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CMU Approved
Approved: Mark Professor – Oystah Card
By Andy Malt | Published on Thursday 12 September 2013
I love a song that mentions modern technology. Not a song about the inner workings of the latest MacBook Air or anything like that, but a tech reference that ties a piece of music to a specific time. One day, Dappy singing about looking for a girl he met “all over Facebook” will seem quaint, but it’ll also be a record of his time. Yes, Dappy is a modern day folk singer, and you know it.
On the first single from Wrongtom’s Rongorock label (an imprint of his also fairly new Rongorongo label), Wreck It Up Crew MC Mark Professor provides a reggae tribute to one of London’s finer assets, something long overlooked in song, the Oyster Card.
Going head to head with hip hop bragging about cars and opulence, Mark takes it low key and talks up the benefits of his cashless payment card for the capital’s buses and trains (and the merits of public transport itself). My current favourite line is, “When the gridlock cause you to miss your plane, me in the departure lounge and just a sip champagne”. How can you not fall for the optimism of that? And if you don’t, there’s no way you’ll be able to resist the chorus.
It helps also that Wrongtom’s production on the track is a sharp as ever, nodding to reggae heritage without slipping down the slippery slope of full-on nostalgia. Check out the video for the single now:
