With a career spanning nearly two decades, it is little wonder that Slacker was usually one step ahead of the game; this was more apparent than ever after the introduction of Ableton Live into the marketplace has finally given him the technology to produce the live show he has always wanted. With a back catalogue boasting over 50 original tracks, and in excess of 100 remixes under his various guises as Streets Ahead, Nation 12, Ramp, Live It!, Head Honcho and Slacker, Shem was busy developing a new “laptop live” show which enabled him to make every performance unique, remixing live any element of each track as he chose and giving him the ability to incorporate the many quirky samples and secret riffs that up until now have been locked away in Slacker towers. Throw in a frenzy of scratching and effects from Shem on the CDJ and you have a heady brew indeed.
A DJ for over 16 years, the words “been there, done that!” spring to mind. The world map on his website pinpointing the multitude of cities he has played testifies to his global popularity. Originally as DJ Streets Ahead, Shem was one of the pioneers of the UK Hip Hop scratch scene, playing alongside the likes of Tim Westwood and picking up production and remix credits beside Roxanne Shante and Public Enemy. As a student in Brighton, England he established various sound systems alongside fellow South Coast boys Norman Cook and Carl Cox. Production success followed first as Nation 12 with “Listen to the Drummer”, and then after setting up stall with musician and producer Simon Rogers as Ramp, with the singles “Rock the Discotek” and “Stomp”. Both became international club classics.
Looking to establish himself further, Shem created a hybrid of his own funk roots with more contemporary house sounds under the moniker of Slacker. The first Slacker single, “Feel Space”, a track that sounds as fresh today as when it was made, became an instant club hit. Shem’s third single “Scared” re-wrote the rule book on progressive house, a haunting anthem with enough funk to rock any dance floor. A record deal with XL followed and “Scared” along with follow-up single “Your Face” went top 40 in the UK and achieved major international success.
On the crest of this wave, Slacker established a live show and heavy touring alongside label mates The Prodigy ensued. It was while touring that Shem rediscovered his love of Djing, and in 1998 he hit the road properly again. He has been criss-crossing the globe ever since. In this time he has enjoyed residencies at Groovejet in Miami, Orbit in Lima, Peru, Slinky in Bournemouth and Fierce in Hong Kong, earnings platinum helpings of air miles throughout the world, especially across the U.S and Asia.
During this period Shem successfully juggled his travelling with further productions, ably assisted by studio partner Simon Rogers. A slew of remixes, such as Junkie XL, Trancesetters, Breeder and Bedrock - many still viewed as classics today - made the Slacker sound the most respected in the business. “Essential New Tunes”, dance chart Number Ones and features on top compilations became the norm. Eager to develop their release schedule, the decision was taken to launch Slacker’s own label, Jukebox in the Sky, and the singles have come thick and fast. Alongside their Northern Exposure classic, Head Honcho’s “Walls of Jericho”, came Slacker’s “Looky Thing”, played by a diverse selection of DJs from Seb to Jules to Seaman to Ivan Smagghe (of Black Strobe). Head Honcho’s “Medicine” is still being hammered by DJs, most consistently Sasha, a year after its release. The decision to concentrate on furthering the label has paid huge rewards, setting the imprint up as one of the strongest of its genre and enjoying regular licenses from the likes of Global Underground, Bugged Out! and Ministry of Sound.
The label continues to go from strength to strength with numerous Slacker original productions ready for release in the coming months, in conjunction with the recent launch of the label’s comprehensive website and webshop. Slacker’s next single, “Best Boyfriend”, will be out mid-November, packaged with remixes by The Scumfrog and Steiger. Currently Shem is back on the road and covering the globe with more than ever to offer, not only as a DJ but now also performing one of the most exciting and revolutionary laptop live shows on the market. Slacker? Far from it!
