Roots Manuva released Witness (1 Hope) in 2001, off the album Run Come Save Me. That puts it slightly before Grime, but it’s interesting because it’s a distinctively British Hip Hop song, instead of trying to emulate the U.S. like so many other songs.
One of the reasons it’s able to do that is by harnessing the Jamaican roots of British urban music in the same way that Grime did just a couple of years later.
So in keeping with that tradition, the year after saw the release of a Dub album of that Hip Hop one called Dub Come Save Me. The monstrous bassline of the original suddenly gains prominence, accompanied by an array of astral bleeping, and a truly dubbed out drum section.
The delays and reverbs used in dub music work perfectly here, creating a pretty unique song, with the underwater feeling of heavy dub meshed with the energy of the dancehall.
The song is credited to Lord Gosh, but that’s actually an alias of Roots Manuva. So he can claim full credit for this magnificent track!
Witness the fitness…