Arnar Ingason, aka Young Nazareth, started DJing back in 2009, first spinning house music and later pivoting to hip hop. Perhaps best known for his behind-the-scenes production work, Young Nazareth is also a part of Sturla Atlas and was a regular DJing at Reykjavik’s cafe/bar/club Prikið (which is my favorite place in the city for breakfast, bar none). Those Prikið ties clearly run deep, as his first solo record, 200 101 Vol. 1, was put out on the bar’s house label Sticky Records.
200 101 Vol. 1 is intended as the first in a series of records exploring the history of Icelandic hip hop through dance music. Each of the three tracks samples a seminal Icelandic hip hip track, using it as the foundation for Young Nazareth’s exploration. The numbers in the title are Icelandic postal codes – 200 from Young Nazareth’s childhood stomping grounds and 101 for the downtown Reykjavik area where he spent so much time DJing.
“Bara Vera” builds upon Birnir’s contemporary track “200”, a simple and effective beat supported by a four-note synth pattern to give it a touch of whimsey, a mid-tempo jam perfect whether you want to dance or just hang for a bit. “Danois” goes into the way-back machine to pluck some samples from “XXX Grand Danois” on XXX Rottweiler Hundar’s 2001 self-titled debut, a seminal Icelandic hip hop album. The beats here are deeper and faster, a techno jam that demands movement, but with that hint of synths popping in from time to time as a signal to get your hands in the air. This one is a dance-floor-ready-banger made for sweaty dark rooms at 3AM, the floors a bit sticky with spilled drinks and everyone in their own zone, grooving as if they were the only person within a hundred miles. The record closes with “Moolah” which pulls from Young Nazareth’s own past by sampling Sturla Atlas’ “Dough”. The beats pulse with just a hint of calypso – you can sense hands beating skins, while the vocals have been run through the filters and come out the other side a bit crunked up. Super danceable, this one is a hip shaker and groover.
200 101 Vol. 1 is available digitally and on vinyl from Young Nazareth’s Bandcamp page HERE, and you can also stream it and some of his other tracks on a service near you.