JUAKALI

#21. 12th Planet & Juakali – “Reasons (Doctor P Remix)” (2010)
There was American dubstep before the Los Angeles producer John “12th Planet” Dadzie launched his local party SMOG, but nothing set the tone for domestic bass culture quite like this Planet’s orbit. “Reasons” named by Skrillex as “one of the most influential songs ever” helped establish L.A. as something like a bedroom community for London’s dubstep scene. Putting a wide-screen spin on Auto-Tuned reggae and perky synth pop, Dadzie rolled bass lines that were as unstable as the earth undergirding Hollywood. P.S. - Spin Magazine

Appearances can be deceiving and in the case of Juakali this is especially the case. Judging by their album Feathers Too Bright's cover you would have absolutely no idea that this group create dark minimal electronically overbearing dance hall. I had no idea and the second I put this record on, I had to do a double take because this is not at all what I was expecting.

Loaded with hip hop crisp beats, dubstep breakdowns, and enough twerkable rhythms to make Miley Cyrus' rear end explode Feathers Too Bright is one heck of a record. Ridiculously catchy, the songs are all rude, ruff and very, very good. Minimal production makes the record throb, bounce and get dirty in all the best ways. Put it this way, this record is so rude that it could never ever be played in South Carolina, Kentucky, or most states of the Deep South. It's rump shaking beats and amazing basslines are a bit too much for those pure of heart and soul.

Feathers Too Bright is a brutally brilliant record that manipulates samples, creates bangers with next to nothing and levels every dance floor daring enough to come in contact with it. This is the most deceptively awesome piece of DJ hardware I've come across in a long, long while. Clangy, bangy, sexy, and hypnotic in it's approach if you want to liven up any party or summon Miley Cyrus' rear end drop a needle on this record. - The POP! Stereo Review Round Up

The hip hop, reggae, dubstep, and dance-infused lyrical wordplays of Juakali stem from his Trinidadian upbringing and wholehearted commitment to the electronica-injected music characteristic of dancehall rhythms and urban pizzazz. The urban sounds are upbeat, in-your-face, and revolutionary. The raw delivery is pulsating, energetic, and attitude-infused with a dose of African sun. The name, Juakali, stems from a Swahili phrase for 'fierce sun.' Yes, the beats are fierce, but in a good way. The music is stellar and trippy. There are eleven excellent tracks steeped in swirling urban beats with dubstep charisma and electronic suavity. Juakali knows how to make interesting and powerful vocal and instrumental creations. Feathers Too Bright is a perfect album for anyone interested in world fusion with an urban, dub, and dance edge. ~ Matthew Forss - Inside Music World

Juakali is a Brooklyn based DJ originally from Trinidad and Tobago who is making a name for himself in the world of Dubstep. Juakali’s debut record is called “DreadBass Soundsystem” and features dubstep club tracks and a bit of pop culture savvy.

The opening track and first single off of “DreadBass Soundsystem,” which you can get as a free download of from Juakali’s record company ForeignFamiliar.com, is called “Living in Babylon” and is terrific nod ya head club track with a sensational beat, a perfect choice for a first single from an eclectic record.

“Living in Babylon” leads surprisingly well into the slower, quieter anthemic track “Breakaway” which while not all that lyrically or musically complex is nevertheless hopeful and optimistic and a standout track for how gentle and unassuming it is. The gentle vibe doesn’t last long.

The track “One of those Nights” takes “DreadBass” in a different, more violent direction as guns being cocked is the dominant sound theme. The modern Dubstep beats are all that keeps “One of those Nights” from sounding like a 90’s gangsta rap song.

Things take a decidedly odd but welcome turn in the following two tracks as Juakali shows off his pop culture savvy with “This Life” a song that would have been right at home in the Terminator movies with lyrics bemoaning Man and Machine and whether human life is a lie.

Things go gothic on the next track “Never Fall” which belongs in an episode of HBO’s “True Blood” should the show ever take its Vamp characters to a nightclub. The title “Bang Bang Slang” implies a follow up to the violent imagery of “One of those Nights” but it's not. “Bang Bang Slang” is actually about non-violence. “Just Like Me” takes us back to the club for a Dub Step dance ode to a girl who is just like Juakali, can party, rock steady and dance just like him. The speedy beat is infectious.

“Prosper” is another anthemic club tune about coming together and how we must all work together so we can all “Prosper,” the title, delivered with Juakali’s heavy accent, gives it a uniquely affective resonance.

“Give them More” is a rather complex set of lyrics. The lyrics are inflected positively enough but the beat sounds mournful as if Juakali lamented the idea of crossing over to white audiences and how white audiences seem to demand more of artists.

