Thursday 11 October - 7.30pm

£5

Taking you on a journey that looks at the impact of reggae on British Dance Halls, sound systems and contemporary pop, Bass Culture Clash is a panel discussion and showcase that will explore the vibrant underground scene of Bass Culture.

Complementing the British Music Experience’s current exhibitions Messenger: The Bob Marley Exhibition and Word Sound Power, the evening is a continuation of the successful SXSW panel that looked at the evolution of Bass Music, championing its pioneers and showcasing the new talent influenced by its lineage.

The impressive line-up of speakers will be chaired by Paulette Long, who as director of Westbury Music has extensive expertise in reggae and A&R for the UK underground, as well as specialist PR, management and publishing. Joining her on the panel is Word Sound Power Curator and creator of Straight No Chaser magazine Paul Bradshaw; BBC Radio 1 DJ, presenter and Sugar Shack Records founder Ras Kwame, and original Steel Pulse member and Black Music Research founder Mykaell Riley.

Performing at the live showcase will be Lady Leshurr. Rapping from the age of six, and finding inspiration from reggae legend Sister Nancy, she’s been writing poetry and honing her MC style for some time. With Mike Skinner and Nicki Minaj heralding her as the “next big thing” she also has a reputation for being the “best spitter in the UK.” Leshurr will be joined by Londoner Natty, who describes his music in a tongue-in-cheek manner as “Damian Marley meets Neil Young.” Natty is no newcomer in the music world – his teenage years were spent creating hip-hop beats for his rapping mates, before his bedroom mastery of music production landed him a job at premier recording studio Sphere, in Battersea. After signing with Atlantic Records, he released his debut album “Man Like I” and followed it up with a US tour alongside Damian Marley. Amongst his busy schedule he also finds time to run a monthly night called ‘Vibes and Pressure.’ This event showcases live bands playing Reggae, Roots and World Hip Hop music.

Both Natty and Lady Leshurr will be performing alongside RasItes,an impressive UK reggae band intent upon writing and playing their own material who also head up their own production company. They lit up the roots market with their debut album, Urban Regeneration and have spent the last few years touring with the likes of Grammy Award winning Reggae super group Black Uhuru, Andrew Tosh (son of Peter Tosh) and Mykal Rose – as well as individual band members racking up collaborations with Yellow Man, Marcia Griffiths, Gappy Ranks and Levi Roots.