Psychout
Slacker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cuatro locos bien cargados de droga en un carro del año con placas de california
Con rumbo a la frontera rifandose las bolas
Queubole desorden pisale la carretera se me seca
La garganta vamonos por unas chelas
El toro se tendio a cargar los pinche cuernos
Venian muy sospechosos un cuatro habian puesto
Pa quitarnos la merca ya venian bien dispuestos
Empecé a disparar y se hizo el refuego de ese lugar
Creamos un infierno pues los pinches puercos no
Contaban con mi astucia estaba tras de ellos
Con los pinche cuernos les dimos piso los dejamos
Bien helados nos fuimos entierrados
Pues ya venian los soldados
Salimos de jalisco sin parar a sinaloa pero valio madre
Los wachos pegaron cola los nervios se pusieron
Asi como de punta y los cuatro cabrones cargamos
Nuestra fusca no creas que somos culos
Simplemente estamos trucha
Ey pinche desorden no te pongas amarillo,
Amarillo no me pongo amarillo es mi color,
Pues ponte trucha homie que hay viene el pelotón
Se me acerca uno de verde pregunto de donde
Soy que traigo en la cajuela y para donde voy
Somos de tijuana y lo que llevo es un delito
Unos regalitos palla pa los weritos
Ya no des explicaciones pegale unos pinches
Tiros sobres pues patron saca el cuerno de chivo,
Saque el cuerno de chivo y lo hice rugir
Pues nadie va a parar a este loco malandrin
Nos agarro la noche en el desierto de sonora
Todo estaba muy callado ibamos tirando zorra
Con rumbo a sonorita ya llegando al reten que
No le allan puesto a este gran kartel
A unos quince metros mire una barricada en eso
Dijo el toro ya nos llevo la chingada calmate
Carnal ya la tengo planeada habienta la granada
Volaran como si nada
Sin mirar pa tras entierrados pa tijuana en
Esos una voz por vocinas nos gritaban,
Detengan sus autos entreguen las armas
Sin pensarla dos veces seguimos con el encargo
Recorrimos ya la baja a tijuana salimos bien
Librados la carga hemos salvado listos para
Cruzarla para los de contrabando
Se llego la noche hora de hacer el cargamentos
Pues los pinche weros ya quieren de mi veneno
Llegando a la frontera pasa algo que no se espera
Pues los gabachos wacharon toda la merca
Que tranza pelygro, queubo, ya valio madre esos
Pinches perros olfatearon todo el jale,
No hay pedo patron hay que darles en la madre
Yo traigo el pinche cuerno que ya no puede rajarse
Esos pinches putos no van a sorprendernos esa carga
Tiene que cruzar hoy a san diego si cayo caro quintero
Que no caiga ese pendejo once
Cuatro tres que se arme este refuego
Calmate pelygro voy arreglar un trato les tiro
El pinche verbo sincho sale mas barato hable con
El migra le ofreci una feria el pendejo me capio
Y simon isimos tregua
Orale desorden ay te va la contraseña,
La conecta se arreglo la ranfla va bien
Cargada en el motor lleva polvo y en las llantas mariguana
No te arrugues mi compita se te ve el miedo
En la cara, no hay pedo carnalito una raya
Me lo espanta, pasando la frontera nos paro
La migración les di la contraseña luego luego nos dejo
Seguimos adelante a cumplir nuestra mision
Hay que entregar la merca en los angeles homboy
Ibamos por san isidro todo marchaba muy bien
Pero llegando a san diego hay nos pararon tambien
Me pidieron mis papeles y yo se los enseñe les
Di la contraseña pero ay si me la pele me puso
Sobre la cajuela me dijo esta usted arrestado
En eso baja mi compita con el cuerno preparado
Soltando una descarga en el cuerpo de aquel bato
Cayo muerto en el suelo con el cuerpo destrozado,
Uno ya estaba muerto y el otro agonizando rogando
Por su vida que no le hicieramos daño no lo pude
Dejar vivo ya sabia demasiado
Llegamos para los y cumplimos la mision en la
Plazita olvera hicimos la conecta llegaron
Los contactos para hacer la pinche prueba
Oyeme cabron esta coca esta rebuena
Mientras yo hacia el trato mis homies feria contaban
Ya todo estaba en orden el trato aquí se cerraba
Regresamos pa tijuana con los cueros de rana
Quedamos de acuedo para la siguiente tranza
Kdc*
The lyrics to Slacker's song "Psychout" tell the story of four drug traffickers who left Michoacan with a car loaded with drugs, heading towards the border. Along the way, they encounter police officers who were suspicious of them and they were forced to fight to defend themselves. They face many challenges, including nightfall in the Sonora desert, a checkpoint, and border patrol. Despite these challenges, they successfully deliver the drugs to Los Angeles.
