Brand new laid back riddim from Washroom Entertainment, (responsible for the Matrimoney riddim earlier this year) with a big cut from T.O.K., clearly taking influence from Stylo G’s UK hit, ‘Call Mi A Yardie’. Tifa also offers a breaking-up track, while Konshens is on a Rasta tip.
T.O.K – Yardie
Tifa – Nuh Want You No More
Konshens – Jah Love Me
Tifa is one of Jamaica’s top young deejays, and singjays for that matter. When an artist gets full support from legendary production crew Ward 21, you know they’re gold. After her first tunes, ‘Crawny Gal’ and ‘Bottom of the Barrel’ blew up in Jamaica, she continued on climbing, joining forces with Timberlee and Natalie Storm to form JA girl group TNT, making singles with top producers like TJ, Stephen McGregor and Equiknoxx, not to mention supporting Ward 21 on tour.
Tifa has just joined the Mixpak family, voicing on a Dre Skull-produced Moombahton track set for release later this year, so we thought we’d get the 411 on her background, making it in Jamaica, working with Ward 21 and being a tomboy.
Mixpak: Tell us a bit about your background – did you grow up in a reggae household?
Well my growing up was in a mixture of down town (or what people would refer to as the ghetto), uptown (suburbia) and a lil’ North America. I did grow up in a reggae dancehall household. My grandmother had a local bar and restaurant and music was always apart of the happenings. I was always surrounded by music. When I went overseas to see my mom, she was an avid party goer, she would always be playing tapes and we would always be listening to music. Seeing her dress up and go out, also developed my fashion sense. My uncle also owned a popular record store in Toronto and I would always travel with him to Dynamic Sounds to purchase goods. Later on my mom met my stepfather, who was a producer. So let’s just say I couldn’t escape the music.
Can’t wait for the Natalie Storm/Federation Sound mixtape? Then check this latest madness from TNT (Jamaican all-girl supergroup made up of Tifa, Natalie Storm & Timberlee), with Max Glazer & Fancy on production and some big remixes from our own Dre Skull, Dutch mash-up producer Carl Arm! and a seriously heavy bassline from Bassanovva. This one out to all the rumours that TNT had split.
Out on the 30th.
Mr. Vegas’ ‘Boy Shorts’ has been filling the dancefloors since it made its appearance at the beginning of the summer, and now the whole riddim has been released by Jah Snowcone (erm, cool name right?). The riddim is one of those great builders, and actually ends up dropping into a seriously heavy piano riff. After ‘Hold Yuh’, it seems the piano is the sure-fire hit instrument of the moment. Check out Spragga Benz & Nas’ latest offering, which also houses a tuff piano line.
Aside from ‘Boy Shorts’ Ital Stew is worth listening to for Tifa’s version alone, ‘Sticky Sticky’. The opening reminds me of ‘Tick It Like a Clock’, and that can never be a bad thing.
Remember, ital is vital.
Remember that scorcher of a bashy ‘Rude Boy’ remix featuring Agent Sasco? Now Board House Records have made it into a full blown riddim, naturally titled the Rude Gyal Riddim. And who’ve they got to voice? Only JA’s finest rude gyals from the Ward 21 camp: Tifa, Timberlee, and D’Angel. Some serious feminist vibes gwaning here, from Tifa’s ‘Me love you, but me love me more’, to Timberlee’s goodas (and she’s still rocking that Clueless accent in the opening lines just like she did in the embarrassingly catchy ‘Heels’), while D’Angel goes straight in for the ‘fasten your seatbelt for this rude gyal’ line. The shoes on their feet, they bought ‘em.
D’Angel – Rude Gyal
Timberlee – Goodaz
Tifa – Greedy Greedy
