deadryn.

this shit has really been burning me out on jungle lately. i will love it forever but seeing it coopted into this bullshit has been so depressing. seeing this shit get turned into buzzwords by people like me like... jungle is one of the most revolutionary art forms in music history.
if youve never engaged with the first wave of jungle i encourage you too, this documentary is a good place to start:

you should also know there is huge revival scene bringing back the og sounds. people and labels like Tim Reaper/futureRETRO, Green Bay Wax, Scientific Wax, Deep Jungle, Infrared (to name a few among many many others) have been holding it down for years now. i may be like autistic but searching this shit out is not hard. jungle old and new deserves your respect. and it makes me mad that i have to tell you all this. it is much more than "peshay studio set 1996" and far far more than any number of youtube ps1 jungle compilations. that music is good and great but treating it as the be-all-end-all turns this art form into a meme. and it deserves far more than that.

if you don't know what Jordana did for jungle, or the price she paid for being Black and trans in the 90s, i got some history for you! (there's even an easter egg about this track in there~)

she's rejoined the seattle scene in the past few years and that alone brings me so much joy i cannot express it.

also i did NOT realize that the guy who came up with hit em is one half of Matmos, but man, that fuckin makes a LOT more sense that a girl was giving him time signatures and BPM requirements in a dream

I just saw a comment thread on the "Not Like Us" video and someone from Toronto was like, "As a native of Toronto, I've never felt so beat down in all my life." Well first off...dramatic. But second, maybe this is a good time to acknowledge the history of the many...MANY rappers and Hip Hop artists in not only your city, the province of Ontario, and the whole of your country who are dope, don't change gimmicks like clothes, don't run down to various American cities for clout, and don't get concerts canceled because they lost a rap beef.

Like, Toronto itself has been active in rap for a LONG time.

Then there's Vancouver.

And beyond there you've got plenty to be proud of, like Shad, who's gone from being a formative rapper in Canada to being a worldwide ambassador for Hip Hop writ large.

Of course, you're saying, "DJ Regular, you're an old head, all this shit is for people who remember what dial-up was like," and first off, fucking rude. But fine. This was mostly supposed to be a 'Canada has Hip Hop roots deeper than Drake' post, but off the top of my head? Have Haviah Mighty and Skiifall for some new-ish stuff that fits the thesis statement.

Just...for the love of Pete, don't get caught out here feeling emasculated as a Canadian because a dude that willingly refers to himself as "Champagne Papi" took a massive L. He, and you, will be fine. Maybe take some pride in other bits of your very rich Hip Hop culture.