When The Bassline Drops

Album: Following My Intuition (2016)
Charted: 10
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Songfacts®:

  • Craig David's first single in six years finds him returning to his UK garage roots. His previous release, 2010's "All Alone Tonight (Stop, Look, Listen)," was a modern twist on Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye's version of "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)."

    David had 11 entries in the UK Top 10 from 2000-2007; "When The Bassline Drops" became his 12th.
  • Craig David recruited Big Narstie to spit the second verse. The English grime artist was honoured as Best Grime Act at both the 2012 and 2013 Urban Music Awards (UMAs).

    The track is indicative of grime's simultaneous rise in the UK mainstream, pairing a commercially successful household name with one of the genre's rising stars.
  • The White N3rd handled the bubbling garage beat. His other production credits include Daley's "Remember Me" (with Balistiq) and Loick Essien's "How We Roll."
  • Musically, the track consists of a quintessential garage beat, and swirling, soulful synths also typical of the genre. The main bass sound, however, borrows from more recent deep and tech house styles, given popular success by artists such as Disclosure and Julio Bashmore.

    The half-time sections, particularly during Big Narstie's verse, point firmly towards grime music, which was born out of garage music in the early 2000s.
  • Craig David's collaboration with Big Narstie came about from being with him on Kurupt FM's 60 Minutes Live show with Mistajam. He recalled to HMV.com: "That was a pivotal week for me because my freestyle on the show went viral and then literally the next day me and Narstie decided to go to the studio and that's when we recorded the track."

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