Talk with Jamaican-born & Florida-based South Rakkas before the Big Show
Ahead of his appearance at ATK this Thursday night, CAMA talked to South Rakkas on his way to Cambodia before reaching us…
CAMA: What and where are the beginnings of South Rakkas?
SOUTH RAKKAS: I started South Rakkas Crew when I moved to Florida in 2002 to manage my partner’s music production company, but they were producing pop artists at the time I got really bored and wanted to produce music that I love.
CAMA: Can you tell us your history and some of the most diverse and crazy things you have been involved in? (From M.I.A to Shakira to Duran Duran!)
SR: The first record we put out was ‘Clappas’ Riddim (2003) on UK reggae label Greensleeves Records. It was a great start for us because that record ended up being one of the top Riddim records of all time. Our sound was so different, people started calling it electro-dancehall. This got us notice from artists like M.I.A. who asked us to remix her single Galang.
M.I.A introduced us to Diplo from Mad Decent Records (who started Major Lazer). We released a record called ‘Mix Up’ on his label and this opened us up to a whole other market, production and remixes started coming in for artists like the names you mentioned as well as Lily Allen, Chris Brown, and more.
We also did a remix project where we took 10 songs off of Tricky’s ‘West Knowles Boy’ album and that was re-released on Domino Records. I love doing unexpected remixes and collaborations; one of my favorite is the song Choo Choo Beep Beep featuring the punk band Deerhoof.
CAMA: What kind of thing can we expect in your DJ set?
SR: My DJ set is all about the audience, I’m there to rock the house. I watch the crowd and feel them out and just make sure everyone is having a good time, it’s all about good music that everyone can dance to with my flavor. I give a little bit of everything: electro, reggae / dancehall, old school hip hop, moombahton, trap…
CAMA: Where is your Asian tour taking you?
SR: Vietnam, Cambodia, Shanghai, Beijing, Perth, India, Hong Kong, Taiwan and I’m still booking!
CAMA: Have you been to Hanoi / Vietnam before? If not, any pre-conceptions?
SR: This is my second trip to Hanoi. I came last year and played at Hanoi Rock City, I had a great time. I’m not really sure what to expect from the crowd., I’ll just go with the flow!
CAMA: What do you take away from touring?
SR: There are not a lot of jobs out there that can take you around the world like this one. I love meeting new people and experiencing different cultures. I especially like coming to Asia because the food is so good!
CAMA: What are you looking forward to happening in 2014?
SR: I have a new project, coming soon, with a very talented artist out of Copenhagen called “Rakkas Kinck”. I will also release electro singles under the name D-Rakkas that will be separate from the South Rakkas Crew Dancehall based music.
CAMA: Thanks a lot!
SR: Thank you and I hope to see you and all the people that love to dance come out and party with me in Hanoi.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwRmPZkXNhQ[/youtube]