The impact and influence on British dance music of Hackney-born brothers David and Paul Destouche, a.k.a. Ragga Twins Deman Rockers and Flinty Badman, plus their producers P.J. and Smiley a.k.a. Shut Up & Dance, cannot be underestimated. Between 1990-92, before sample laws crippled the label, the Shut Up & Dance label unleashed an incendiary barrage of 12-inch singles which represented the harsh reality of inner city life while also displaying two of the world’s fiercest MCs. This compilation cements the Twins and S.U.A.D.’s place in musical history, showing how a major British musical movement began as the sound systems’ version of punk rock as they spoke directly from the street. Their fusion of classic roots reggae, mangled hotwired hiphop breaks and acid house riffs topped with the Twins’ hardline commentaries sparked a revolution, inventing jungle and paving the way for drum ‘n’ bass. But although outings like ‘Illegal Gunshot’ dealt with dancehall shootings while ‘The Homeless Problem’ speaks for itself, Deman and Flinty boasted uncanny verbal interplay and skills at blowing up large crowds, which they still do to this day. The set [also available as two double albums] also boasts two tracks from the Unity days in the anti-Thatcher’ Iron Lady’ and anti-substance abuse ‘Hard Drugs’. Crucial document.
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Kris Needs
