LargeUp Premiere: Jah Banks – “Jah Makin Music” Mixtape

Words by Natalie Weiner—

Just looking at the cover of Jah Banks‘ new mixtape, you get a pretty good idea of what he’s about —vintage reggae and dancehall (see the tropical forest) combined with classic Brooklyn hip-hop (witness the Williamsburg bridge). Banks, a Jamaican raised in Brooklyn and frequent co-host on our radio show The LargeUp Sessions, has released some dope videos and tracks over the last year, getting us hyped for his new mixtape.

Jah Makin Music features Banks’ ragamuffin flow over a mix of hip-hop, reggae and dance beats. Pulling together a diverse set of influences both past and present, Banks jacks an unusual rendition of Sizzla’s “Solid as a Rock,” the beat from “Cock Di Hammer” by Cypress Hill, house/EDM producer Julio Bashmore’s “Battle for Middle You,” Bounty Killer samples and Rob Ford’s legendary, drunken Bumboclaat speech. Gluing it all together is Banks’ distinctive flow, which reminds us of a hybrid of Shinehead and Fu-Schnickens. Think early ’90s Brooklyn vibes (if you can remember back that far…) updated to 2014.

Read/hear more on Jah Banks here, and check him out each week on the LargeUp Sessions. If this mixtape is any indication, Jah Banks is definitely one artist you’ll want to look out for in 2014.

1) Solid as a Rock (Intro Edit)- (Sizzla, prod. Alex Agard)

2) Battle For the Middle of You (Jah Banks BKBashment Remix)- (Julio Bashmore, prod. Alex Agard)

3) Rob Ford Intro (prod. Alex Agard)

4) Rob Ford (prod. Alex Agard)

5.)Interlude (feat Morgane E, prod. Alex Agard)

6) Booyaka (prod. NIKDAGREEK/ MODABOT)

7.) Hotline Interlude (prod. NIKDAGREEK/ MODABOT)

8.) Cock Di Hammer Remix (Cypress Hill, prod. Alex Agard)

9.) Outro (feat Morgane E, prod. Alex Agard)