Words by Ronnia Cherry
Fresh off an international tour, London reggae-punk squad The Skints took some time out to deliver the latest visual from Swimming Lessons — their successful fourth album, which recently topped Billboard’s reggae chart.
We recently premiered the Riddim Punks Remix to “Restless” featuring Protoje, which put a dancehall, drum & bass on the original track from Swimming Lessons. The overall project is a fun and masterful demonstration of punk blending nicely with reggae, dub and ska, with a next guest appearance from the palace pickney, Jesse Royal.
The “Armaggedon” video, shot and edited by Keifer Passey, finds The Skints linking up with Jamaica’s own Runkus in the hills and historic castles of the United Kingdom. The Portmore philosopher delivers his brand of spitfire lyricism while holding a meds alongside the London-based quartet.
The song itself is a melancholy yet fiery ode to truth and wisdom in the days in the judgment, with hints of ska and dub mixed with the band’s trademark punk sound.
“‘Armageddon’ is the most ‘MC’ based track on our new album, with Runkus smashing up two heavy verses,” explains guitarist/vocalist Josh Waters Rudge. “We wanted to perform the song on camera in a classic rap video style, but instead if it being super glossy high definition in a gritty, urban backdrop, we decided to shoot an a handheld camera in the forest and an old castle that we found on tour. This video was made fully guerrilla-style when we linked up with Runkus whilst he was in the UK this summer. We brought out our friend Kiefer Passey who has a great camcorder collection and totally blagged access on to the locations. Some was shot in Devon on a festival show day and then we went up to the forest by Waterworks Corner close to where we grew up in London to do some more. Shout out to the forest ranger who didn’t shut us down!”
Watch an exclusive premiere of “Armageddon” below:
The one-time Ward 21 protégé is back in the dancehall conversation with the uplifting “Can’t…
Hip-hop’s master storyteller returns with a reggae/dancehall-flavored collaboration
Africa's dancehall ambassador on the cultural connections between Ghana and Jamaica.
From Illinois to Kingston, Jamaica, comes a story of fierce determination.
Rhea 'Rheezus' Prendergrast is a young woman from Jamaica, living in New York City, working…
LargeUp is bringing Caribbean sounds to Long Island's North Fork Saturday, July 29.
This website uses cookies.