Tuesday 12 June 2012

Stakka Bo 'Here We Go'

Chart Peak: 13

YouTube

Stakka Bo, real name Johan Renck, first hit in his native Sweden with 'Here We Go'... It reached No. 13 in Britain for 2 weeks in September.
And here's a connection with Now 66: Renck directed the video to 'She's Madonna'. Presumably he also directed this video, which was virtually inescapable on MTV Europe circa 1993 (unless, like me, you escaped by not having MTV at the time). It's certainly attention-grabbing, and gets points for not seeming desperate to persuade you that Swedish rap should be taken seriously, despite the shadow of MC Miker G and Deejay Sven (I think they were actually Dutch, but you know what the Brits are like about pop from non-Anglophone countries). In fact it's much less of a novelty than you might expect, seeming to take its cues more from the Stereo MC's/Shamen school than anything American: that even seems to extend to the accent. The lyrics take a swipe at consumerism, which is hardly the most inventive target but still something a little bit unusual in the image-conscious hip-hop scene. Had I heard this song as much at the time as a lot of people did, I've have become heartily sick of it by now, but fortunately I didn't and can take it as an OK slice of pop.

Available on: Supermarket

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