Summary: Brooklyn-based producer, DJ and boss of the esteemed Mixpak imprint, Dre Skull (aka Andrew Hershey) is a serial overachiever. And when his crew took the win at this year’s RBMA Culture Clash in London he proved that despite previously shaky showings, the USA was a force to be reckoned with. Hershey cut his teeth in the East Coast’s DIY scene, getting swept up with Providence’s legendary Fort Thunder collective and eventually selling merch for noise rockers Lightning Bolt. After a move to a Brooklyn warehouse with his DIY and visual artist friends he briefly grazed on the performance art scene, working on provocative pieces that reinterpreted Yoko Ono and deconstructed cultural tropes. These projects were successful – but Hershey had been working on sketches of dancehall riddims at the time, and after collaborating with Sizzla on 2009’s ‘Gone Too Far’ he launched Mixpak and started the ball rolling on a career that’s still growing. In the last few years, Hershey has worked with Popcaan, Karmin, Jamie xx and even Snoop Dogg (as Snoop Lion) but his most important collaboration to date has undoubtedly been with Jamaican legend Vybz Kartel. Hershey produced Vybz Kartel’s 2011 album Kingston Story and released it on Mixpak, achieving the kind of acclaim that has led to a slew of opportunities since. Dre Skull’s debut FACT mix is perfectly primed for humid summer listening, a blend of urgent dancehall shockers from Vybz Kartel, Spice, Popcaan, Mavado and others that practically force-feeds you a glass of Wray and Nephs and a plate of fried snapper. It’s one of the most unashamedly enjoyable FACT mixes in some time – one for cracking the windows and turning up until the speakers give way.
