Jahcoozi

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