Ghetto Bassquake's Blog

This round up we gwan mainstream cumbia-techno-rave-trance-synth-reggaeton. Like I said before, my Nigga from Panama is featured on a ravy cumbiaton track of the new A.B. Quintanilla project, Kumbia All Stars.

If you liked my Kuduro post, check out:An interview with Znobia by Eddie Stats at The FaderandPuto Prata downloads at Get Nice.

Grant from Zizek has sent me this hot new cumbia mixtape from El Hijo de la Cumbia featuring loads of fresh Argentinian psychedelic beats for lying in the park, sun in your eyes. Its very good.

A few months ago a friend emailed me pointing out the name of the popular latin artist Nigga.  After doing some poking around on the net I discovered that Nigga is Panamanian and got his name because someone said he sings like a Jamaican.  Probably in a move not un-similar to the Nas album name decision, his name was changed to DJ Flex, for the U.S. market, in fear of offending the United Stateseans (and not Jamaicans?!)I've been hearing a lot of DJ Flex on the radio, with his hit "Te Quiero" and his collaboration with Los Kumbia Allstars "Por Ti Baby" (which is a quite ravey-sounding Cumbia that I'll post later.)  Plus, whenever I hear "Panama!" or someone sing "Panama Music"  my ears perk up, so I've been watching for this dude.

Always a good day when the cumbias are flow into the inbox courtesy of the good people at Bersa Discos.

DJ Speedhy is an excellent congolese Coup Decale beatmaker from Lyon and makes bangers. Lots more tracks to download on his Skyrock blog. Please enjoy this mammoth freestyling style over fifty. As Speedhy says himself KONGOSTYLE.DJ SPEEDHY - AFROTEKNOLOGY FEAT. 50 CENT 2008

The other night I was driving home late after a gig and on the radio they were playing un anuncio sobre la llegada del Grupo Kazzabe y los Silver Star to the Bay Area. The fast Punta tracks took me by surprise and I almost drove off the road!Punta music is something that I find people sometimes love or hate. Andy Palacio, the Garifuna cultural ambassador that passed away earlier this year was a former Punta star and I read in a write up about his concert that I attended last summer, that he had moved from "poppy" and "less refined" Punta to Garifuna folk.

Sun and bass. Two things I love. I don't see enough sun in the UK. Bass however, is another thing.When I was asked to do a mix for Blogariddims I initially had issues about what I could provide in such an awesomely diverse series. I couldn't think of any one particular genre that I'd want to listen to for 60 minutes so I just thought i'd make something that i'd want to hear if I was on holiday at a beach party, rum flowing, bass hammering. Not the most specialist or obscure concept but the kind of music that i've been writing about here and why I started Ghetto Bassquake.

(image by Tragik)Los Rakas. A group after my own musical heart.I happened upon a performance by these Panamanian Dancehall/Hyphsters at San Francisco's Carnaval this past weekend. Great live energy and they mix the raw elements and influences of two places that are a big influence of mine right now. While a lot of the songs on the CD are more straight dancehall, I can tell by their performance that they're going to go for a much more fused, personal yet global perspective on the pan-American experience.

I forget sometimes how good kuduro is. Guillaume at Masala's excellent Kuduro One Year Later post and following comments got me thinking that, damn, its important to keep pushing this kind of music out there before it fades away into the blogoshere. I'm hoping that, in Angola, kuduro is stronger than ever right now but I feel like it needs its fans to keep it bumping on the net.Once these incredible metagenres are discovered in the corners of the world, why dispose of them once 'used'. Keep pushing and things evolve.

Bolting out the Dutty Artz stable door comes a mix from New York's Taliesin, blending all kinds of glitched out bangers. Catch him at Supreme Trading NY, June 6th with Kid Kameleon.

The other day I was listening to music on my iTunes and I saw that the next song in the cue was going to be, African by H2O Feat.

George Martin - Baron Samedi's Dance Of Death

La Murga by Willie Colon is one of my favorite salsa songs of all time. In the lyrics Mr. Lavoe canta "vamos a bailar la Murga, la Murga de Panama." I visited Panama just before Carnaval this year. I got the chance to dance to a live Murga band.This one is Dianas. I'm not sure if it's a different style from Murga or not but it seems similar enough to me.I also picked up some old and new Panamanian Dancehall.

The rain in this bloody country never seems to stop. I'm literally done with it. Yeah I'm talking about the weather on a music blog. Thats how we roll in England - weather talk. Apologies, more important things: I'm absolutely stoked to have a new contributor to this blog. Chief Boima will be bringing the fire here like never before, so please make him welcome by downloading everything he posts twice and commenting all the time. Its an honour to have him here and I'm crazy excited. The Count & Sinden have a big free mix at FACT Tracklist1. Lil' Wayne - A Milli [Cash Money]2.

The Love Music Hate Racism carnival in London's Victoria Park was fun, after avoiding a near beating by the excitable security, I sneaked into the dance tent to catch the end of Skream & Benga. Dubstep is starting to come alive for me. DMZ's Third Birthday opened my eyes a few weeks ago.The dubs have more energy and more hype, its pushing towards bassline garage, drum 'n' bass even, ravers, carnival, gun fingers,Spongebob, Night, Cockney Thug...I get it now, sorry I'm a bit late.

Ghetto... Bass... Quake...I just got done djing in San Francisco's Bay View district for an Earth Day event. It, along with the adjacent Hunter's Point, is a neighborhood that could be characterized by the word Ghetto. A neighborhood with a high rate of crime, a high portion of the residents are poor, the majority are non-white, and it's probably the last neighborhood in San Francisco with a high percentage of African-Americans. There is the threat of redevelopment and displacement. There is a presence of drug use and trade.

In my inbox the other day arrived a Coupe Decale mixtape from San Francisco's Chief Boima. It was awesome, like nothing I've heard before, not just straight African stuff but a house party style mash up with Bashment, Juke & Hip Hop. So fresh.I started trying to write a post but realized I know bugger all about Coupe Decale so I gave up and asked the man himself to fill us in.   Hi Chief Boima. How's it going?Hi Vamanos, Let's Go!...Things are good out here in cloudy California. Tell me about Coupe Decale music.

Cali is Colombia's third biggest city otherwise know as SALSA CITY. I was lucky enough to visit for a couple of days and took some photos.

As Brazil's top baile funk DJs like Sany Pitbull & Sandrinho are using more and more sophisticated MPC beat rocking equipment (sin decks even).While....In Europe, their funk wielding contemporaries are taking it back to the (Miami Bass) old school and chopping up funk breaks with vinyl.

Firstly a big shout to anyone who has downloaded my Mercado Negro mix. Blogaridddims mix coming soon.Back to todays business = Spitting sick bars over trancy bassline garage. East London's Mz. Bratt's answer to Wearing My Rolex. Look out for her heavy Terror Danja produced joints.Mz. Bratt - Wearing My Rolex RemixAn MC led banger from DJ Q & Bonez. After listening to so much southern grime, good to hear some northern man on the mic.