R.I.P. STAGGA | FEATURE
News of the sudden death of Cardiff DJ and producer Stagga, just before Christmas 2020, was greeted among the local dance music community – and beyond – with considerable shock and an outpouring of respect. His pseudonym behind the decks and console derived from his real name, Rob Stagg, yet felt oddly appropriate for a body of work which spanned hip-hop, dubstep, jungle and more, and which could leave listeners feeling punchdrunk with its sheer bass-driven bulk.
Said body of work stretches back nearly two decades, Stagga first making himself heard as part of Optimas Prime: a scratch/turntablist hip-hop trio who released their debut LP in 2002. Further adventures in the 00s UK/Welsh hip-hop scene was eventually joined by a pivot to dubstep production, singles like Sick As Sin and Face Gets Splat as thunderously rowdy as their titles may suggest. In recent years, Stagga founded Fat Fridge: a label for his own productions, including many collaborations with the likes of Magugu and Ras Robbie, and also a studio space based on Richmond Road in Cardiff.
While 2020 has lacked for bastard loud club nights to showcase productions like Stagga’s in full effect, he kept a brisk release schedule, with his final release Call The Cops poignantly dropping on Boxing Day – its seven tracks are deep and boisterous as fans have come to expect from his output. Most importantly, a Gofundme for his partner and two sons has been set up, so be a champ and donate to it; the description of his influence and character puts it better than I could, to boot. In the meantime, check out a few highlights from his back catalogue, and RIP Stagga!
OPTIMAS PRIME – Slang Shotgun (Dial Up, 2004)
I wanted to link to Voidville, the sole Optimas Prime LP from 2002, but it’s not online anywhere. The lead track off this 12” from two years later is, though. It’s more rowdy than the album, which found the OP duo of Stagga and Monkey using their cutting skills and record crates for a heady 11-track trip; Slang Shotgun features Welsh MC Junior Disprol and a rocking bassline to cook up a wicked Britcore/ragga-rap type vibe.
STAGGA – Sick As Sin (Rag & Bone, 2009)
The second solo Stagga 12” came via bass music label Rag & Bone, and pushed the aggro-wobble late-00s dubstep sound to its absolute limits. Skamma, another local MC in the Quiet Poison and Squid Ninjaz crews, tops this off with the memorable refrain “Knocking you out like a bong of smack / Waking you up like a bong of crack!” Imagine.
STARKEY – OK Luv (Stagga Remix) (Planet Mu, 2009)
It was a boom time for club music that was dark as heck but primed to get daft to, with Stagga enjoying many kindred spirits. Paul ‘Starkey’ Geissinger is from the US but well in with the UK bass scene, slinky/ravey 12” OK Luv being remixed by our guy (among others) to punchy effect.
STAGGA – The Warm Air Room (Rag & Bone, 2011)
For his debut album, Stagga again enlisted Skamma, for the boisterous That’s When I Jacked It, and Skamma’s partner in rhyme Joe Blow on Acidicts – plus there’s 10 more tracks of beefy, breaksy tearouts with choice samples (some Guy Ritchie gangster gubbins on Dirty Sydney, for example). The Warm Air Room was nominated for the inaugural Welsh Music Prize, and at the time Stagga was one of the first heads from his corner of the Welsh scene to compile his craft into an actual album.
MAGUGU – Confam (Fat Fridge, 2016)
Cardiff-based Nigerian expat Magugu, while much loved for his self-styled ‘pidgin rap’, is one of the most underrated figures in Welsh music for my money. He hooked up with Stagga shortly into his recording career, and their debut single together – ominous production, rattling US rap-style snares and Magugu’s own deep vocal tones – is a banging way to start.
STAGGA & DE’LISHA – Please Me (Fat Fridge, 2019)
De’lisha is a Butetown vocalist making her debut on this release, which as far as I know is still her only one to date. Hopefully that’ll change soon, though, as her cool, speak-singing reggae-rap style is a real treat for the ears – one which Stagga complemented in unusually restrained mode, giving De’lisha a minimal, dubby-ambient framework over which to say her piece.
STAGGA – Jungle Zen (Fat Fridge/Concrete Castle Dubs, 2020)
The last 12 months of Stagga’s life might have been his busiest, production-wise, with a grip of EPs (including the aforementioned Call The Cops) and this 10-track album, available digitally through his Bandcamp or on 10” vinyl (four tracks of it anyway) through the Concrete Castle Dubs imprint. As the title suggests, it’s his tilt at jungle, specifically its earliest years – 1993 or so – when it was still evolving from hardcore. A riot of hyperspeed breakbeats and dancehall flourishes results: Jungle Zen will truly put a spring in your step!
Donate to Stagga’s memorial Gofundme here.
words NOEL GARDNER
