Smith made his recorded debut in 1994 as part of IQ Procedure through Suburban Base’s short-lived hip hop imprint Bluntly Speaking Vinyl. He debuted as Roots Manuva the same year on Blak Twang's "Queen’s Head” single, before releasing his own single, “Next Type of Motion” the following year. 1996 saw the release of his collaborations with Skitz (“Where My Mind Is At”/”Blessed Be the Manner”). The release of “Feva” followed in 1997; this was also the year that saw the first releases from Big Dada, a collaboration between Coldcut’s Ninja Tune label and hip hop journalist Will Ashon.
Releasing for Coldcut's renowned experimental/hip-hop label Ninja Tune in 1998, some of his music may be seen as a predecessor of grime. The following year he released his fearsome debut album, “Brand New Second Hand”. Manuva was rewarded for his breakthrough with a MOBO as Best Hip Hop Act that year. He has also relesed 2001's “Run Come Save Me”, followed the next year by “Dub Come Save Me” in, which features dub remixes of five songs from the previous album alongside new work. This was followed up with the release of “Awfully Deep” in 2005 and “Alternately Deep” in 2006.
The lyrics of his songs are usually known to take a distinctly British edge, with many critics highlighting his references of eating cheese on toast and drinking bitter as examples of this. His warm and easily recognizable voice can be heard on many songs he performed with other artists such as Chali 2na (of Jurassic 5 & Ozomatli), DJ Shadow, U.N.K.L.E., Nightmares on Wax, The Cinematic Orchestra, Beth Orton and Leftfield. He also made an appearance on the Gorillaz album, Demon Days, lending his distinctive vocals to the track, "All Alone".
Bashment Boogie
Roots Manuva Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Natural shiznit and nobody to show it,
Step up to the bar in the clean clothes
Know my incredible edible, My new talk tongue
Most crew in the world seems highly strung,
Sit down in at de corner and me beat me drum,
Soon get the vision of the big long sum (sum),
Its Saturday morning, you're playing the lottery,
Fuck that, lets get this plan together,
You were born to go live in a place
With nice weather.
Chorus -
Fire fluid in my belly, I'm flaming hot,
If this is your hustle, this is all of your crops.
We take that shit roll from just 2 G a pop,
I like a shamen who dont shout that much,
Ain't it funny, reflecting on the drama it took to get hook up,
Big tings gwaan for us now,
Each time we come we get dangerous now,
I paid my dues in community studios,
Late night sessions I refine my flow,
I got you blinging from the good fire, the fee marshall,
Mackin to the modes in my council flat castle,
And we don't partial, whos the rascal,
I wont ask you for..
Chorus -
More style, more vibe, niceness we bring
You hear me MC now me going try sing,
Shimmer down, every posse just shimmer down,
Go get the pound,
Max relax now, we don't want stress,
Some o dem in a sequin, some in a string vest,
Bashment boogie we dress for impress,
Step out the bar and me smell well fresh,
Splash on cologne and we ready fre bone,
First thing we do, we haf're pick up da phone,
Yo golden G, I beg you don't make me late,
The coach is gonna leave about quarter past 8,
Pack me batch up, pack me dubplate,
Pure love we get when we step through the gate,
Rootsfi disco, get pon de go,
Stepping out the room and every body know
every time we come we have to take you down low,
See we cream me toe and me elbow
sitting at the front row
The first verse of Roots Manuva's "Bashment Boogie" begins with the singer (presumably Roots himself) stepping into a spot where he feels comfortable showcasing his natural talent. Despite having nobody to appreciate his skills, Roots is confident in his ability to captivate an audience with his "new talk tongue." As he sits and beats his drum, Roots' mind wanders to thoughts of a lofty sum that could be won through the lottery. However, he doesn't dwell on it for very long and instead focuses on the present moment, remarking that they "were born to go live in a place with nice weather."
Throughout the song, the chorus repeats the phrase "fire fluid in my belly" as a metaphor for Roots' fiercely competitive and passionate attitude towards music-making. He acknowledges the touch-and-go nature of success in the industry, remarking that "big tings gwaan for us now" but anticipating that they'll face their fair share of danger as well. The second verse of the song is noticeably more confident, with Roots bragging about his dues as an up-and-coming artist and the intensity of his live show. He also reveals his loyalty to his community with the line "I got you blinging from the good fire, the fee marshall," demonstrating his commitment to uplifting those around him.
Line by Line Meaning
Over blown in at the zone, Come check the poet,
I'm feeling a little overwhelmed and lost, come listen to my words and maybe we can connect.
Natural shiznit and nobody to show it,
I've got a unique talent but no one to share it with.
Step up to the bar in the clean clothes, Know my incredible edible, My new talk tongue
I'm looking sharp and feeling confident, come grab a drink and listen to my fresh rhymes.
Most crew in the world seems highly strung, Sit down in at de corner and me beat me drum, Soon get the vision of the big long sum (sum),
Most people seem uptight and stressed out, but I'm content sitting here doing my own thing. I'm envisioning greater things to come.
Its Saturday morning, you're playing the lottery, It could be you, it could be me, Fuck that, lets get this plan together, You were born to go live in a place With nice weather.
While others are dreaming of winning the lottery, let's focus on making our own luck and creating a life for ourselves in a place with beautiful weather.
Fire fluid in my belly, I'm flaming hot, If this is your hustle, this is all of your crops.
I'm feeling confident and am fully invested in my craft.
We take that shit roll from just 2 G a pop, I like a shamen who dont shout that much, Ain't it funny, reflecting on the drama it took to get hook up,
We're selling our music for a cheap price and I appreciate artists who don't have to shout or put on a gimmick to be successful. It's funny to look back on the struggles that led us to where we are now.
Big tings gwaan for us now, Each time we come we get dangerous now, I paid my dues in community studios, Late night sessions I refine my flow,
Big things are happening for us and with each opportunity we become more powerful. I put in hard work at community studios and developed my skills in late night sessions.
I got you blinging from the good fire, the fee marshall, Mackin to the modes in my council flat castle,
I've got you moving from my hot beats and energizing lyrics. I'm creating great music from my humble council flat.
Bashment boogie we dress for impress, Step out the bar and me smell well fresh, Splash on cologne and we ready fre bone, First thing we do, we haf're pick up da phone,
We dress up to impress for our bashment performances and make sure to smell fresh with some cologne. Before anything else, we have to make a call and get in the zone.
Yo golden G, I beg you don't make me late, The coach is gonna leave about quarter past 8, Pack me batch up, pack me dubplate, Pure love we get when we step through the gate,
I'm asking Golden G to not make us late for our performance, the coach leaves soon. We pack up our gear and head out with a dubplate in hand, knowing we'll receive nothing but love when we step through the gate.
Rootsfi disco, get pon de go, Stepping out the room and every body know every time we come we have to take you down low, See we cream me toe and me elbow sitting at the front row
Our Rootsfi disco music is ready to go and everyone knows that we'll always bring the party down low. We're even sitting front row and feeling relaxed and confident.
More style, more vibe, niceness we bring You hear me MC now me going try sing,
We bring even more style, energy and positivity with our music. Listen to me now as I try to sing my heart out.
Shimmer down, every posse just shimmer down, Go get the pound, Max relax now, we don't want stress, Some o dem in a sequin, some in a string vest,
Everyone needs to relax and take it easy. Let's focus on making money and taking care of ourselves without any additional stress. Some people dress flashy, while others are more casual.
Contributed by Cole R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.