Pop Buzz UK

Wow, what a song! And video to boot. This was recommended to me by a friend of mine and I watched it for the first time, absolutely mesmerised first by what the guy says, and secondly the visual imagery of the video.

Let’s start at the beginning with who these guys are and where they’re from. The song is very British, referencing things throughout that only Brits or anglophiles will relate to. So it’s no surprise that Dan Le Sac and Scroobius Pip are from Stanford-le hope in deepest, darkest Essex, a county bordering London. Dan Le Sac is the guy behind the electronic beats, with Scroobius Pip the rapper expressing his views in to the mic.

The song is fantastic, as Scroobius rants satirically about different aspects of pop culture and the mainstream’s reaction to these. The record puts itself against the sheep or lemming mentality of everyone liking the same things and pushing those people or bands to the top of the tree. So by liking and promoting this song, am I actually doing what the guys are rallying against?

There are some classic lyrics on this song, and I’d like to highlight my favourites…

“Thou shalt not think that any male over the age of 30 that plays with a child that is not their own is a paedophile… Some people are just nice.”
“Thou shalt not use poetry, art or music to get into girls’ pants. Use it to get into their heads.”
“Thou shalt give equal worth to tragedies that occur in non-english speaking countries as to those that occur in english speaking countries.”
“When I say “Heyâ€? thou shalt not say “Hoâ€?.
“When I say “Hipâ€? thou shalt not say “Hopâ€?.
“Thou shalt spell the word “Pheonixâ€? P-H-E-O-N-I-X not P-H-O-E-N-I-X, regardless of what the Oxford English Dictionary tells you.”

The song ends with the title of “Thou shalt always kill”, which when put in the context of the song, and the line before it of always thinking for ourselves, is a great way to finish, and is almost the punchline to the whole thing.

The video has some very clever visual tricks up it’s sleeves, with the loud hailer mouth and the photocopier paper faces being highlights, but the majority of it is just a guy espousing an opinion to a camera… which fits the record completely and can’t be beaten.

Let’s be honest, I doubt this song will hit the Top 40 charts, but it is getting the occasional bit of airplay on Radio 1 so there’s always hope it will reach a wider audience. NME magazine, who are featured on the song made it their record of the week, and it’s out now to buy in digital formats and limited edition 7″.

Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip, Thou Shalt Always Kill, Dan Le Sac, Scroobius Pip, NME, Essex, London, British, Brit, Pop Culture, Anglophile, UK, Radio 1, Hip Hop, Dance