Chanting Down Thugville
2009.04.11
It's difficult to categorize South Deerfield's Dredi (pronounced dread-eye). On the face of it, they're a reggae band, but they combine so many other elements in their sound--ska, funk, world music, R&B, rock, hip hop--that they transcend definition. The best comparison would be to bands like Fishbone and 24-7 Spyz in the way they combine sounds and flip easily beteween genres depending on the song; and frontman Noël Noël's vocal harmonies even sound like they could have been crafted by Angelo Moore or Jimi Hazel. Their straight-ahead reggae songs remind us a lot of the Melody Makers or the Wailers, and a couple of tracks even have the requisite nod to Bob Marley. But we also hear everything from Rusted Root to Cypress Hill to the Counting Crows in the tracks on their record It's A Dredi Dance Party. Whatever sound you hear in their music, though, the party's sure to keep you jammin'.
Hotlanta has been good to the world of hip-hop, and it's being good to GroundWaves. Fresh from the Dirty South comes James Bussey a.k.a. Da-Mind with his record Welcome Back 2 Thugville. His flow kind of reminds us of a laid-back Biggie Smalls, and there are a couple of verses that even recall the Fun-Lovin' Criminals. His track "Da Club" contains a sample of Dr. Dre's classic "Keep Their Heads Ringin'," and if this record is any indication, Da-Mind is sure to keep heads ringin' for a long time.
