UK Soul and Hip Hop: Bridging Music Across the Pond (Guest: Jason Randall Smith)

DJ Sir Daniel and Jay Ray sit down with Jason Randall Smith, host of Radio BSOTS, to trace UK soul and hip hop's ties to Black music history. They share personal stories of discovering artists through radio, Video Music Box, and early MTV rotations. The conversation connects Caribbean migrations to club tracks that still spin today.

Topics Discussed

• Windrush Generation's role in UK soul roots: Hosts explain how West Indian migrants from 1947-1970 brought calypso, reggae, and ska, fusing with British swing to spark UK soul, dubstep precursors, and artists like George Michael.
• Musical Youth and Five Star's US breakthrough: Discussion covers "Pass the Dutchie" on MTV introducing reggae to kids, and Five Star's family band vibe echoing New Edition while showcasing London Black music scenes.
• Loose Ends, Soul II Soul, and Slick Rick's lasting grooves: Tracks like "Hanging on a String" and "Back to Life" get unpacked for their seductive R&B feel and hip hop samples, plus Slick Rick's London accent shaping smooth flows.
• Monie Love and Cookie Crew opening hip hop doors: Stories highlight Monie Love's Brooklyn ties and "Monie in the Middle," alongside Cookie Crew's "Black is the Word" pushing Black pride via Ralph McDaniels' Video Music Box.

Podcast Shoutout

TROY Podcast: http://troypodcast.com/

Jason Randall Smith Bio

Jason Randall Smith’s longtime personal passions involve music appreciation, sonic curation, and media preservation. While attending the State University of New York at Albany, he volunteered at WCDB Albany 90.9 FM, hosting several radio shows as a DJ and producing promotional spots for the station. As a writer, Jason penned music reviews and long-form articles for Impose Magazine as well as podcast reviews for The A/V Club's Podmass column. In addition, his poem "A Lesson In Deterioration" was included in the book Soul Babies: Black Popular Culture And The Post-Soul Aesthetic by Mark Anthony Neal. Jason is the host and producer of Radio BSOTS (Both Sides Of The Surface), a podcast championing independent and Creative Commons music in a variety of genres since August of 2005. He is currently the music director at Bondfire Radio in Brooklyn, NY, where his curatorial duties help shape the sound of the station. Radio BSOTS has been broadcasting live on this station since February of 2015.

Follow Jason Randall Smith On Social Media

Facebook: https://facebook.com/bsots

Instagram: https://instagram.com/bsots

Twitter: https://twitter.com/bsots

Chapter Markers

00:00 Afros & Audio Pre-Roll Ad

00:50 Intro Theme (Music By Danya Vodovoz)

01:21 Welcome to Queue Points

03:47 Transition

03:47 Jason Randall Smith Bio

06:10 "Jason Randall Smith is like the American Gilles Peterson" - Jay Ray

07:04 We can't discuss the UK Soul movement without discussing The Windrush Generation

08:57 How did we get connected to UK Soul?

12:59 Musical Youth

15:30 Transition

15:30 Five Star

17:31 Video Music Box Introduced us to a lot of artists

19:39 Loose Ends

23:24 Soul II Soul

29:43 Insert Transition

29:43 "Missing You" is one of the most beautiful songs off of Vol. II: 1990 – A New Decade

31:00 Neneh Cherry

35:05 Does Sade belong in the conversation about UK Soul?

40:06 Lisa Stansfield

43:06 They Reminisce Over You Ad

43:53 UK Hip Hop Conversation

44:30 Why does DJ Sir Daniel have such a connection to the British music scene?

45:58 How did we come to know and respect the UK hip hop scene?

50:37 Slick Rick

52:24 Monie Love

52:58 Jay Ray & Monie Love

53:36 Jay Ray was part of a talent show win dancing to "Monie in the Middle"

58:09 Cookie Crew

01:01:07 Trip Hop and Drum & Bass - Part 2 of this conversation?

01:06:06 Closing

01:08:13 Closing Theme

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