JAMMER & DJ CABLE
Dime @ Monkey, Swansea
Fri 26 Feb
DJ, producer, MC and more, vibrantly present in London’s grime scene from the beginning: it’s no exaggeration to call Jammer an icon of UK music. Though he’s now a member of JME and Skepta’s Boy Better Know, along with Wiley, he began with East London’s N.A.S.T.Y Crew in 2000. Their mix CD from 2003 is evidence of his prodigious skills in all areas – not only through its tightly-mixed track selection he took control of.
Birds In The Sky, a track on the same mix featuring MC D Double E, is a cult classic where Jammer’s studio talent shines; a sophisticated beat that weaves solemnity and drama into the lyrics with a sampled backdrop of tearful voices, tabla-esque basslines and sitar. You could be forgiven for thinking grime a bit of a one-trick pony – but it was tracks like these that demonstrated the serious and original melodic feeling that’s an underrated facet of the genre. We haven’t even mentioned that he runs the foundational lyric-spitting competition Lord Of The Mics, or a record label, Neckle,
Alongside BBC Radio 1Xtra’s DJ Cable on the ones and twos, Jammer’ll be MCing at Monkey, in the unique, cartoonish style he’s known for and you can hear at its best on his anthemic signature track Murkle Man, or Skepta’s bumping classic Duppy.
Admission: £6-£10. Info: 01792 480822
words GWYN THOMAS DE CHROUSTCHOFF