Skrillex knows how to create attention. He has been at the center of some horribly unintelligent tweets, resurrected the shaved on one side hair style, rumored that he’s died and forced the Grammys to pay attention to EDM and create a separate category. “Make It Bun Dem” with Damian Marley seems like just another way to grab attention.
I imagine that he, or executives, were sitting around thinking that reggae and dub-electronic would be a good mix and that the name brand of Marley and Skrillex would be enough to get people to listen to this song.
The song isn’t bad per se. Damian Marley’s vocals provide enough of a distinct Jamaican charm that the reggae aspect is instantly recognizable. The EDM component comes around the 1 minute mark when a series of high pitched flute notes are emitted in quick procession. The notes try to incorporate a blend of both genres, but ultimately come across as high pitched distractions. The song is simple enough, Damian Marley provides the reggae with his vocals and rhymes, and Skrillex drops a bit of electronic mastery to try to bring it together. And then they repeat that to make the song a respectable three and a half minutes.
