News : New release on Soul Jazz Records: An England Story - From Dancehall to Grime: 25 Years of the MC in the UK

[Roots Archives]

**An England Story** is released on the 3rd March 2008 and is available in all good retail and internet stores. You can buy it early right now from us at Soul Jazz Records

An England Story is a unique double-CD featuring over 25 years of MC culture in the UK showing the links and musical path from the arrival of UK Dancehall and Soundsystems in the early 1980s, through successive musical movements such as UK Hip-Hop, Jungle up to today’s Garage, Grime and Dubstep.
As well as featuring many of the most important artists and producers, An England Story also comes with extensive text, interviews and exclusive photographs.

The development of Black music in the United Kingdom owes much to the influence of Jamaican and US music on each successive generation of Carribean immigrants to the UK - from Windrush to the present day. UK based MC’s take these influences, mix them up with local references and styles thus creating an identity of Black British culture. This is constantly evolving not just musically but also in terms of each subsequent generation’s relationship to British society. As Tricky put it in Massive Attack's Blue Lines, of "English upbringing, background Caribbean”

Since the evolution of the 'fast chat' dancehall style of the early 80s, the influence of reggae music and culture has been crucial to the development of urban music in Britain: from the heavy sampling of Jamaican vocals/instrumentals employed by jungle, hardcore and garage, to grime's London take on the soundclash, the riddim version and patois-inflected rhymes. The importance of the Jamaican soundsystem concept and its dubplates, specials, clashes and heavy, heavy bass is a constant throughout these different stylistic mutations

As we gear up for our next Dubstep compilation album, Steppas’ Delight dropping in the near future, we’re also releasing 3 killer singles from 3 Dubstep heavyweights: Cotti, Ramadanman and Cult of the 13th Hour. We have available very limited exclusive white labels of all 3 available now only on our website and in the Sounds of The Universe shop!.

*source : [Roots Archives](http://www.roots-archives.com)*

[bonga]

As far as I know 'Papa Levi — My God My King' ( track 5 ) wasn't made in the UK but in Ja ( released on the Taxi label ,produced by Sly & Robbie)

[hans]

Island Records 601 258 on 12"
Rhythm written by Paul Robbinson (UK)
Produced by C.A.U.T.I.O.N. (UK)

Also check Maxi Priest's first album "You're Safe".