JIM SCREECH

Jimmy Screech
Bashment/ Dancehall - the basics: 'Dancehall music is a genre of urban folk music which came out of Jamaica in the mid to late 1970s and is generally considered to be the direct predecessor of rap. Dancehall music is, in its most basic form, a DJ rapping over a rhythm. Dancehall is also known in Jamaican patois as 'bashment' -- a term which can refer to either the music itself or a large party where dancehall music is played.' - World Music Guide
Fast forward to 2011, to bashment's British rebirth on the streets of south London – courtesy of Jimmy Screech, MC, rapper and producer. With a bit of help from his friend Rodney Smith, aka Roots Manuva, Jimmy is going to bring a happy mix of reggae, rap and hip-hop to the mainstream, delivering a very London take on a sound entrenched in a rich, mixed, musical heritage.
Try to categorise Jimmy Screech, though, and you won't get very far. Yes, it's easy to hear that he wears some of his influences on his sleeve (Tipper Irie, Public Enemy, the Wailers, Jay-Z, Bob Dylan), and he is thankful artists such as Sean Paul have made contemporary dancehall go global. But Jimmy is fresh, unique and driven to succeed. "When I was a kid," he says, "the only music I heard playing on my estate was reggae and hip-hop. It used to bounce off the concrete and resonate all around -- I guess that's why my sound has such deep roots in both genres."
Jimmy – who was first discovered by Roots Manuva in 2005 -- and has since toured with him, as well as with artists as diverse as Ghostface Killah, the Dub Pistols and US hip-hop group Ugly Duckling in the past 12 months -- explains that the scene he grew up in will always be essential to his music going forward. He explains: "In the 80s and 90s, when Manchester had the Stone Roses and all of those kind of people, we had Tipper Irie, we had Top Cat, we had Smiley Culture -- the dub-reggae dancehall scene was vibrant. There were so many artists coming up and artists that we listened to every single day. We listened on the radio, we'd go to all-dayers, see artists like Maxi Priest. They go around the world but they still come back. That's why I think south London has history, has heritage. I still work with Tipper Irie -- he sourced a track for me. Not only have we got the history but the older guys aren't forgetting about the younger guys. They're trying to bring us in."
With a new album 'The Remedy' out later this year, Jimmy – who styled himself, in last year's single 'Woods 4 the Trees', as 'the veteran soldier from the south east with a swagger and a bop from mi heel to mi top' -- has prepared his final and complete campaign to bring Bristish bashment to the mainstream. His sights are firmly on the Mercury Music Prize, an accolade his co-producer Rodney Smith was nominated for in 2002.
"It's easier now than it's ever been," enthuses Jimmy. "Downloading, the internet and the fact that there are so many black artists doing really well. They're in the charts, constantly, which has never been the case before -- this is a great time for what we do." He adds: "It takes time for people to adjust to a new sound, we've put four singles out over the past year -- and at the start people were saying, 'Why is he doing these songs with a different sound?'. But now we're getting plays on Kiss FM and Radio 1.
"Up to this point, we've not had a lot of UK bashment on the radio. A lot of those older artists see me as someone who can take things forward, really make a name for it again. I'm honoured they feel that way about me. I just make music."
Jimmy started making music as a young teen, as a hobby that kept him out of trouble in Peckham and simply, unexpectedly, took over his life. He says his sentiments haven't changed one bit. "When I write a new song, I still get the buzz I got as a kid -- I still jump around in the studio, still have that brightness in my eyes. The creativity of the music is the buzz. On top of that, you do a live show and you see how people respond, the smiles on their faces, the dancing -- that keeps you going more than anything else.
"The beauty of bashment, and this style of music," Jimmy continues, "is there's a way of writing for every mood. If you're feeling like the world's against you, you can write a Roots song which talks about culture, talks about social issues. If you just want to have a good time and party, you write a bashment track and you write about girls dancing, about you being in the club with the girl dancing, about the guy trying to chat up the girl that you're dancing with! Things like that, that's why I love it. I don't have to be miserable to write. I can be happy and write happy music, and no-one judges me for it. Sometimes it can just be a wicked tune."
Jimmy admits his eclectic style and different vocal skills have maybe confused some in the past, and says the upcoming album will solve the riddle – "Because the singles are so diverse, people didn't know where to put me, which category. Whereas with the album they will get a more panoramic view to what I'm doing. With the singles people think, 'Maybe he's just a grime artist trying something new' or an R&B artist trying something else. 'The Remedy' is the whole package – what Jimmy Screech is all about."
Co-producing the album and co-writing some tracks with Rodney Smith has taught Jimmy a lot, not only about making music. "Working with him has shown me that you don't have to sacrifice your integrity to survive. He's not the only one, there's artists around the world who are in the same position – where it looked like they were about to start selling millions of records, but they ended up selling hundreds of thousands or tens of thousands. But they're able to pay rent, able to live a lifestyle that they choose and that's a good way to live."
Jimmy concludes: "I'm still working in a council flat with my little bits of equipment, but in the studio we enhance it, make this bigger thing. Your fans love you for the raw elements, some big producers are too tame for what we want to achieve. And I want to achieve a lot. I'm never going to lose sight of where I came from. And where I want to go."
It's now time for bashment's revival, with Jimmy Screech as its new spokesperson. Get ready to engage your ears. And, of course, your feet.
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