Riddim International #1

ISSUE

01 2005

AND BR W

N EW

JUDGE NOT

JAH

CURE ASSASSIN I-WAYNE DON CORLEON TURBULENCE TONY MATTERHORN AUGUSTUS PABLO

★SPECIAL

UK £ 3,50

REGGAETON IN PUERTO RICO

FANTAN MOJAH ★ GENTLEMAN ★ BURRO BANTON ★ MACKA DIAMOND

Foto: Marlon “Ajamu” Myrie

06 ★ EDITORIAL

First Cut Now is the time for Reggae and Dancehall to step out of the medial shadows and into the spotlight! It proved too much to bear to witness a musical genre that possesses a nearly 50 year history and unsurpassed global influence being treated like a poor relation to other forms, hidden away in obscure columns and occasional artist features, usually penned by the more or less clueless. The fact that Jamaican music has grown in importance with regards to its effect on many other genres over the past decades has, unfortunately, failed to have had much impact on the quality of the print coverage given to it; nothing against fast-paced media such as radio or the internet, but dat alone nah mek it.

RIDDIM magazine covers up coming, established and forgotten artists, sheds light on current developments, takes trips down memory lane, addresses issues, sparks off debates, looks behind the scenes and out of the box, is hardcore, yet never narrow-minded. For RIDDIM, Reggae and Dancehall are culture(s), way(s) of life, attitude(s) rather than just styles of music. And RIDDIM gives you in-depth interviews, moving reports, detailed biographies, entertaining features, often times all in one article, as well as several opinion-forming reviews plus news from around the world.

Finally, since music is best heard and not simply written about, you’ll also find the real stuff on a free CD included in each issue.

All this doesn’t come off the tops of our heads or without a sound foundation: RIDDIM already looks back on 20 issues and has been Germany’s mouthpiece for Reggae and Dancehall since 2001. During these years, we have acquired an international staff comprised of the best authors and photographers from the UK, France, the USA and naturally Jamaica, all of whom share our abiding passion for Reggae and feel the need to tell the world about it. However love has not made us blind. Therefore, you’ll not find us eulogizing about all and sundry or calling everything that glitters gold. Instead, the music, its key players and cultural proclivities will, at times, be critically scrutinized both from an insider’s point of view and a bird’s eye perspective. ★ We can hardly wait to hear what you think of RIDDIM. Tell us. Your feedback will form a part of future issues: contact@riddimmag.com.

We soon come back. Until then, have a nice summer.

RIDDIM Crew

riddim crew PUBLISHER Alexander Lacher EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ellen Koehlings (ellen.koehlings@riddim.de) Pete Lilly (pete.lilly@riddim.de) EDITORS Gerd Gummersbach Patricia Meschino Francesca Deakin EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Jan Moritz Birgit Mair

ART DIRECTORS Thomas Groeger (cpt@riddim.de) Berni Valenta

BUSINESS MANAGER Petra Lengnick (petra.lengnick@piranha-media.de)

CONTRIBUTORS Sarah Bentley, Alexander Birk, Mel Cooke, Oliver Galbierz, Ulli Gueldner, Markus Hautmann, David Katz, John Masouri, Andreas Mueller, Uli Nefzer, Jasmine Ntoutoume, Helmut Philipps, Ulrich von Scheel, Till Schumann, Florian Schlottner, Ross Sheil, René Wynands

ADVERTISING Harald Richer (harald.richter@piranha-media.de) phone:++49–(0)89–30 77 42 11

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Lee Abel, Tim Barrow, Debbie Bragg, Paul Hampartsoumian, Gregor Hohenberg, Marlon „Ajamu“ Myrie, Peter Dean Rickards, Stefan Schick, Tom Trambow, Carlington Wilmot, Lutz Voigtlaender

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ISSN 1861-146X Copyright © 2005 piranha media GmbH; All rights reserved; reproduction in part or whole is strictly prohibited without prior consent or authorization from the publisher. Opinions and views expressed within Riddim Magazine are from Contributors and are not necessarily shared by the publisher.

