Press Release :
"Again & Again," the second single from Roots Manuva's forthcoming long-player, "Slime &Reason," is a summery blast of warmth and humour with a simple message to impart - that you don't have to be a plastic, manufactured 'Pop Idol' to make popular music that people are going to love.

While the album version of the tune is built around a classic Manuva production and Captain Pugwash keyboard, the single version was dreamt up by Shy-FX. The man took a day off from drum & bass rollouts and instead added a full horn section and general liveness to get Mr Manuva in laid back, celebratary mood. It's a carnival anthem in the making but with the kind of easygoing charm that should take Rodney Smith to a much, much wider audience. All without losing any of the soul that has made him one of the UK's most consistent, innovative and successful black performers.

The package is rounded out by a couple of very fine remixes. The Arctic Monkeys have been on record since their early days as huge fans of Roots Manuva, and when drummer/producer Matt Helders was given an opportunity to rework "Again & Again" he jumped at the chance. The result is suitably wonky and hype, all without a guirar in sight. To finish things up Tony Thorpe has cooked up another fantastic Moody Boyz remix (after recent successes with Erykah Badu and Amy Winehouse) with a militant steppaz feel and enough bass to keep all and sundry happy…

Listen. Then listen again. And again. And again…

"Britain's pre-emminent hip-hop star, a brit-rap Tom Waits." - The Guardian
"Rodney Smith is destined to forever make vibrant, interesting, funny pop rap while all around succemb to cliches and easy options" - Daily Mirror
"One of the UK's most singular talents… one whose music shows a restless quest for new ways to deliver his messages" - iDJ
"Instantly relevant…" - Big Issue
"The UK's reigning MC… Roots is great because he stands on his own" - Plan B
"It's reassuring to remember that Roots is still out there, rejecting the club dwelling po-facery of his peers." - Time Out