Image courtesy Big Lou
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Roots & Tings, the new musical project of Grammy-nominated MC Lateef the Truth Speaker, DJ and producer Jah Yzer, and reggae’s Winstrong, recently unveiled the music video for “Lady Don’t Tek No.”
“Lady Don’t Tek No” follows on the heels of Roots & Tings’ latest album, All of This, a 13-track collection of electrifying reggae, hip-hop, and dancehall-infused songs.
Talking about the collaboration, “It is an ode to the love affair between Hip-Hop and Reggae music since the inception of hip hop. The music is a combination of all the different iterations through the years, of both genres.”
Winstrong sums it up like this: “Roots and Tings. Music to guide our perception.”
Featuring Lyrics Born, “Lady Don’t Tek No” opens on a potent reggae rhythm made up a one-drop beat topped by a fat, popping bassline, imbuing the tune with muscular movement, pulsing with resonance. Skiffing rinses of color, along with blatting accents from the suave brass section, give the harmonics layers of surging textures.
Hints of mysterious coloration glide through the music, as if injecting tints of ancient Egyptian swagger. And I love the twinkling piano at the end to the track, adding tinkling pizzazz.
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Slightly rasping vocals, inflected with posh, swanky-laced harmonies, imbue the lyrics with suggestive, alluring recollection. There’s a powerful, independent femme fatale thrust to the visuals, narrating the tale of strong, liberated women who don’t take guff because they are true ladies.
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The video, shot in black and white, depicts images of autonomous, self-actualizing women, who know what they want, where they’re going, and where they’ve been. These women can do it all: be sexy, out-think any man around, and perform any job with style and aplomb.
Combined with the potent visuals, the rumbling, tangible riddim, and intoxicating melody, “Lady Don’t Tek No” pushes out contagious vibes.