• “Original Nuttah [bass mix]” set to a later 12″ vinyl reissue. Thanks to Digital Fix.
“All-time classic Drum n Bass from England”
12″ single, released in 1994.
In his mid-20s, UK Apachi (Abdul Wahab Lafta) and 17-year-old Shy FX (Andre Williams) set off sparks with their collaborative effort – 25 years ago!!!
Abdul was born in the UK to an Iraqi father and raised by his South-African Indian mother in London. Growing up in areas largely populated by Jamaican immigrants and their second generations, he’s described himself as ‘a Jamaican by heart’, cutting his teeth the hard way by coming up through the sound systems.
Born in London, Andre Williams debuted on S.O.U.R. Records (Sound Of The Underground) with two singles, “Gangsta Kid” and “Sound Of The Beast”, in 1994. “Original Nuttah” was his third for the label and, as Discogs tells, “it perfectly epitomized Jungle’s growing Ragga-Ruffneck style, with a light-speed rhythm track and rude-boy scatting from Apachi“.
Apachi had been singing the “Original Nuttah” lyrics in the reggae dancehalls in the preceding couple of years, whilst Shy FX had just released “Gangsta Kid”, featuring samples from “Goodfellas”.
A chance meeting led to booking some studio time and “Original Nuttah” emerged from the session, thrusting both of them into a certain degree of nationwide popularity in the autumn of 1994.
Almost immediately after its release, the single ignited dance clubs, flew out of the stores, and eventually made the British pop charts.
It sounds as awesome today as it ever did.
the last great record 