Words by Suze Webb—
In the UK you can pretty much get into a club around the age of 13, depending on how spotty and baby-faced you are. It’s probably a part of the reason that club music has become such a deep part of our national psyche, and one of the reasons we need a million club nights every Friday night. When I was about 15, UK Garage was the big club sound and had just broken into the charts – jungle and rave had passed the baton to this shuffling sound. It was club music with a serious pop sensibility – often female vocals, RnB remixes and always some catchy sing-a-longs. But within the classic UK tradition, there was a ragga influence lurking. Thinking back to the days of the Dreem Team and EZ, I’ve put together some of the best ragga-meets-garage tracks (available) from the late 90s and early 2000s. As far as possible, I’ve tried to include the non-charters and original vocals, not remixes – though there are plenty of those. Time for a brandy and coke. Oggy oggy oggy…
[Photo by Ewen Spencer, soon to release a photo book on the UK garage scene]
Click here to begin the countdown.
10. Weighty Plates – Standard Flow feat. Elephant Man (DnD Remix)
Apparently this track took the Elephant Man vocal from a tune by Blazin Squad (who were basically a UK garage boy band that was made up of a whole class of year 5s), but I’ve never heard the BS version (pun intended). DnD takes the Ele vocal and lays it over a real dirty bassline. Elephant Man has a good history in garage & grime too – I couldn’t find the audio online, but his tracks with MJ Cole and PD Syndicate are heavy.
9. Troublesome – Troublesome (DJ Luck & Shy Cookie Remix)
Troublesome goes in for a garage gallist track – ‘more girls than Buju’s got locks’. Those brass licks!
8. Mr Vegas – Western End (B15 Project Millennium Remix)
The West End Bar in Birmingham was a well known after hours garage spot – perhaps this song is named after it. I’ve also heard that Mr Vegas did a gig in Birmingham and B15 got hold of the vocal and used it in the track. Probably one of the earliest examples of ragga garage, and one of the first JA-UK garage tracks.
7. Tubby T – Ganjaman
The producer of this track, Sticky, and the vocalist, Tubby T, are London legends. Sadly Tubby passed away long before his time, but he managed to make his mark alright. This is the first of two of his tracks in this Top 10. Sticky has made so many big garage tunes he can fill a whole (and amazing) set with them. For more Sticky x ganja tunes – this one also goes hard.
6. B15 Project feat. Lady Saw – Freak Break (Sovereign Vocal Mix)
I don’t even know if this is an original vocal from Lady Saw, but I guess seeing as she’s on the label – it probably is legit. As you’ll see after the rest of this post, B15 Project really were the masters of the ragga garage track/remix. Vocals from Lady Saw’s ‘No Long Talking’ were also used on a classic garage remix by Sunship.
5. Ed Case & Sweetie Irie – Who?
Sweetie Irie is really in the same gruff-voiced boat as Buju, Jigsy King and Blackout JA. You might also recognize his voice from some Gorillaz tracks or even from a guest spot with Aswad. This track made it into the top 30, and also has a video (that I can’t locate) of an oversized woman climbing the Trellick tower.
4. Tubby T – Tales of the Hood
Tubby T vs Sticky again. See how much of a classic collaboration this is? This is a conscious, anti-gun tune that still goes off in the club – that bassline!
3. Ms. Dynamite – Boo / Stush – Dollar Sign
If you’re coming over from the USA to do a DJ set in the UK, this is essentially a track you can put in your crate that will pretty much be a surefire madness. Sticky discovered Ms Dynamite at a club, then they released this track which launched her career by hitting number 12 on the chart. She joined So Solid Crew briefly, who were the biggest thing in commercial garage really, before going on to win the Mercury Music Prize. This early flow is the best – and the message is nice too, it’s about a good attitude in the dance, no violence, no drugs. Two other tracks on the same tip that are just as hype – Stush’s ‘Dolla Sign’ and Menta’s ‘Ramp’.
2. B15 Project feat. Crissy D & Lady G – Girls Like Us
Correct me if I’m wrong, but Garage felt like the first UK club music that reached out to women. In a new way, at least. Women MCs came to the fore, songs about women emerged and there was a lot of dressing to impress. There are some pretty unexplained collabs in the history of UK/JA music, and this is probably one of them. Jamaican vocalists Lady G & Crissy D hadn’t done much before (though this tune is a boomshot) but they had the perfect balance, the tune ticked all the boxes – Crissy D’s smooth singing and Lady G’s toasting. Make sure you stay with the track until 2:10 for Lady G’s verse!
1. Double 99 feat. Top Cat – RIP Groove
Purists would probably tell me that strictly this is speed garage, but who cares. Top Cat was already an established UK dancehall artist and jungle MC before this came out (often sharing the mic with Tenor Fly); it’s essentially a re-hash of this classic release on Fashion Records. Everyone knows this tune from the moment that ‘bruk wine’ build-up starts, and when that bassline drops…
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