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| MC Shabba | 6.8.2002 | We're at a flat in North London, I'm here with MC Shabba and we're watching a Ragga soundclash video fresh from Jamaica. "Who's on here?" Shabba asks his mate. "Bounty Killer, Beenie Man and all them". A line-up even I'm familiar with, so it's gotta be heavy for Ragga. "Oh my gosh! This is the clash, trust me!" Shabba enthuses. I ain't seen nothing like this before, 15000 people shocking out to a few MC's near enough fighting on stage. Bounty Killer busts what I'm assuming is a trademark lyric, the crowd go even crazier and Shabba starts singing along. It's easy to see where he gets a lot of his inspiration from.
MC Shabba is a name which has become legendary amongst the livelier, more dancefloor orientated D&B scene. From humble beginnings on the now defunct 'Rush FM' with DJ's such as Funky Flirt, Rusher and Red Ant alongside MC Shockin', 14 year old Shabba worked his way through the ranks, becoming increasingly popular with listeners throughout the years and moved on to play a part in the scene's progression through top station, Kool FM, and raves such as Jungle Splash and Jungle Fever.
Shabba is one of the scene's true veterans, best part of ten years in the business, and only now is he getting the recognition he fully deserves. I've been keen to interview him for a while as he is, in many peoples opinion, one of the greatest lyricists and entertainers the scene has to offer. I was speaking about him with a friend recently who commented "He puts on a proper show. When you go out to see Shabba, it ain't just about the lyrics, it's the way he delivers and the way he hypes up the crowd". I was inclined to agree.
Don't get me wrong, as far as the 'double time' MC's go, Skibadee's bad, IC3 has skills, Det has the voice, Fun's got a wicked original flow and of course there's the killer lyricist himself, Mr Fearless, but there's no one who quite has Shabba's raw energy. It's this rawness that got Shabba noticed by a larger record producer who had previously been involved with legendary punk band, 'The Sex Pistols', who Shabba's dad was coincidently road manager for!
"I got hooked up through my Dad with this guy in 1995 who flew me over to LA to feature on an album with 3-2-1 Zilch, a punk rock band. People really liked the track, and have been asking about me quite a lot". However an unfortunate incident occurred in which the bands lead singer committed suicide half-way through the recording of their next album. At this point, Shabba got a call from the bands management , who flew him over to LA to record 5 tracks for their next album. "The band have got other artists featuring on there. Senn Dog from Cypress Hill, Lil Kim and Keith from The Prodigy to name a few. It's something different for me. I can't be MC-ing until I'm 50. I see this as a way of breaking into the music scene as a whole. We just been to Japan for a promotional tour over there. We were number one in the national charts over there. It's punk music but I do definitely bring in a jungle flavour to the whole thing, I've had to adapt my style and it's turned out well". It's projects like this that will get Shabba recognised as more than just a Jungle MC.
As well as pursuing other directions Shabba still loves what he calls "The Jungle" and he hopes to use his position to help push the scene as a whole as well as his own D&B MC-ing career. "The Jungle is were I come from. I love it and will keep MC-ing in it for a very long time! I'm hopefully going to get a lump sum of money from all this band stuff, which I want to put back into Jungle. I'm hopefully going to record a couple of tracks with Brockie and Shy FX, as well as a couple of projects with some other guys. I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket this year. I want to spread myself around and see what happens. I want to get myself sorted properly, more interviews, get myself known more across the board. I'm also probably going to be featuring on Skibadee's 'Platinum Performers' project, which look like its going to be big. I gotta think of my career as an MC. Do I just want to be in the Jungle or do I want to do other things as well. The Jungle's locked down quite tightly and it's hard to get any further or bigger than I am now.
As far as MC-ing in the UK, I've got on a lot of raves I didn't think I'd get on, I'm doing all the big raves and 'nuff other 'tings as well, but there's still a lot of people trying to lock down the scene for themselves. We need more unity in the scene, not people dissing each other all the time. Before a lot of DJ's were funny about having certain MC's on their set, but it's getting better. One of the reasons I'm doing this band thing is for recognition. The whole band thing is going to shock a few people who doubted my ability. Internationally, things are blowing up D&B wise. I've smashed Canada, been there 12 times in the past 2 years, going back there in May - it's crazy over there! People were asking me to sign their bodies! I went to the USA for the first time last year in Minnesota, where they want me back again in May. I just come back from Arizona, an outdoor rave in the desert which was crazy! Wherever I go I know I'll be back. The Drum 'n' Bass Arena poll proves that I've got a huge fan base, not just in the UK, but abroad. I came a close third to GQ and Skibadee. It ain't just about one MC, it's about all the MC's bringing something different, it can't all be about one man, and that applies to the scene as a whole. You need Skibadee, you need Shabba, You need Det. I just want to know I can go to a rave and mash up the dance!" Shabba continues, talking about how the scene is going musically and which producers he rates. "It's alright man. The music's going good, I like the way it's going, it's good for man like me, it's flowing. Swift, Brockie & Shy FX. Krust and them to a certain extent, definitely Andy C. All them mans running!"
Shabba is one of the top lyricists in the D&B scene. Some may criticise his style, but as they say, "The Proof is in the pudding". You put Shabba in any D&B rave anywhere in the world and I doubt you will find anywhere he couldn't energise the crowd, no matter how tired they are! If you haven't ever seen the man's 'crowd control' skills in full flow, then you should definitely check him out asap. They also say "Imitation is flattery". There are hundreds of 'Shabba copycats' all over, but there ain't nothing like the real thing. He's a proper junglist and no matter what he's doing musically, rest assured his heart will be in 'The Jungle.'
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Credits:
Author:Dave Milligan
First published:June 2001
Appeared in ATM issue# 51
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