Stylo G

Soundbwoy will be the song that makes everyone aware of dancehall – and its maker has musical pedigree.

The background: Even if you don't like dancehall, or know much about the music, you'll love Soundbwoy, the first proper introduction to Jamaican-born Stylo G. It's not his first release – he's been putting out singles and mixtapes locally (that's south London) for years, occasionally bearing the influence of grime but mainly with the apparent intention of building a reputation for himself as the UK Beenie Man or Sean Paul. But this is his debut as a signee to 3Beat (the urban/dance label home of Skepta, Sway et al), and to Universal Publishing, and it has the feel of an opening statement, a declaration of sorts. "Hello, world," it seems to say, via a lyric that is ostensibly a celebration of the music, not the artist, "This is me – come and meet my giant ego."

Soundbwoy isn't a comedy novelty, a Cockney Translation, but it is one of those irresistible one-off releases from a genre that you may normally avoid or even recoil from, maybe owing to grim distant memories of its association with ideas and opinions you'd rather forget, or perhaps just because it's not the beat, the milieu, for you. The rhythm is slow, viscous, with the slickness of R&B. The production is courtesy of Dutch wunderkind Diztortion, and there's a remix from Jamaican producer Stephen McGregor, son of reggae star Freddie.

Stylo's own dad, dancehall legend Poison Chang, died in 1998, at the age of 33. He was murdered while on tour in America, one of the continents that fell under the sway of global hits such as Press Up. That terrible event precipitated the family's move to London, where he learned to produce and discerned a gap in the homegrown dancehall market. For the last few years he has shown his adaptability and crossover potential, working with Wretch 32, Chipmunk, Giggs, Dot Rotten and Gyptian, the strong Jamaican cadences proving eminently adaptable to a variety of musical situations. Now he is getting Twitter love from actor Idris Elba and some bloke called Usain Bolt, he's been spied in the studio with Basement Jaxx and is due to perform this summer at Glastonbury alongside Toddla T. Stylo has plans to extend his Call Mi a Yardie brand into various non-musical areas including the alcoholic drinks market, but it's Soundbwoy that is most intoxicating, a siren-strewn brew of skunked-out beats and louche menace designed to go straight to your head. - The Guardian