Words by Jesse Serwer
The Rockaway is a dance step for those who don’t want to fully commit themselves to the dancefloor, or lose their place against the wall. Naturally, it became a favorite among shottas, gangsters and all too-cool-for-school types, a preference which Bronx rapper Fat Joe and his Terror Squad crew tapped into with their hit “Lean Back.” (“Do the rockaway!”) Ten summers after that track topped the Billboard Hot 100, it appears things have come full circle: yesterday we received an e-mail about Serocee and Kerwin Prescott’s “Shottaleeni” telling us to “consider it a dancehall version of ‘Lean Back.'”
The “Shottaleeni” (Shotta lean) picks up where Joe and crew’s classic left off, with Prescott urging listeners to “flash your keys cause your Beamer like Beenie.” His partner-in-crime Serocee—the two MCs work together as the live frontmen for British-Trini soca outfit Jus Now—takes a slightly different path, angling for forwards from the females with lines like “But you wouldn’t sell your pussy even fi a Lamborghini.” Expect to hear this U.K. production infiltrating dances this week in Notting Hill.