Bastard Jazz Recordings is happy to present to you another tasty little dub 7” in our on-going series aimed to put the Dubwise Brooklyn vibes back into universal consciousness. This one comes from Dallas’s Hydroponic Soundsystem, hot on the heels of their Uptown Shakedown EP. Flipping things up in a brand new style, the Hydro boys and frequent collaborator (and vocalist on the “Uptown Shakedown” cut) Grand Supreem take the classic hip-hop tune “Microphone Fiend” by Eric B. and Rakim and go straight to the early 80’s Kingston Shantytowns with it. Drawing inspiration and vibes from “Microphone Fiend”’s original production, Hydro’s beat is a straight ahead kick-and-snare reggae production that evokes Sly and Robbie’s middle period style of production, while Grand Supreem stays on cue to Rakim’s original lyrics while injecting his own signature, patois-inflected style to the cut, and switching tings up here and there for the dance. This is the kind of tune your hip-hop heads can sing along to, your dreads can vibe out to, your downtempo DJs can mix in with a dubby set, and one just about nobody can resist.
Add to that a killer version on the B-Side, and throwback Techniques style art – and you’ve got yet again another hot little limited edition 45 from the Bastard Jazz crew.