South Rakkas Crew

South Rakkas Crew

South Rakkas Crew is a United States dancehall and electro production group formed by Dennis “D-Rakkas” Shaw and Alex Greggs. The pair meet while working at the same recording studio and later develop the project after moving to Orlando, Florida, where they become part of ’N Sync’s production team. Greggs handles much of the pop and dance production work in Florida, while Shaw works in Kingston, Jamaica, drawing on his links to the dancehall scene.

Style and early work

The group first builds its reputation through dancehall riddims and production work for Jamaican artists, with early tracks including “Clappas,” “Red Alert,” “Bionic Ras” and “Chinkuzi.” Its sound combines hook-led song structure with heavy sound-system rhythms and spans dancehall, electro, dubstep, pop and related club styles. Shaw’s background in the local hip-hop and reggae scene and Greggs’ work as a beatmaker feed into the group’s cross-genre approach.

Collaborations and remixes

South Rakkas Crew works with a wide range of artists across mainstream pop, reggae and underground music. Credits and associations mentioned include Mr. Vegas, Elephant Man, Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, T-Pain, M.I.A., Lily Allen, Beck, Duran Duran, Justin Timberlake, The Bug, Warrior Queen, Britney Spears and Shakira. Greggs also works with Barenaked Ladies, and the group later remixes material for Tricky, including his Knowle West Boy album, which is reworked into a high-energy electro and space-disco version.

Releases and label work

The group releases the Mad Again and The Mix Up EPs on Diplo’s Mad Decent label. In 2010 it issues the sixteen-track album The Stimulus Package as a free download, also through Mad Decent. That release includes guest appearances from Capleton, Serocee, Mr. Agony, Satomi Matsuzaki of Deerhoof, and a version of Mylo’s “Drop The Pressure” reworked as a dubplate riddim. Later, Gangsta Revival appears with Shaw producing seven of its eight songs, and the project extends into dubstep, moombahton and electro-dancehall.

Live activity and reception

South Rakkas Crew develops a live performance and touring setup after a series of festival dates in Australia. M.I.A. selects the group to open her N.E.E.T. label showcase. Its work receives praise from outlets including Pitchfork, The Guardian, XLR8R, The Independent, the BBC and The Fader, which all describe the group’s productions as forceful, inventive and dancefloor-oriented.