‘I'VE MOVED AWAY FROM THE INITIAL CELEBRATION OF THE SLAP-DASH'
In too deep
Mark Edmunson finds that far from being UK hip hop’s commander-in-chief, ROOTS MANUVA is on a far more personal crusade.
nur _\earx ean he :1 \er} lnng tiiue in l’npland. and while Rndne} Smith. :\l\':\ Rnntx .\lanu\a. hax heen awa_\ ‘getting nn with lile‘ the. urhan I'K \L‘L'HL‘ ll;t\ L‘\[tlt)tlt‘tl. .Stl hnw tltlL‘\ tt leading liglll l'nllnw twn award—winning. )iu'dxtiek alhumx and a hiatux‘.’ There are thnxe w hn. nn hearing .‘Ill'fll/l)" lh’t'p. a mnre mature. aeeexxihle and nntieeahh xnng-
haxed nl'l’ering. ma_\ elaitu that he‘x xnld nut. hut il~
amthing Smith'x xtnpped wnrr_\ing ahnut the ehartx nr the eluhx and made an alhum l‘nr himxell‘.
‘l'x'e mn\ ed awa} l‘rnm the initial eelehratinn nl the .xlap—daxli.' he xa_\x nl' the new alhum. 'l enin} the analng} nl' "in the heginning l wax a nne-man-hand. and nnw l‘\ e gnt nrehextrax and hraxx handx at m_\
dixpnsal". l‘m tr_\ing tn gel intn the whnle idea nl'
utilixing all the elementxf .-\x the title xuggextx. .‘Ill"/ll//_\' Dee/i dnex nnt prnmixe a great departure l‘rnm what hax enme helnre. it ix juxt annther xtep nn the xtittte path. Sn w here the rieh emntinnal pieeex nl' li’iiii ('nmr' .Stll'r' .I/r‘ ll;l\L‘ I‘L‘L‘ll litll'lllL‘l' tIL‘\CIUPCtI x0 tnn have the urhan. undergrnund xnundx. .-\nd it ix thexe traekx. in w hieh hix xnund x_\ xtem li\atinn. hix rnntx. dtih. daneehall and hip hnp inl‘lueneex are altngether mnre dixeernihle. that mark .\lanu\a'x e\nlttlinn tnward a mnre rnunded and aeenmplixhed prndueer.
()n his l;llL‘\l UI‘I'L'I'IIIL‘ IIL' llax ale t‘C\l\lL‘Ll lllL‘ I'S trend l'nr the ‘ln\e—in'. paeking an alhutn lull nl guext rappers. .xingerx and prndueerx. deelaring ximpl} that ‘I ,lu.xt dnn't like dning l‘nreed guexting. I like it In he natural.~ .-\nd wh_\ wnuld _\nu leel that prexxure when _\nur nw n w arex are xn thiek'.’
The l_\riex that Rnntx .\lanu\a hringx tn a reenrd
ha\ e alwa}x held a rexnnanee with the Britiin puhlie. llix alhumx ha\ e deltl_\' enmhined the hraVadn nl' hip
hnp and daneehall prnduetinn with the altngether
mnre human and relatahle land let'.x l'aee it. Britixhl qualitiex nl xell-dnuht and \ulnerahilit}. 'l‘hix intrnxpeetix e apprnaeh hax drawn itx eritiex. nn lexx in hix latext alhum. releaxed at a time when e\'er_\nne limit the (‘hemieal Brntherx tn 'l‘ravix tn liminem ix tixing their pnxitinn tn xtii' up a little xneial awarenexx. lt ix nnee again lineuxxed nn the xell‘.
Speaking tn the man it heenmex elear that thix sell- el‘l'aeing xtanee ix nn aet: althnugh he ma} he huilt up ax the gndl'ather nl' l'lx' hip hnp. the prnphet uxhering in the reeent grnundxwell nl' intet'ext in {K hip hnp aetx. he'x nnt hu} ing a wnrd.
‘l dnn't xee m) xell‘. nr an} nne individual. taking eredit l'nr w hat’x happened.‘ xa_\x Smith til the gt'nwing aeeeptanee nl~ urhan Britixh hlaek mtixie. 'lt‘x heen a lnng time enming and it hax ax mueh tn
dn with demngraphiex. in that the age range nl
lixtenerx hax ehanged and there were ten-)ear- nldx that are nnw 3i) and are tixed tn hearing Britixh \'nieex n\'er hip hnp and nther kindx nl heatx. They‘ve grnw'n up with a w hnle dil‘l’erent and \aried xnnie heritage. xn it‘x hntmd tn ha\ e happened.‘
Sn in a lame new wnrld where [K hnme—grnw‘n hlaek muxie ix nn lnnger treated with indil'l'erenee. Rnntx .\lanu\a hax nnee again returned ax a hrnnding xtandard hearer. lle ma} nnt he hnlding npen the dnnr. htit he‘x eertainl} leading the w a};
The Arches, Glasgow, Sun 27 Feb.
Concert For Tsunami Relief 20 bands in four hours was always gong to be a bun fight but it's all for a good cause. Deacon Blue (pictured). Snow Patrol, Trashcan Sinatras. Texas. Teenage Fanclub. Slam and Idlewrld pack in to raise money to help those suffering in the aftermath of the Asian Tsunami. SECC. Glasgow, Sat 79 Feb. (R 8 P)
Soundtrack of our Lives These psyche-rock wig out merchants have been around for donkey‘s and their uplifting Kinks- meets-Who melodrama is finally getting the recognition it deserves. King Tut 's, G/asgow, Wed 23 Feb; Liquid Room, Edinburgh, Thu 24 Feb. (Flock 8 pop)
Low In turning up the volume on their guitars a touch, Low finally give peOple something to distract them from their religion. Mind-blowingly good, whether quiet or loud. See preview. GUU, Glasgow, Fri 25 Feb; Queen '3 Hall, Edinburgh, Sat 26 Feb. (Flock 8 pop)
Spontanlacs Dave Conway's band push their improvisational ‘freesong' experiments ever further, with guest rapper Soom-T adding a different dimension alongside vocalist Lucy Kendra. Henry's Jag Cellar, Edinburgh, Thu 24 Feb. (Jaz)
Roots Manuva and MIA See preview. left. Arches, Glasgow, Sun 27 Feb. (Rock 8 pop)
Konrad Winniewsld Quartet The Glasgow saxophonist has acquired a new poise and asswance, and is developing into a major voice. Tron Theatre. Glasgow. Sun 27 Feb. (Jag)
REM “Automatic for the People is my favourite album. Their last one was panned but it's actually a cracker, a real slow burner. Live, they can pull absolutely anything out of the bag. They’re just an amazing band.‘ SECC, Glasgow. Tue 22 Feb. (Rock 8 pop)
‘, Fer/J; Mar 2905 THE LIST 71