The record wraps up with the song “Standing Firm” on which Juakali sings of standing firm in the world of Dubstep. If you, for some reason, questioned Juakali’s commitment to dubstep music “Standing Firm” affirms his commitment to the ideals that have him becoming a rising star. - Zoiks! Online

SF producer Kush Arora and New York's Nate Mars — two top-ranking names in the country's tight-knit electronic dance music scene — teamed up with LA vocalist Juakali — to play their first show ever as the DreadBass Soundsystem at SXSW in Austin Wednesday night. While Kush and Mars manned the laptops, cuing up insanely deep dubstep bass lines and instrumentals, Juakali stalked the crowd, spitting classic reggae rhymes and dancing with the heads who came from all across the country to check out the set. Track “Stand Firm” proved the deeper and longer the bass got, the harder the crowd moved. The DreadBass Soundsystem is a follow up to Kush's DreadBass Chronicles project of 2009, and the trio is shopping an LP to be released this year. - East Bay Express

With dubstep slowly but surely blowing up in the US, the time for Trinidadian MC Juakali to make himself heard is most certainly now.

Despite having resided in California for some time Juakali – a former poet – has is quite a popular name to drop on the UK underground dubstep and jungle scenes. His reggae-tinged vocals have even been championed by the likes of Mary Anne Hobbs on the BBC and, furthermore, Juakali was picked to host the first, real US dubstep event ‘Dub War in NYC.’ However, dubstep has only recently started making a real impact in America, with UK acts like Chase & Status producing some Rihanna and Rusko producing a Britney Spears track. Nonetheless, even if Juakali doesn’t make waves at home, he’s sure to create a formidable fan-base over here in the UK.

In fact, his new EP ‘Freak You Back’ contains a very British sound. The original mix of the title track is the sound of commercial dubstep blended with grimey, raggae MCing – think ‘Fire,’ the Magentic Man collaboration with Ms Dynamite. Menacing synths and Juakali’s distinctive vocals are forced to clamber in and around a deep, grooving bassline produced by Londoner Plastician (an esteemed London DJ). Nice and dark.

There are two accompanying remixes of ‘Freak You Back’ on the EP. The first is a ska-tinged remix by Tes La Rok (from Finland), who lightens the tone and subdues the bass making Juakali’s vocals more prominent. The DLX remix is an amped up revamp; the thudding bass drum makes for the heaviest and most energetic mix of the track.

Rounding off the EP is ‘The Chillski,’ a psychedelic dubstep number showcasing Juakali’s raggae-tinted rapping skills. Welsh producers Stagga & Monky compliment the hip-hop with a wobbly bassline, looping bongos and bleeping samples.

Juakali has at his disposal a distinctive MCing flair that will, in time, make him a real contender in the British underground dance scene. But only time will tell whether the Yanks will take to him. Dubstep fans should definitely check out ‘Freak You Back’ upon its release on February 4th, through Foreign Familiar.

Author: Clive Rozario - AAA Music

“I’ve never thought of myself as an MC,” reveals John Lashley reluctantly over the phone from his home in New York. Lashley, who performs as Juakali, wasn’t billed as “MC” until 2006, after his residency at NYC dubstep party Dub War started picking up steam. “The only way people associate a reggae artist toasting over electronic music is through drum & bass,” he says ruefully. “I’m not even a drum & bass head anyway!”

Nonetheless, Lashley is using his ragga vocal talents to break the typical MC mold. In addition to mic duties at Big Apple monthlies Dub War and Sub Swara, he performs with the Dub Liberation Front band, and recently opened for Meat Beat Manifesto at their NYC show. But it’s overseas travels that have yielded the Trinidadian-born artist the most opportunities, including his first vinyl single, which was recently issued on Czech label Gunjah. “I wanted people to understand that even though I’m involved in electronic music, this is where I’m coming from,” says Lashley of the track, a straight roots reggae number entitled “Run Babylon.”

Reggae influences have remained at the forefront of his collaborations with Bristol dubstep producer Pinch, U.K. digital dub artists Alpha and Omega, and American electronic music fusionists Moldy and Kush Arora. “Juakali is taking a traditional style and blending it in new ways,” says Arora. “He’s showing that Caribbean culture won’t be left behind in the ashes of the digital revolution.”

Lately, Lashley’s revolution has been realized at Dub War. “[At dubstep events], I can switch a flow three times in one song, where in dancehall or reggae you can’t really do that,” he says. Dub War has become a forum for him to try new verses or songs that eventually end up on record.

Lashley, who has a new album in the works, believes that, in the age of iPod mixes and file-sharing, listeners are more hyped on live shows than ever. “Going to a concert is a bigger deal than getting the DVD of the concert,” he says. And if you expect to catch Juakali any time soon, you’ll have to leave the house. “I’m trying to pay rent, so I have to get out on the road and play live!” - XLR8R