Jahcoozi

13 December 2005 :: posted by Travis

For whatever reason, Jahcoozi reminds of Mu. While the two are definitely on two totally different planes, they have both created their own mutt genres that are almost unclassifiable. The multi-national Berlin trio known as Jahcoozi have created a unique blend of reggae, dancehall, tech, hip-hop and electro. Since these sounds are all the rage, their music shouldn’t sound so foreign and often feels familiar. The casual listener may lump Jahcoozi under the grime category, but don’t confuse yourself. There is something different going on here – different influences creating a somewhat similar sound.

With the huge success of M.I.A., listeners will probably try to find some similarities with Jahcoozi’s singer MC Sasha Perera. The most obvious is that they both have a London/Sri Lanka thing going. On a less superficial level though, you can’t help but make vocal comparisons – both style and patterns. Though the comparisons don’t always go so far. M.I.A., not being a singer, lacks is in her abilities (i.e. the hook on “Sunshowers”), but this is the area that Perera really takes off and makes you wonder what a Perera/M.I.A. collaboration might end up sounding like… or even makes you wonder why the spotlight is on M.I.A. and not Jahcoozi. And like M.I.A, Jahcoozi tackles some very political and personal ideas – this isn’t for people who don’t want to think.

Shake, shake, shake. There was a Part II to this post… but it’s long enough. I’ll follow up later this week.

Listen: Jahcoozi – “Black Barbie” (mp3)

Purchase: Amazon

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6 Comments:

1. Loved her on that Modeselektor track, but hadn’t been able to find anything else. Thanks for this!



2. Jay Watts III December 13th, 2005 at 8.18 pm

3. I recently put the flipside from this Jahcoozi single up on my blog, mixed directly into a very Mu-ish Maurice Fulton track; it just seemed a natural pairing, so apparently big stereos think alike. This is definitely a single worth picking up, and I’m glad to see Kitty-yo is coming with the relevant shit in 05/06.



4. Logan5 December 14th, 2005 at 8.20 pm

5. hey ….. i am the singer … no joke!

   thanks for the support….i’m glad u dig the album . i am not trained singer either but we have been working together for a few years now and we seemed to have found our thing.-
   as for m.i.a. ….. maybe a skoda advert will come our way ! —— only joking, skoda is big!!!

   check out our website http://www.jahcoozi.com almost up and running but currently linked to our
   label kitty yo. http://www.myspace.com/jahcoozi

   also check out http://www.grimetime.de our blog from the grime parties that i organise in berlin…. lots of free music and videos on there.

   lurve
   sasha



6. sasha perera December 19th, 2005 at 9.52 am

7. Wicked band…saw them play at VMF in Berlin- palpable talent and wit and a small dose of insanity/profanity…lyrics are a scream…DIFFERENT from MIA ( seen her “play” at the Vibe Bar- say no more) kind of shame they’re not really known here, as German audiences definitely respond to the look and the sound, but the irony is in the lyrics ( which are sung very fast)



8. Leonie R December 19th, 2005 at 10.08 am

9. yeah, i love these guys. i really think there is an even bigger market in N. America and the UK for their stuff, considering how fast and incisive the lyrics are. unfortunately, i think a lot of this is lost on a german audience. but, then, their success in non-English markets is good evidence of just how dope their sound is. i can’t help but get my jiggy on when i listen to “shake the doom”. shake shake shake…



10. natestar December 29th, 2005 at 9.06 pm

11. Hate to be the voice of dissent, but they seem like kind of a joke. The lyrics are pretty far from “incisive”, which is probably why they go down so well with a German audience. I’m also not feeling the hyper-digital bit-crushed type production. I’m trying to teach my pet monkey to use Ableton and having great success. also these guys have way too much press for a group with one album out. I happened to have caught them more than once in Berlin and their sets were always the same. Uber-chic and too ironic for their own good. Another XLR8TR poster child. Comparisons to M.I.A are unfounded , though, other than the production (see galang vs. shake the doom) being a chip off the same block.

    Let’s see if they have another good album in them, or if they’re content to tour around on the strength of their Myspace page.



12. rote.klinge October 13th, 2006 at 8.58 am

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