REVIEW: Roots Manuva – Facety 2:11
Roots Manuva, one the UK’s hip hop kingpins, has emerged from the studio after two years of writing and recording to release ‘Facety 2:11’, a brand new single produced by Four Tet.
South London born, 45 Year old Rodney Smith is the son of a preacher, man. Still putting music out on Big Dada, his label since 1999, he seems to be just as on top of his game as he ever has been. Speaking about Big Dada in an interview the Mobo winner said: ‘it’s run by people who genuinely love music, it’s not just a record label it’s a movement’.
The track’s ‘Boat Race’ is cockney rhyming slang for face, not referencing that Tory rowing clash between Oxford and Cambridge every April. This is what links to Facety, which is patois slang for someone being rude.
The melange of the smooth, confident vocals and room filling percussion, interspersed with samples is a dangerous and intoxicating combo. Typically, Four tet’s effect on the percussion in this song is enormous, from the unconventional kick drum to the muted snares. The bassline mimics the kick drum, rarely straying and the combination of the two builds a bed for the vocals to sit nicely on top of.
A fantastic collaboration of artists; we will without doubt see more of this genius from Roots Manuva over the coming months. If you can’t wait you can see him support Blur on the 20 June in Hyde Park, but watch this space – there will be an album coming soon.
Pre-order Facety 2:11 on 12″ here.
