Roots Manuva:
Awfully Deep

Release Date: 31 January 2005

Reviewed By: Oli Marlow

1. Mind 2 Motion

2. Awfully Deep

3. Cause 4 Pause

4. Colossal Insight

5. Too Cold

6. A Haunting

7. Rebel Heart

8. Chin High

9. Babylon Medicine

10. Pause 4 Cause

11. Move Ya Loin (Featuring Lotek)

12. Thinking

13. The Falling

14. Toothbrush

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Roots Manuva returns to reclaim his slightly askew crown with his third full-length release, ‘Awfully Deep’. It’s another slice of the UK hip hop pie but this time it’s not caught up in the attitude that consumes most UK ‘urban releases’, as Roots stays gelled to his uplifting dub influenced rhythms and deeply profound lyrics, spinning yet another story that’s cohesive in its integrity. 

Album opener ‘Mind2Motion’ is the perfect example of this with the music reflecting a laid back groove that can only ever emanate from Roots Manuva’s deep dub and reggae influences, but title track ‘Awfully Deep’, despite containing one of the catchiest hooks to infiltrate modern hip hop, seems to meander along against a musical backdrop full of bass burps and synth squeals that would sound more at home on a garage record. 

‘Cause4Pause’, all be it a skit, contains probably the catchiest beat on the album, wallowing selfishly in the sultry tones of the reclining bass line but then descending once again into a blend of computer blips and video game-style melodies of first single ‘Colossal Insight’. This is a risqué move for such an accomplished artist, but Roots’ flow manages to just carry the track through eclipsing the Marmite-like properties of the backing track, (you either love it or you hate it). 

Second single ‘Too Cold’ continues in the distinct stylings we as listeners have become accustomed to, with Roots Manuva keeping the music simple with string samples and a live drum beat, capturing the groove of the track better than any computer wizardry could, providing the supple background for the track to grow as it creeps into your short term memory. 

If you can ignore the pop-like properties of the opening few tracks, repeated listens could shed light on some of the best hip hop to originate from the British Isles, since Roots’ 2001 offering ‘Run Come Save Me’. Roots Manuva may have consciously travelled a tangent that was purposely different to the recipes of his past triumphs and he succeeds where previous work didn’t excel through his use of live instruments, percussion and his often imitated laid-back emcee style. 

Covering abundant genres and musical forms however, has not paid off; there are multiple tunes within ‘Awfully Deep’ that true hip hop aficionados will be hard pressed not to skip. ‘Rebel Heart’ is one such track, with its garage-like properties obscuring the one thing that should truly stand out… the rapping. Abstract drum patterns and truly obscure melodies may have worked if presented with a harder hitting, more aggressive verbal style, but as it stands, ‘Awfully Deep’ seems like it’s missing the straight-forward hip hop ethos that made his debut LP, ‘Brand New Second Hand’, so fresh and so great. 

‘Awfully Deep’ sits seductively on the shelf attracting you with the prospect of a new modern day masterpiece, but with only a couple of standout tracks and a few too many garage-esque fillers, it will fail to please those fully engrossed in contemporary hip hop. 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 

Top tracks:

1) Mind2Motion

12) Thinking

14) Toothbrush

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