DJ Gunshot – Wheel ‘N’ Deal

DJ Gunshot – Wheel ‘N’ Deal (No U-Turn, 1994)

One of Top Cat’s best known tracks is the excellent ‘Request The Style’, a 1993 release on Fashion Records. The 12″ included an acapella and consequently the vocals have been heavily sampled over the years with the best known instance being the vocal version of Double 99’s speed garage anthem ‘Ripgroove’, while they also pop up in the recent Special Request VIP of Tessela’s ‘Hackney Parrot’. Jungle artists got there first of course and this track from DJ Gunshot AKA Godfrey Gummer is a prime example, a rare dancehall and r’n’b sampling jungle tune on No U-Turn which was co-written and produced by Nico.

It’s actually a remix of the earlier ‘Wheel Up’ but is the best known version of the track. It opens with the much sampled “Hey Hey Hey Hey Hey” from Capleton’s ‘Everybody’ before Top Cat’s “Special request fi the gyal dem from north, south, east and west / For the body ah look good you know y’haffi God bless…” vocals come in. Some layered and chopped Think follows with snippets of Top Cat’s vocals before Gunshot samples Mary J Blige’s ‘Sweet Thing’, her cover of the Rufus & Chaka Khan classic: “You’re my heat, you are my fire. You’re not mine, I can’t deny it. Don’t you hear me talking baby. Love me now or I’ll go crazy”. This brings in some heavy Amen and subsequently a particularly memorable bassline which really sets it apart from the original. I also particularly like the half-speed Think section in the middle with Blige’s stuttered vocals over the top. The ‘Marble Mix’ on the flip gets rid of the Amen and emphasises the ‘Sweet Thing’ vocals a bit more, not quite a match for the A Side but a nice alternative.

Check out this tearing remix of ‘Wheel Up’ by Tim Reaper:

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