Juakali

Earwax is the sister label to Pinch's Tectonic so you can be sure its inaugural 2008 release will be a good one, and Moldy's Glory (featuring Juakali) doesn't disappoint. Following a stadium-styled concert band flourish, New York denizen Moldy (Ennis Glendon) moves the tune into a snappy dub skank zone. The track then alternates between the lithe vocal acrobatics of Juakali (whose captivating contributions helped make Pinch's Underwater Dancehall one of last year's best releases) and instrumental passages that are given a funereal cast via the somber flow of church organ chords. The accompanying stripped-down instrumental version renders the bass wobble and off-beat guitar stabs more audible and, sans vocals, emphasizes the tune's brooding side even more. - Textura

Juakali, based in Brooklyn, heads New York’s Dub War nights and sings with the dub band Babylon Station. On “Brighter Day”, he is fierce and impassioned, his Jamaican-accented vocals answered now by a chorus of himself, now by an evil blurt of synthetic sound. It’s a fascinating mix of the organic and the electronic, third world heat and post-industrial chill, call-and-response communalism and heads-phones alienation. Juakali performs on three of the album’s ten vocal-embellished cuts, somewhat more conventionally (and less interestingly) on “Gangstaz”, and with an eerie, shout-spoken power on next-to-last “Trauma”. - Pop Matters

The final plate would have to be our favourite with the tracks featuring vocals from Juakali simply killing it, from the rolling subs on 'Rasta Dem nah run' to the album highlight '80's Crush' with a digi dancehall update with added sub pressure. - The Music Dynasty

The live electronic crew Sub Swara experiments with dub and brings it to life lightning-like, shaking under the bass weight and melting multiple genres together in a heady stew, all set off by the energetic style and organic voice of MC Juakali. - Decibel Festival

Adding to the frothy mix are two of the world’s finest MCs, Rod Azlan and Juakali, who bomb-drop their rhymes like agents of peace, spreading positive vibes with each utterance. - Decibel Festival

Tastes like: what a fan of reggae AND electronica would eat up like mama’s cook food

Ingredients: Juakali delivers his follow-up to his Breakground EP of 2008, and his style remains intact, with perfect diction moving at a reasonable pace for unfamiliar ears, yet inna a cultural, rootical and political stylee. This time though, the productions, by the likes of Dave Q, Kush Arora and Forensics, make no excuses in its sometimes harsh, electro-feel and nu funk edge, sharpening this LP for fans that prefer their drum n’ bass, or beats harder and beamed up from the ‘Battle Star Galactica’… - Swagger Lifestyle

Juakali is an MC and lyrical stylist that I first heard perform with Joe Nice at a Smog event at the Echoplex a few weeks ago; he delivers his rhymes with positive vibes and a melodic island-lilt that perfectly complements the dark waves of dubstep bass. With dubstep’s dirty depth, you don’t need heavy, machine-gun delivered death raps that push you towards the floor; much better is the offset of a river of bouncing vocals like Juakali’s, laid over the beats and bassline like a ribbon of hopeful smoke over the low end wobble. Inhale. - DANCEFEVER5000

A few months after I moved to Los Angeles from Toronto, our good friends at SMOG LA threw one of the most memorable nights that I have had out here. Headlining the night was Dub War NYC front men Joe Nice, Dave Q alongside MC Juakali. Well needless to say that at the time I was a dubstep novice, but I was absolutely blown away.

The following night, I found myself in a car with Juakali on the way home from Bluebeat and as if his presence on the mic wasn’t enough, he was one of the nicest people I have met in music in a really long time. Just genuine positive energy, so I made it a point to keep in touch.

He has just announced the completion of his second studio album. Due for commercial release by Foreign Familiar on March 27, 2009, the album ‘Come From Yard’ solidifies Juakali as the bridge between a new aesthetic in electronic music; one that includes reggae, dancehall, dubstep, and Bhangra.

“My work is the genesis of combined experiences. I am from Trinidad and Trinidad lives in me. But, living in the US and having the opportunity to travel the world means being exposed to a variety of styles and genres. These are the circumstances, which influenced ‘Come From Yard’”. said Juakali.

The (4) four original songs on Come From Yard include an additional four remixes featuring the production styling’s of prior collaborators Kush Arora and Matty G, along with co-resident, Dub War honcho Dave Q among others. The stand-alone track ‘Nah Understand’ features the dub-step production of Toronto’s XI and already has DJs and blogs talking. - Media Contender

On Friday night at the nightclub Love, Dub War’s guest D.J.’s were Pinch, from Bristol, one of the most reggae-faithful of dubstep producers, and Mary Anne Hobbs, a British radio D.J. who has been instrumental in bringing the sound to a wide audience. - NYTimes