Heds and Dreds: Smif-n-Wessun and the Caribbean Influence on Hip-Hop

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June 27, 2011


“This One” feat. Top Dog and Jahdan (Monumental, 2011)
Smif N Wessun—This One feat. Top Dog & Jahdan Blakkamore of Noble Society

Pete Rock told HipHopDX that he studied Dah Shinin’ before crafting the beats for Monumental. If any tune from the original has a direct counterpart on the new album it’s “Sound Bwoy Bureill” and “This One,” with its dubby, reggae drum-and-bass sample and dubplate-style intro that sounds suspiciously similar to the one on “Sound Bwoy Bureill” (more on that mystery in our upcoming Smif-n-Wessun interview). Top Dog (quoting his OGC partner Starang Wondah’s “Guns, guns, everyday” line from this nugget) and Jahdan reprise their “Sound Bwoy” roles, while Steele delivers choice lyrical shoutouts to fronto leafs, Flatbush Ave. dollar vans and Steelie Bashment. “This One” isn’t the only Monumental tune with reggae flavor: see the samples on lead track “That’s Hard.”