Roots Manuva

Slime & Reason

[3.5/5]

Three years ago, South London’s Roots Manuva seemingly retreated from the U.K. hip-hop competition he’d paved the way for, recording a set of muted, muttered experimental productions dubbed Awfully Deep. But Manuva-aka Rodney Smith-has returned from those murky depths, applying his Jamaican roots to a handful of dancehall-inspired gems that exist fully in the daylight. “Do Nah Bodda Mi” and the horny “Buff Nuff” dress up sphincter-twisting basslines with simple, appealing melodies ready for prime time. It’s not all fun and games. Though. By the album’s second half, Smith’s doubts creep back, and the exuberant reinvention of the electro blast “I’m A New Man” is counterbalanced by the dubby underwater stasis of “The Struggle.” But overall, Slime gives good reason to say Roots Manuva is winning that fight. (BIG DADA) Dan LeRoy