As a rabid enthusiast of Chicago juke -- an underground genre that lumps together Chicago house, bass music, and ghetto tech --
Chrissy Murderbot attempts to bring the craze out of the warehouses and into the public eye with his
Planet Mu debut. On Women’s Studies, there are musical aspects of juke, but
Murderbot’s frantic footwork beats have a poppy refinement. While his sugary take on the style is toned back for the masses (evident by PG-rated titles like “Bump Uglies” and “Heavy Butt”), the savant of urban and U.K. club music keeps his production creative by lifting from a whirlwind of subgenres (including unexpected shots of ambient jungle, hardstep, happy hardcore, rave, and drum'n'bass). Dancehall probably plays the biggest part of his vision, and he recruits a fine selection of toasters to sings over his chewy bass grooves, including
DJ Gant-Man,
DJ Spinn, Young Live, Add-2, Al B. Certain, Rubi Dan, Popeye, PEEJ, and
MC Zulu. All the varying artists and intersecting styles keep the attitude gutsy, and even though the bulk of Women’s Studies is retro-sounding (even to the point of taking chopped bits from
DJ Snowflake’s “Uh, Oh Work It Work It,” or
Bel Biv Devoe’s “Poison”), his enthusiasm amps up the experience to keep things fun, and all the tectonic sample-shifting culminates into a fairly original Pangea of his own; one in which
Murderbot delivers the goods necessary to get people on the floor and moving their feet without resorting to standard four-on-the-floor cliches. ~ Jason Lymangrover