South Africa’s rap / techno upstart, Spoek Mathambo (one half of fashion electro hip-hop duo Sweat.X), who has Modeselektor and Apparat somewhere in his CV and counts Malmo in Sweden as his second home, has got his third new single out. Don’t Mean To Be Rude is from his debut album, Mshini Wam (loosely translated as “My Machine Gun“). Staying true to his “afro-futurist” perspective, the track blooms in flavorsome african riddim and folk percussions and yet at the same time contrasts sharply with his potty mouth lyrics - it works, and then it kinda doesnt, but you know when something is off and on and off again you just kinda try to align yourself with the flow?
[Video: Spoek Mathambo - Don't Mean To Be Rude]
That’s my dilemma with this track / album. I’m lost underneath all the layers of cross-cultural signifyers and genre-bending blends that it becomes kind of like an effort. But maybe THAT is the point Spoek’s trying to make – just like the vaguely political reference to “a struggle” from the album title, one has to struggle to appreciate this, and probably not after the third or fourth listen. One last question: what’s a soul single like Zaki Ibrahim doing on this tune? She’s what you’d consider “a nice girl” and wouldn’t expect on an explicit track like this.
Toadally Krossed Out (Mad Decent)’s version got me skankin. Listen to this:
And while you’re still here check out TKO doing his thang:
[Video: Tiesto vs Diplo - Come On (Toadally Krossed Out remix)]
Buy on iTunes here.
