Era, by Ratigan Era

Era

by Ratigan Era

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Omaan As a big dancehall lover, I'm happy to have come across Ratigan Era. With such a powerful voice and flow he makes it a great listen. Favorite track: Drop It Down.

Lute FP Judging Ugandan pop/hip-hop is above my pay grade, so all I can say is that I was skeptical listening to the first few songs, but by the end of the album I wanted to listen again, and halfway through the third and final listen I bought.

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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Includes unlimited streaming of Era via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Download available in 24-bit/44.1kHz.

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1.	Gorilla Attack 03:16	buy track
2.	Top Strike Force 02:35	buy track
3.	Badman Style 02:36	buy track
4.	Four Corners 02:06	buy track
5.	Gan Dem 02:34	buy track
6.	Drop It Down 03:21	buy track
7.	Pussy 03:14	buy track
8.	Cool & Deadly 03:11	buy track
9.	I Feel Alright 01:43	buy track
10.	Bark 02:45	buy track
11.	On My List 02:41	buy track
12.	Stop 02:19	buy track

about

VIDEO FOR Gan Dem: youtu.be/RUi0x_X-4Z4

Dancehall might have emerged in Jamaica, but over the last few decades the popular genre's tendrils have stretched out across the globe. In Kampala, Ratigan Era is adding a distinct Ugandan twist to dancehall, fusing it with East African humor and hyper-melodic afrobeats elements imported from Ghana and Nigeria. The versatile MC grew up listening to Jamaican music like Vybz Kartel, Busy Signal and Mavado - in his hometown of Kawempe there was almost no way to avoid it - and it blurred into the background, blending with local church music, US hip-hop and radio pop. He developed this diverse range of influences into a completely unique Afro-dancehall flow that simmers between Luganda, patois, Spanish and English, reflecting the melting pot of cultures and dialects that characterizes contemporary Africa.

Ratigan broke out with a memorable feature on Pallaso's Ugandan hit 'Nsaba', a track that echoed throughout the country booming from nightclubs, motorcycle loudspeakers or from convenience stores. Now he's assembled his first album "Era", a furiously inventive interweaving of rubbery vocals and memorable chants backed by futuristic beats from Hakuna Kulala's most boundary-pushing producers. Congolese producer Chrisman takes the reins on 'Gorilla Attack', providing a downtempo groove that echoes recent Jamaican chop deployments from breakthrough artists like Skillibeng and Skeng. For his part, Ratigan ducks and dives between Chrisman's gqom-inspired low end womps and corrosive synths, commanding attention with his smart, dextrous flow and tongue-twisting lyrics.

The Modern Institute and Golden Teacher's Richard McMaster handles 'Top Strike Force' leaving space in his wiry, minimal beats for Ratigan to flit between anthemic repetitions and ice-cold AutoTuned wails. On stand-out track 'Badman Style', Ratigan's guttural patois is measured against a dizzy trap-dancehall hybrid beat from HHY & The Kampala Unit's Jonathan Uliel Saldanha, aka Lithium Beats, while on the surreal 'Drop it Down', Japanese mad scientist Scotch Rolex brings out Ratigan's cheeky sense of humor with toytown bleeps and laser zaps. MC Yallah collaborator Debmaster appears on 'Gan Dem', meeting Ratigan's double-time raps with soundsystem destroying rolling subs, and veteran US noisemaker Kush Arora sprinkles magic dust on 'Cool and Deadly', galvanizing the link between global bass mutations, Jamaica and East Africa.

And despite the grab-bag of producers and inspirations, "Ratigan" is a strikingly coherent listening experience that accurately snapshots Kampala's colorful froth of sounds and phrases. Ratigan's outsized personality is welcoming and captivating, providing the sights, sounds and smells of the city with a frenetic rhythm that's as intimate and local as it is far-reaching. It might just be the future we so desperately need.

credits

released February 2, 2024

Mastered by Matthias Heinstein
Vinyl Master by Declared Sound
Photography & Graphic Layout by Kid Gringo
Track 1 & 7 produced by Chrisman
Tracks 2, 10 & 12 produced by Modern Institute
Tracks 3 produced by Lithium Beats
Track 4 & 5 produced by Debmaster
Track 6, 8 & 11 produced by Scotch Rolex
Track 8 produced by Kush Arora

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HAKUNA KULALA Kampala, Uganda

Distribution & wholesale: [email protected]

Orders ship twice weekly with tracking. Records are packed in whiplash mailers with extra cardboard protection.

US orders ship from NYC.
All other international orders ship from Belgium. ... more

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Era

by Ratigan Era

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Streaming + Download

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