Friday, July 28, 2023

a hardcase study

Listening to this old grime fave from 2005 and suddenly struck by the fact that way ahead of the Migos-Desiigner-Future wave of late 2010s, the track features ad libs - a running derisive commentary of jeers, taunts, scoffing sounds, gloating gurgles  - growls, gnashings, percussive mouth-noise - the occasional almost decipherable word


"Not Convinced" is  one of my favorite grime tunes ever partly for the Terror Danjah beat but mainly  for the lyric concept and Bruza's chorus and verses -  Bruza is addressing self-reflexively the question of what makes for believe-ability in performance - the confidence trick, the conjuror's art, of projecting authority as a performer, that sense that the MC is talking about stuff they know first-hand... 


(first verse - or some of it)

I’m not convinced

What, am I s’posed to be scared of him?

He’s going on big and bad

But I know that’s just a load of pish…,


You’re going on a bit

And you’re boring me like a Sunday

I’m not convinced

But maybe I will be someday….


(chorus)

I'm not convinced

Since you've been spitting

I haven't believed one word

Not one inch

Not even a millimetre

To me you sound like a silly speaker

Silly features in your style

You spit silly

And you spit like how kids be


I also like the one phrase blurted out by I think Napper - "yoooooooooou're lyrically poor"

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