The lyrics are filled with slang and references to the drug trafficking culture, as well as the risks and dangers involved in engaging in such activities. They describe the mindset of people who are willing to take risks and face the unknown while trying to achieve a goal, whether it is personal gain or the fulfillment of an obligation to others.
Overall, "Psychout" portrays the toughness and perseverance of the characters involved in the story, as well as the harsh reality of the illegal drug trade.
Line by Line Meaning
Desde Michoacan la tierra del Amapola salieron
Four crazy guys loaded with drugs in a California-registered car left from Michoacan, a place known for opium poppy cultivation.
Con rumbo a la frontera rifandose las bolas
They are daring each other to cross the border to the US, with the risk of being caught by the authorities.
La garganta vamonos por unas chelas
They stopped for a drink to quench their thirst before facing the journey ahead.
Venian muy sospechosos un cuatro habian puesto
The police arrived and acted suspiciously, as they had a plan to take away their drugs.
Estando en la cantina llegaron los pinches puercos
While they were at the bar, the police showed up.
Empecé a disparar y se hizo el refuego de ese lugar
A gunfight started, and they fought back against the police.
Con los pinche cuernos les dimos piso los dejamos
They defeated the police and left them motionless on the ground.
Los wachos pegaron cola los nervios se pusieron
They got nervous when they realized they were being followed by the police.
Ey pinche desorden no te pongas amarillo
They encourage each other not to show fear and to stay alert.
Pues ponte trucha homie que hay viene el pelotón
They warn each other to be cautious as the police are approaching.
Unos regalitos palla pa los weritos
They acknowledge that they are smuggling drugs for some white people in the US who are willing to pay for them.
Volaran como si nada
They plan to throw grenades at anyone who attempts to stop them.
Detengan sus autos entreguen las armas
The police ordered them to stop their vehicles and surrender their weapons.
Sin pensarla dos veces seguimos con el encargo
They decide to keep going with their mission, despite the police's demand to stop.
Camoate pelygro voy arreglar un trato les tiro
They decide to bribe the border patrol officer to let them pass through.
pues los gabachos wacharon toda la merca
Unfortunately, the US border patrol caught all of their drugs upon inspection.
Me pidieron mis papeles y yo se los enseñe
The border patrol asked for their identification, and they showed it to them.
Soltando una descarga en el cuerpo de aquel bato
They shoot and kill one of the border patrol officers who was trying to arrest them.
Uno ya estaba muerto y el otro agonizando rogando
One officer was dead, and the other was begging for mercy while suffering from gunshot wounds.
Llegamos para los y cumplimos la mision
They finally arrived at their destination and successfully delivered the drugs.
Quedamos de acuedo para la siguiente tranza
They agreed to do business again in the future, despite the risks they faced in this operation.
Writer(s): IAN SHEM MCCAULEY, SIMON ALAN ROGERS
Contributed by Kylie D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@atlantisairwaves
if anyone out here purchased this single from trackitdown.net (in wav /flac format) please reach out to me. i'm willing to pay for it.
@stancooper5436
If you got it, I wanna get it.. also willing to pay..
@colmmullins
Me too !
@stancooper5436
@@colmmullins I bought it on vinyl but it was going to cost £30 to get it ripped so I asked a friend with some decks to do it for me but he sat on it for 6 months. I asked for the vinyl back and he casually mentioned "why don't you download it using Soulseek?" Why the hell didn't he tell me about this earlier!?
@andreawagner7352
Im 50 yrs old this year
This never gets old !
@vinnie97
RIP to the legend who conjured up this piece of aural magic.
@BCabby
Still in love with this song 20+ years later, what a classic rave piece
@THERARECYCLE
This is like a never ending trip,magical,mysterious,everything Slacker touched was so electric.
@carl4822
I could listen to this on repeat while I sleep. Thank you legend. Sad to just find out you have passed, and under those circumstances. Much love to a fantastic artist.
@mariegilmartin2906
Carl Goble Aagh Bless You man , much respect for a respectable comment to a respected man