Mella Dee ft. Slick Don “VIP”

It’s come time we big-up Slit Jockey Records, a bass label from Philly, to whom we owe a gang of gratitude for being one of the first to slang grime selections Stateside. Now in its 10th year of operation, and still going strong with Dev79, Starkey and El Carnicero at the control board, the imprint has reached into its vaunted vaults to kick out their 10 Years of Grime compilation. It’s a 38-track pack chronicling a catalog that has championed the genre on this side of the pond from the get-go.

Sharing space on the release—with works from Starkey, J Beatz, Spooky and the SJ label bosses—is this soot-covered sub-shaker from Mella Dee. It’s a completely bombastic blitz that shows Slick Don using his silver tongue to spit vicious bars over Mella’s mental broken beat. Time has done little to erode this garage/rap/dancehall-jumbling gem.

Score a copy of the compilation below, and try this custom 10 Years of Grime Tee on for size. The artwork from Tim Shaw is all kinds of kick-ass.

Available now via Slit Jockey.
What were you doing when you came up with the idea for this song? Did you drop what you were doing and get to work, or did you make notes and get around to it when you could?
Slick Don: When I came up with the idea for “VIP,” I think I was just chilling, smoking a zoot. Yeah, I wrote the chorus as soon as I heard the beat; then I came back to it the next day and wrote the rest of it. I always talk about my lifestyle and life experiences, so it’s never hard to write a lyric. Sometimes, I just like to come back to something when I feel like I’m in the right environment and my mind is in the right place for the idea I’m working on.

Did you discuss or exchange ideas with Mella Dee while creating this track?
When I came up with the initial “VIP” idea, I sent Mella Dee a rough recording on my phone so he could hear the vibe. He was feeling it, so we rolled with it.

If this song were a color, what color would it be?
I would say it would be orange.

Buy Slit Jockey Presents 10 Years of Grime on iTunes.