Lewis Parker’s late 90s UK Hip Hop landmark album “Masquerades and Silhouettes” always held a special place for me back in the day. Musically it had an epic scope and was awash with cinematic soundscapes and Jedi knight references, so I’d always wondered about the mysterious identity of it’s producer The Sea, who was behind the beats on this unlikely Hip Hop odyssey. Imagine my surprise then that almost ten years after that in my guise as a Latin music promoter and DJ I would encounter the very same one like the ‘Sea’ spearheading his own project – a collective of musicians pioneering the hybrid Latin, Hip Hop, Reggae and Dance beats of ‘Latin Dub Soundsystem’ and blazing a trail on festival stages across the UK. In the intervening years he’d spent time producing a string of reggae legends in Jamaica, as a tour DJ for the Wailers, and has been at the forefront (or should I say background) of the UK Hip Hop scene orchestrating tracks and albums for the likes of heavyweights Rodney P, Skitz, Yungun, as well as producing a (much overlooked) mini album for Benjamin Zephaniah. Indeed it was working with Zephaniah that went on to seed Latin Dub Soundsystem with the track ‘Uptown’ (included on the mixtape here) incorporating some rolling Latin keys alongside it’s skanking beat and Zephaniah’s killer vocal hook.
So Latin Dub Soundsystem are putting the finishing touches to their debut album which will feature some the UK’s finest Hip Hop talent alongside London based Latin MCs, Argentinian firebrand ragga Hip Hop MC Malena from Actitud Maria Marta (also featured on the mix) and the startlingly brilliant vocals of UK singer Eva Abraham. However in the meantime The Sea and I have concocted a mixtape of Latin, Tropical and global underground freshness from Salsa beats to Latin Hip Hop, Dancehall flavours, Brazilian mash ups, and a large helping of dubwise Cumbia bass alongside a glut of Latin Dub exclusives, unreleased remixes and mash ups! Nearly 40 tracks in just over and hour! Enjoy!
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