We have two pairs of VIP tickets to the inaugural We, The People festival in Bristol up for grabs. The festival plays host to what promises to be the stand-out urban music line-up of any UK festival this summer, with performances by headline acts The Streets, Chase & Status, legends like Lee Scratch Perry and Roots Manuva, bright young things DELS, The Gaslamp Killer and an underground deity in the shape of DOOM.

To stand a chance of winning get in touch at the usual address mailbox@bonafidezine.com telling us who you are most excited about seeing at the festival. The competition closes on Thursday 2nd June and winners will be notified on the same day.

David Rodigan/Various
Fabriclive 54
Fabric

Reggae music is a multi-faceted beast, from the student friendly roots sounds of Bob Marley through to the head nodding sonic echoes of dub and the extreme digital noise terrorism of modern dancehall.

In the UK there is one man who has been at the forefront of all these sounds and more, undisputed heavyweight selector for over forty years, David Rodigan.Props therefore (again) to Fabriclive for letting the maestro take the helm for the latest instalment in their prestigious mix series.

Fabriclive has never been about fashion, instead turning to purveyors of quality- usually those with the ability to bring a little style and class to their trademark brand of leftfield bass driven fun.

And Rodigan doesn’t disappoint here, turning in a masterful mix of across-the-board riddims that touches upon everything from low hung dub, to lovers to dancehall. What makes this more than a congratulatory lap of honour for an extraordinary DJ however is the leftfield touches that liberally flow in the mix.

Thee are a handful of classic names here: King Tubby Tenor Saw, Sly and Robbie but the big names are admirably balanced by eclecticism marinating an consistent and persistent groove that points a finger at all corners of the reggae globe old and new. Another triumph from fabric, leading where others fear to follow.

Toby Hemming

Disorda, manager of Suspect Packages, relentless champion of the underground and possessor of a great record collection, takes the helm of Bonafide Beats with a little help from irrepressible host, Serocee. Popping a tin of Red Stripe, Disorda proceeds to break open a dusty crate of top ranking 80s and 90s dancehall vinyl and put together a set of riddim killers.

Rarities and classics jostle together and capture the contradictory nature of the sound. Opening track Lone Ranger’s Badder Dan Dem sets the tone for a mix that has the vitality, the chaos, the bombastic, the political and the dark tinges of the genre.

Highlights include Don Carlos Lazer Beam, who in 2010 comes out sounding like the prototype for Diplo and Switch’s  Major Lazer incarnation, Nardo Ranks’ Skin Out which a hypnotic ode to the fairer sex, Admiral Tibett’s soulful Leave People Business and Little Lenny’s Gun a Baggy, a track heavy both in tunage and the fact that it’s subject matter concerns the danger of STDs lurking in a girl’s panties (random factoid alert, this was apparently banned from Jamaican radio in 88).

So there we are, Bonafide Beats #08, a soundsystem guaranteed to shake the snow off the roof of your car.

(description finishes with obligitory gunshot noises)

DISORDER X BONAFIDE BEATS by Bonafide Magazine

Lone Ranger – Badder Dan Dem
Little John – Fade Away
Don Carlos – Lazer Beam
Poppa Tollo – Nuff Stylee
Ranking Dread – Super Star
Admiral Tibet – Trouble To A Man
Nardo Ranks – Skin Out
Michigan & Smiley – Nice Up The Dance
Shinehead – Rough And Rugged
Ninjaman – Test The High Power
Shabba Ranks – Get Up Stand Up
Tenor Saw – Bad Boys
Frankie Paul – Dub Organizer
Burro Banton – Boom Wah Dis
Admiral Tibet – Leave People Business
Red Dragon – Yu Body Good
Michael Prophet & Ricky Tuffy – Dis a de 90′s Hit
Buju Banton – Man A Look You
Wayne Wonder & Don Youth – Loving Excess
Dugsy Ranks – Wifee
Spragga Benz – Things A Gwaan
Daddy Screw & Donovan – Big Things
Tenor Fly – Roughneck Fashion
Super Cat – Mud Up
Shabba Ranks – Caan Dun
Dennis Brown, Frankie Paul & Josie Wales – Curfew
Don Yute – Yuh Own Di Man
Spragga Benz – Accident
Daddy Screw and Donnovan – Kerry
Frisco Kid – Wackie News
Daddy Screw & Maxi Priest – Heartbreaker
Spragga Benz – Car Crash
Terror Fabulous – No Ride
Little Lenny – Gun In A Baggy
Little Lenny – Healthy Body
Tanto Metro – Gal Pickney
Captain Barkey – Sound Of The Gun
Daddy Freddy & Tenor Fly – Rough Neck Nuh Ramp
Sweetie Irie & Joe 90 – New Talk
Barrington Levy & Sasafras – Step Up In Life

Head over to Suspect Packages and download the free Valentines mix by UK stalwart Disorda. Cheers to the man who is pretty much the backbone of the British hip-hop scene. Heads come and go but Disorda has been around since the early days.

In his own words the mix comprises of “sweet reggae love songs, ranging from the late 60′s through to the early 90′s. It runs for 1 hour, 8 minutes and 52 seconds (to be precise), perfect for burning to CD…”

Check it out at suspectpackages.blogspot.com Have a look round the rest of the site while your there, they also do a monthly radio show along with various other downloads and freebies. They will soon be stocking Bonafide magazine at suspectpackages.com too so Big ups!