LargeUp Premiere: Kubiyashi + Walshy Fire’s Chicken and Dumplin Riddim

Major Lazer frontman, O.G LargeUp contributor, global dancehall and reggae ambassador, original Black Chiney Sound killa… you all know Walshy Fire by now. And you should know our dude Kubiyashi, too. Easily the most accomplished producer from the island of St. Vincent working today, Kubiyashi has been powering soca forward with his productions for the likes of Machel Montano, Skinny Fabulous and more, for going on a decade plus. (He’s also been the secret weapon on more than a couple Major Lazer releases, too…)

Fresh out of the oven, Walshy and Kubiyashi’s Chicken and Dumplin riddim takes things to the Maxi Taxi days of dancehall in the islands, when mixtapes (we mean actual tapes here) blaring from minibus speakers were the YouTube and Spotify of their day… and, as Walshy notes, “everyone on the road had speakers rattling in their trunk and wore Clarks on their feet, fades in their hair as the speakers boomed with the latest rhythms and mixes.” A throwback to those early ’90s days, the riddim features tracks from some of the biggest names in soca (Fay-Ann Lyons, Skinny Fabulous) and dancehall (Sean Paul, Shaggy, Beenie Man), plus new names in Denzel White and White Man, and Leftside aka Dr. Evil in fine form. But we suggest you start with the lead single and title track from the Soca Viking, Bunji Garlin, who fills us in on the meaning behind the riddim title (you might have to been around a bit to understand…) and reminds us how lethal he sounds on ah bashment ting. Try not to buss a Bogle or a Tatie to this one…

Stream the riddim here, and purchase on iTunes and Amazon.