The BBC Radio 1 & 1Xtra DJ, bass don and Sheffield legend has teamed up with the man of the moment in Reggae, to create a mixtape full of unexpected bangers.
The tape has had some awesome support and reviews, clocking up over 17,000 plays! The cherry on the cake is that it’s downloadable for free! England meets Jamaica, Reggae meets Grime, Dubstep and Drum & Bass, and Toddla T meets Protoje for the awesome collaborative mixtape ‘England Be Wise’ premiered online via iD.
Playing on the title of Protoje’s huge track, ‘Kingston Be Wise’, which happened to be the track that first grabbed Toddla T’s attention as a fan, the pair have mixed it up to create a one-off, eclectic, zestful tape full of gems that you’ll only hear once in a lifetime. Bringing that genuine Jamaican Reggae sunshine to some of the deepest, synth filled, 140 Grime beats.
Fun, fresh, vibrant and so ridiculously cool! This beat oozes individuality from the onset. We are whipped into the genius minds of this duo from the very first lick of that ‘Ibiza Kevin and Perry 90’s style’ synth that giving us that nostalgic boost. Wrapped around a tripping reggae beat, it’s deliciously addictive.
Some of us who like what we know and know what we like might find the mix quite a tricky one to get into to begin with as the producers change direction a few times, but their working around massive tunes from Skepta, Krept & Konan keep our ears perked and our tongues wagging for more.
The mix is a warm, laidback example of how two producers from different genres can work together. Protoje with his light-hearted vocals including his ‘England’ hook in the chorus which is welcomed more each time it returns, and Toddla T keeping the bass and hip-hop vibes just enough beneath the mix throughout work so well together it’s ecstasy to our ears.
England Be Wise could kick off quite a trend with its fresh vibrant artwork, straight to the point record name and blunt, quirky lyrics. You almost feel as though you are in the studio with the flirtatiously unusual duo as the mixtape unfolds, you can just imagine the energetic and creative vibes they experienced whilst working together.
The duo fire back and forth their adaptions and altercations of their music, switching between smooth soulful reggae to laidback house vibes throughout. The majority of the mix is a somewhat blissful trap in between styles, the eccentricity and individuality making it that bit more addictive and just plain cool.
A keen fan of Protégé himself, Toddla T’s work expresses the enthusiasm he has for Protoje throughout the mixtape, weighing heavily on Protégé’s jungle-reggae vibes with just enough of Toddla T’s drum and bass loops and smooth synths, this catchy vibe will be sure to take us right through to the summer of 2015.
Take a listen below now.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/190266802″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
