Have we sorted out the drum & bass song of the summer of 2023? I’ve personally boiled it down to two tracks: Nia Archives’ festival smash “Of Wiv Ya Headz” just for how it destroys a crowd, and Chase & Status‘ collaboration with Bou, “Baddadan,” featuring the amazing vocal stylings of Trigga, IRAH, Flowdan and Takura. During a year where the previous biggest dnb track EDM heads would know being “Rumble,” it made sense that a proper Flowdan-featured number would take over the scene.
Chase & Status were due for a huge single; their next album, 2 Ruff Vol. 1, is set to drop on October 27—alongside “Baddadan” on the album is their latest single, a collaboration with Hedex and ArrDee titled “Liquor & Cigarettes”—and at the very least, folks will know that it’s the “Baddadan album.” And as Chase & Status are one of the only dnb acts that understand album rollouts, a massive showing at Boiler Room: London was necessary.
The set, which was originally recorded back in September, has been a fascinating experiment in 2023 dnb, personally. Saw one commenter commend Chase & Status for being “one of the few artists that managed to stay relevant and innovate in the scene this long,” as if the drum & bass scene isn’t full of legends ranging from Fabio & Grooverider to Andy C. Meanwhile, on Instagram, I saw a video featuring “the best moments from Chase & Status’ Boiler Room London set” that were literally a bunch of their favorite drops with Chase hitting this pose
It’s a dope image, but it ends up being a minute of THAT with different light patterns and bleeps before a beat drop. It’s dope, but I’m unsure if I’d caption it “best moments.” That’s the thing, though; times are changing. People want DROPS, but say, “Here are the top 10 IDs” or whatever. (Do drum & bass fans of today call dubs IDs? EDM cats love to find IDs. There may be a few IDs in this set.)
Anyway, I digress. You’re not going to get a bigger drum & bass album rollout than this, and based on the tracklist, Chase wasn’t playing fair. Forthcoming material from their forthcoming album and some surprises—including a “Baddadan” VIP—are all in the mix. Interesting to see a mostly-Chase & Status set (although you can see that, alongside Bou, they’ve been vibing to Serum, ATMOS, and A.M.C), but this is exactly how you should be selling your 2023 drum & bass project.
Chase & Status – Boiler Room: London tracklist
Chase & Status & Mozey ft. Sav’o & Horrid1 – On The Block
Chase & Status ft. Burro Banton – Delete
T>I – Dye Migration (Serum Remix)
Chase & Status ft. Popcaan & IRAH – Censor (VIP)
Mtox & Evoke – Listen Up w/ Watch The Ride & Nia Archives – Mashup The Dance (Kings Of The Rollers Remix)
Chase & Status & Hedex ft. Arrdee – Liquor & Cigarettes w/ Hedex – ID
Chase & Status ft. Cutty Ranks – Retreat2018
Chopstick Dubplate ft. Ragga Twins & Bunny Lye lye – Give Me A Dubplate
Dimension – UK (Bou Remix)
Chase & Status ft. Stefflon Don – Selecta
TC – Where’s My Money (A.M.C & Turno Remix)
Chase & Status – Tough Talk ft. Kwengface
Chase & Status ft. Takura – No Problem w/ Rusko & Mozey – Hands In The Air (VIP) w/ Chase & Status ft. Takura – No Problem (VIP)
ATMOS – Hold You
Chase & Status ft. Masicka – Weed & Rum (VIP)
Chase & Status ft. Takura – 2 Ruff
Chase & Status ft. Irah – Program w/ Adam F – Circles (Pola & Bryson Bootleg)
UK Apache & Shy FX – Original Nuttah (Chase & Status Remix) /w Digital – Deadline
Chase & Status ft. Clementine Douglas – Say The Word
Bou & Chase & Status ft. Trigga & IRAH & Flowdan & Takura – Baddadan (VIP)