Five years after a night in Pierrefitte that went down in the annals, this date at La Loco marked the great return to Paris of the Brooklyn selector Bobby Konders. With his Massive B stable, which grows with the years, he is quite simply one of the most active personalities on the New York reggae scene. A look back at the sound system event of the 2005 autumn season.
When we arrive at La Loco, the downstairs room where the dance is held is not yet full. Kill Dem's selector is running a juggling spiced with a few dubplates. He then makes way for Guiding Star, who offer us a set made up almost exclusively of dubplates.
As planned, there is a live set by Papy Ninja, who comes to present his album "Survivre à Paris" with a performance that some had already seen at the final of the French Championships. The transition is made on the Rah Rah riddim, then Bobby Konders and his sidekick, MC Jabba, take control.
The first tune played is a special version of Sizzla's Rise to the occasion. Bobby then moves on to his recent productions, in special version for most of the tunes (the Heavenless riddim with Sizzla, Burro Banton, Choppa Chop, Bounty Killer) and regular dubplates of the big tunes of the moment: on the Stop that train riddim, for example, with Shaggy and Morgan Heritage. Continuing on roots dancehall, the Massive B sound offers us, exclusively, its new riddim, a re-cut of the Truth & Right with a terrific combination between Johnny Osbourne, who re-sings his hit, and Burro Banton. The tune is greeted enthusiastically by the crowd and Jabba pulls it up four times before moving on to the next in the series: nothing less than Chuck Fender and Richie Spice! These two artists are also played in dubplates and in combination on the Blaze and the I-swear riddim.
The sound then launches into a dancehall session on 45s with the most danceable tunes of Elephant Man in particular and Massive B productions: the Wanted riddim and the Rah Rah. We even get dance lessons, and Bobby, going down towards the crowd, shows us a few steps. He then puts a big dubplate on the decks: 50 Cent in combination with Bounty Killer, and moves on, after a well-deserved pull-up, to hip-hop tunes remixed with Bounty Killer. Then the sound introduces a Sizzla remix, hardcore in substance and in form.
Changing style, the sound sets off again with home-made tunes, as if to remind us of the label's productions over the last ten years: mixes of dubplates and 45s that are particularly effective on the Sick or the Answer.
The end of the set is very pleasing for fans of old-school dancehall, with a selection of the best dubplates dating from the days when Massive B was Massive Sound. In no particular order, we get dubplates by Garnett Silk, Nicodemus and Bounty Killers galore. The sound impresses with two "three the hard way" by Johnny Osbourne, Terry Ganzie and Major Mackerel, then a huge Sanchez, Mad Cobra and Ninjaman.
After almost 3 hours of show, Bobby and Jabba make way for Guiding Star, who close the night without flinching with a 100% dubplate set.
We therefore got all the ingredients of a Massive B night: big "made in New York" rub-a-dub, label classics and a good dose of "entertainment" with dancehall and a little hip-hop. Big up to the organisers and to everyone present at this first-class dance.
As planned, there is a live set by Papy Ninja, who comes to present his album "Survivre à Paris" with a performance that some had already seen at the final of the French Championships. The transition is made on the Rah Rah riddim, then Bobby Konders and his sidekick, MC Jabba, take control.
The first tune played is a special version of Sizzla's Rise to the occasion. Bobby then moves on to his recent productions, in special version for most of the tunes (the Heavenless riddim with Sizzla, Burro Banton, Choppa Chop, Bounty Killer) and regular dubplates of the big tunes of the moment: on the Stop that train riddim, for example, with Shaggy and Morgan Heritage. Continuing on roots dancehall, the Massive B sound offers us, exclusively, its new riddim, a re-cut of the Truth & Right with a terrific combination between Johnny Osbourne, who re-sings his hit, and Burro Banton. The tune is greeted enthusiastically by the crowd and Jabba pulls it up four times before moving on to the next in the series: nothing less than Chuck Fender and Richie Spice! These two artists are also played in dubplates and in combination on the Blaze and the I-swear riddim.The sound then launches into a dancehall session on 45s with the most danceable tunes of Elephant Man in particular and Massive B productions: the Wanted riddim and the Rah Rah. We even get dance lessons, and Bobby, going down towards the crowd, shows us a few steps. He then puts a big dubplate on the decks: 50 Cent in combination with Bounty Killer, and moves on, after a well-deserved pull-up, to hip-hop tunes remixed with Bounty Killer. Then the sound introduces a Sizzla remix, hardcore in substance and in form.
Changing style, the sound sets off again with home-made tunes, as if to remind us of the label's productions over the last ten years: mixes of dubplates and 45s that are particularly effective on the Sick or the Answer.
The end of the set is very pleasing for fans of old-school dancehall, with a selection of the best dubplates dating from the days when Massive B was Massive Sound. In no particular order, we get dubplates by Garnett Silk, Nicodemus and Bounty Killers galore. The sound impresses with two "three the hard way" by Johnny Osbourne, Terry Ganzie and Major Mackerel, then a huge Sanchez, Mad Cobra and Ninjaman.
After almost 3 hours of show, Bobby and Jabba make way for Guiding Star, who close the night without flinching with a 100% dubplate set.
We therefore got all the ingredients of a Massive B night: big "made in New York" rub-a-dub, label classics and a good dose of "entertainment" with dancehall and a little hip-hop. Big up to the organisers and to everyone present at this first-class dance.
Report written by Benoit Georges
Comments (2)
massive · · rating: 5 out of 5
Omar · · rating: 5 out of 5