Features

 

09 Feb 2010

 

 

Coki

 

Music that focuses heavily on bass always seems to be associated with cannabis. The link is clearest in the genres favoured by Rastafarians, namely reggae and dub. In Rastafarianism, smoking cannabis is akin to a religious duty, which is why there's so much music dedicated to praising ganja's spiritual properties, and why cannabis is linked in the Rastafarian psyche to the praising of Jah.

Dubstep owes a lot to reggae and dub. Like those genres, it is obsessed with bass. And like them, it has more than a passing association with cannabis. To illustrate the point, just take Coki's massive white-label, Burnin, with its hypnotic vocal sample, 'burnin marijuana pon the corner'. If you've ever been to a dubstep rave, you've almost certainly heard this track. I had it in my head for weeks following a trip to DMZ in Brixton last year.

The vocal is lifted from, you guessed it, a Jamaican reggae track. The original is Marijuana by Richie Spice, a track that appeared on his 2004 album, Spice In Your Life. His tune is a little more bouncy than Coki's version, which has a certain melancholy feeling to it. This is perhaps because Spice's track is more upbeat (Coki had to slow the sample down to get it to dubstep's languid tempo).

In terms of form and content, Spice's track is a familiar package, but done well. He sings the praises of the highest grade – the 'healing of the nation' – bemoans Babylon for criminalising it, and pays tribute to his brethren and sistren who, like him, smoke weed on a day-to-day basis. It's a fantastic track, and the quality of Spice's voice perfectly complements the message and the vibe. Irie!

 

 


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