Rakkin' All Over the World

The Jue Festival helps add a bit of excitement to what is normally a pretty quiet period in Beijing. Kicking off earlier this week, the festival offers a great selection of live music, stage and art shows and aims to become a regular feature on Beijing's festival calendar. After a feast of quality live music on Friday night - D.O.A., Demerit and SUBS at Mao; Long Shen Dao at Yugong Yishan and The Verse at Jiangjinjiu - the festival throws up a couple of choice gigs on Saturday night: the 24 Hours, The Gar, The Molds and Ourself Beside Me at Mao and the Hotpot: South Rakkas Crew, DJ Wordy and VJ Fanpianer show at Block 8.

The South Rakkas Crew is two DJs and producers who create electro-dancehall tunes. Originally from Canada, Dennis ‘Dow Jones’ Shaw and Alex G have since relocated to Florida. Many a dancehall and ragga MC (known as toasters or DJs in Jamaica, the home of the genre) has ridden their riddims (the instrumental tracks that the MCs toast over, which are not specific to a particular MC). Aside from this the duo is also renowned for its remixes.

The pair performs at Hotpot 12 at Block 8 on Saturday Jan 10 as part of the Jue Festival. We caught up with Dennis ‘Dow Jones’ Shaw before they drop the dancehall flavors.

The Beijinger: You're two Canadians at the forefront of Dancehall, how did that come about?

South Rakkas Crew: I (Dennis ‘Dow Jones’ Shaw) love music. I went to school for audio engineering and artist management. When I got the opportunity to start my own business I knew that Dancehall music would be a part of that, because it’s a part of me. I was born in Jamaica, and living in Canada gave Alex G and me a unique perspective in music. We grew up in a very multi-cultural environment, listening to all kinds of different music including: Reggae, Dancehall, Hip Hop, Electro, House, R&B, Rave, Jungle, Top 40, etc. Our first Dancehall album was called Clappas (released on Greensleeves Records) and it launched us to the top right away. Dancehall fans love new sounds. DJ’s in Europe started calling it Electro-Dancehall because it sounded so different than what was coming out of Jamaica at that time. I think our fresh sounds and outlook on music separates us from a lot of the other producers out there.

tbj: What inspired you to start Djing and producing?

SRC: From when we released our first album promoters would send emails from all over the world requesting us to come to their country and DJ. I would always tell them, “We are producers not DJs.” I think the name, South Rakkas Crew, confused people. They thought we were a Jamaican sound system. After a few years of this I thought it might be a good idea for me to get out into the world and experience how our music affects people. Almost two years ago when the music industry went into recession and record sales slowed down I took the opportunity and we went on a European Tour. I was very nervous at first because I hadn’t been DJing since I was a teenager, but it all worked out.

tbj: Do you get more excitement from Djing, producing or remixing?

SRC: When I DJ I get a big rush, it’s very exciting and exhilarating, but I also love to write, produce and remix music. It’s usually not as exciting but I can sit in front of a computer in a studio for days working on one song. I get very focused and I think that is hard for a lot of people. Its very satisfying for me to finish a song that I think is hot.

tbj: Which remix are you most proud of?

SRC: I can’t really say there is one that I’m most proud of because we do such a wide variety of styles. The types of remix I enjoy the most are the ones that really challenge us. Like when we remix songs from other genres of music that are much unexpected. We recently remixed a song for a group called Deerhoof, which is a rock/alternative/punk type band and no one expected it would be good, but I knew combination would be great. Also, when we take a song and make it something completely different from the original like when we remixed Tricky’s “Council Estates” or Lily Allens “LDN.”

tbj: Who would you still like to remix?

SRC: There are lots of songs I would love to remix. Obviously the biggest artists, but also, from touring we have seen a lot of artists I never heard of but thought were great. We just came from Australia and played a couple of shows with a band called “Grafton Primary.” We spoke, exchanged contacts and I hope to do some work with them in the near future.

tbj: Which artists would you most like to see toast over your productions?

SRC: Any artist that can come with something unique and different.

tbj: Do you ever produce a riddim with a particular artist in mind?

SRC: We have had requests for beats for a particular artist, but I find that this approach doesn’t work that well. The best approach is to just make cool music and let an artist listen to it and choose what they like. Having an artist in mind often makes a producer build riddims that sound like riddims the artist has already recorded on.

tbj: Does it give you more satisfaction to get the love from the dancehall crowd
or to see that your riddims inspire other producers?

SRC: It’s really the fans first for me. It’s great that we have inspired a whole movement of Electro-Dancehall, but we really just set out to make people dance and enjoy themselves.

tbj: Ragga is slept on here in China, could you shed a little light on it for the
youth?

SRC: Ragga is Dancehall music. It came out of Jamaican ghettos. It’s like what Hip Hop music is to the USA. It’s real, it’s raw, and it talks about challenges and tribulations of Jamaican life. It fantasizes about all the things we want and aspire for. This music is the voice of Jamaican youth. It’s very infectious. It makes you want to dance. I think it’s just a matter of time before Dancehall music starts to take a hold in China.

tbj: Who is your all time favorite toaster and do you have a favorite ragga
track?

SRC: I love Dancehall from the 80s and 90s the most. This is when artists like Super Cat, Beenie Man, Buju Banton and Ninjaman dominated Dancehall. My favorite ragga song … hmmm. Maybe “Mud Up” by Super Cat or “Heads High” by Mr. Vegas. My favorites keep changing.

tbj: With all the producers and DJs that you see MCing do you have any aspirations to pick up a mic?

SRC: I wish I was that guy that held the mic and delivered those inspirational lyrics, but I’m not. I don’t like hearing my voice in recordings, it always sounds so weird to me. I will leave that up to the artists.

tbj: Can you describe your style in 3 words?

SRC: Urban, conservative, wild.

tbj: What should the Beijing crowd expect from the South Rakkas Crew's show?

SRC: Expect to dance and feel good. That’s what we’re about. We mix up our sets so that everyone can enjoy themselves. We play Electro, Dancehall, Reggae, Hip Hop, and do some crazy mash ups.

tbj: What do you expect from them?

SRC: I want the crowd to let loose, go nuts, scream, and make noise. Our mentality is that we are not on stage to put on a show; we are here to party with you.

tbj: What most excites you about visiting China?

SRC: The unknown. I had no idea of what to expect. I don’t know anyone that has been here except to go to the Olympics. I’m not one that thinks a place is like what you see on TV or in movies because that is often incorrect, so just being here to experience is exciting.

tbj: Where did you come up with the name South Rakkas Crew?

SRC: When I was a teenager living around the Toronto area, we used to call Dancehall music Rakkas music. Rakkas is Jamaican Patois for Rockers, which means Jamaicans pronounce Rockers as Rakkas. I started a company in Orlando, Florida, which is where we are based now, and that’s where the South came from.

tbj: Who would you get to DJ your wedding and what music would you want?

SRC: I would have a line up of DJs that would represent what we were about, mixing it all up, and I would do the same thing at my funeral - go out with a bang!