UK hip-hop legendary Roots Manuva is coming to Perth for New Year’s Eve, and he’s excited. “It’s mad there, man!” On his last trip here, Mr Rodney Smith (as he is otherwise known) played at the Fremantle Arts Centre. “In an old mental institution! It was a mad show!”
Since releasing his fourth LP, “Slime and Reason” in 2008, Roots Manuva has been doing “nothing out of the ordinary – eating, pissing, sleeping.” And recording? “Yeah, man, that’s my bread and butter.” Known for his tendency to make strange bedfellows of seemingly unlikely musical genres, one could be forgiven for thinking that Mr Smith has pushed his ability to blend musical ideas as far as he could go. He’s quick to prove me wrong. “Modern classical and opera,” he announces proudly when I ask what direction we can expect to see the next Roots Manuva recording take.
As one of the defining voices of British hip-hop, the supposed “Englishness” of his lyrics is a source of much commentary, even rating a considerable mention on his Wikipedia page. It’s not particularly interesting to Mr Smith, who insists, “When I make a recording, I’m just trying to get from A to B. I don’t write something and then think, ‘It doesn’t mention fish and chips enough’.” It would seem that the current British scene doesn’t hold as much interest for him, and when asked about great British artists that the people of Perth should be hearing, he cited Smiley Culture and London Posse, respectively British reggae and hip-hop artists from the ‘80s.
One thing is certain – Rodney Smith is by no means ready to stop “tipping the envelope”. His greatest career achievement, in his opinion, is that he takes risks. “I never stopped taking chances, man.”
He’s just looking to have a great time, and was quick to urge the good people of Perth to spend NYE with him at Origin. “I don’t often play New Year’s Eve shows, so I’m really looking forward to being up there, gassed up and amped up and surrounded by people.” And his final argument as to why we should spend New Year’s Eve with him at Origin? “I like to party. You like to party. It’ll be a great party!”
