Words by DJ Theory—
It’s Monday again, and unless you’re prepping to head down to Trinidad for carnival next week, you probably have another long week of work or school in front of you. Fortunately, we’ve got a dancehall-packed edition of Mixtape Mondays to keep your trigger fingers and spirits up all week wherever you may be. And look out for a big soca post next Monday, too.
DJ Arems, Fiyah Fi Bun Dem pt. 6: As much as we like to throw some curveballs in the mix here on Mixtape Mondays, sometimes we also just need a certified, gun-finger-up, strictly-big-chune dancehall mix. Vancouver boss DJ Arems of Faction Sound Crew continues to show and prove that he’s the right man for the job. Complete with scantily clad gyals and excessive fire on the cover art, Arems has been releasing these ‘best-of the year’ mixtapes for the past six years now, and each one has always gone harder than the last. Obviously there’s a heap of DJ mixes that feature the same tunes as others, but Arems is a seasoned DJ and avid dubplate scavenger, so his CDs tend to shine above many others kicking around. This one features dubplates from Mr. Vegas, Popcaan, Aidonia, I-Octane, Supa Hype, Chan Dizzy, Charly Black and more. If you keep up with dancehall (which is nearly impossible these days…) you’re probably familiar with many of these tunes, but do yourself a solid and cop this if you want to just get right to the good stuff from 2011. No filler tunes, long talking or promotional drops on this one, just fiyah. Download here, tracklist here.
Green Lion Crew, Call Me A Yardie: Next up is a blazing dancehall mix with a few surprises courtesy of New England/St Croix’s Green Lion Crew. Green Lion (Zeke Stern and Dana Knowles) have been steadily repping for reggae music as a production/DJ duo, and also through affiliate and LargeUp extended fam 45 Shootout. When not cookin’ up DJ mixes, Green Lion can be found at the controls earning production credits with the likes of Capleton, Jah Mason, Lutan Fyah and Jahdan Blakkamoore, and Collie Buddz‘s single, “Come Down.” This one, put together by Zeke, comes with the heat right out the gate with some big drops followed by Jr. Gong’s “Set Up Shop” and easily one of my personal favs of the moment, Cham’s “Wine.” Stream a quick preview of the mix below, cop the whole ting here.
Mix/Preview. Call Me A Yardie (Green Lion Crew Dancehall Mix) by The 45 Shootout
Paul Michael, Dancehall Madness Vol. 2: New England badman Paul Michael of Black Magic Sound and Dem Rah Rah Kids makes a return to Mixtape Mondays with a new dancehall mix boasting an hour plus of straight shellings and specials mixed up nice and seamless. In addition to the big tunes contained within, the cover art is pretty easy on the eyes as well thanks to Ms. Nirrisa Irving. Stream the mix below, direct download here.