world, but in certain places where I’ve seen tough conditions, I've also seen an enjoyment of the environment that people are in despite the obvious hardships. 
  
Ok last question. If you could rule the world for a day and had one thing to change what would it be and why?

 I’d look at making everyone just stop for a minute and make them mediate on the love they’ve got for one another and one love for the planet. 

 

ORANGE HILL PRODUCTIONS FT. CHINO & RITCHIE DAN - DAN MAN from MTV - The Wrap Up on Vimeo.

Words: Fadah Jassem

Photo: Ras Kwame