★01

08 ★ CONTENT

06 EDITORIAL

★ COVER STORY

14 NEWS

52 JAH CURE Judge Not

★ RIDDIM-CD

★ GALLERY

10 TRACKLIST 58 STREET DANCE

★ MUSIC 12 MACKA DIAMOND

52★Cover Story: JAH CURE

★ SPECIALS

Diamond In The Rough

32 UNDA DI UNDA TAKER 20 TRUCKBACK Sound Over Status

42 REGGAETON IN PUERTO RICO

22 FANTAN MOJAH

Three Worlds Collide

Backpacking

24 TOOTS & THE MAYTALS

★ REVIEWS

Never Grow Old

25 JUNIOR DELGADO Raggamuffin Life

34★TURBULENCE

26 I-WAYNE The Lightness Of Being

38★BURRO BANTON

30 GENTLEMAN

78 84 86 88 90 94 95 96

LONGPLAYER RIDDIM CHECK CLASH UPDATE DVD TO DE FOUNDATION DUB REVOLUTION EASY SKANKIN’ BRAINFOOD

Global Affair

34 TURBULENCE

★ SERVICE

Notorious Natty

36 ASSASSIN Music Is The Weapon

38 BURRO BANTON

48★DON CORLEON 42★REGGAETON IN PUERTO RICO

A Soldier’s Story

48 DON CORLEON Don Corleon’s Vendetta

64 TONY MATTERHORN The Defiant One

70 GARNET SILK Kingly Character

74 AUGUSTUS PABLO Spiritual Melodica Master

06 RIDDIM CREW 98 WORLD CHARTS

★ CD#01 ★ 01 JAH CURE – SONGS OF FREEDOM Not exactly hot off the press, but even after six years still a big tune which will hopefully continue to give the small singer strength even after his transfer to the General Penitentiary.

★ 02 LUKIE D – DOG WORLD Finally Michael Kennedy a.k.a. Lukie D, the “L” in vocal group L.U.S.T., releases his debut album after being on the battlefield of this doggy dog world for more than 12 years.

★ 03 MORGAN HERITAGE FEAT. LMS – YOUR BEST FRIEND Who’d have thought a year ago that Don Corleon and Morgan Heritage would some day produce a hit together? There hasn’t been a bad one yet on the “Drop Leaf” riddim.

★ 04 GENTLEMAN – ALL THAT YOU HAD The first productions with the German singer had Bobby Digital saying, “Him going places”.

Now that Gentleman’s album has earned every accolade available on its home turf, he is now ready to launch his charm offensive on the rest of the world.

★ 05 FANTAN MOJAH – HUNGRY “Do something for the poor, open up the door!” You don’t need to go to bed with an empty belly to feel the man with the rucksack in the hit tune on the “Invasion” riddim.

★ 06 LUCIANO – HAIL THE COMFORTER Just like on the album of the same name the Messenjah’s version of the “Hand Cart Boy” riddim praises The King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah.

★ 07 POW POW FEAT. MORGAN HERITAGE, SIZZLA, FRISCO KID & TURBULENCE – SUPERIOR MEGAMIX It shouldn’t take long for Pow Pow’s current roots riddim to take up the trail of its predecessor, “Blaze”, and start superiorizing various artists’ albums and your favorite club.

★ 08 CHOPPA CHOP – LOVELY DAY It’s time for other producers to start paying attention and let Massive B’s discovery escape his B-side existence. Start your day with his “Truths & Rights” version and you’ll know why.

★ 09 MICHAEL ROSE – BETTER MUS’ COME He’s not only succeeded in reactivating Black Uhuru, he also sounds better than he has in years in solo mode. This is due to the fact that he has finally been voiced on riddims that we actually want to hear Michael Rose on.

★ 10 ROOTDOWN FEAT. ANTHONY B, CHUCK FENDER, RICHIE SPICE, JAHMALI, NOSLIW, ELIJAH PROPHET – CRYSTAL WOMAN MEGAMIX A small production outfit from the Diaspora of the Reggae world scores immediate points with its first internationally voiced riddim. Apart from the usual suspects, it is the less wellknown names like Elijah Prophet, Nosliw and Jahmali that take the biscuit here.

★ 11 LYRICSON – SUBURB POLITICIAN What a surprise! A Frenchman with roots in west Africa’s Guinea, as yet unknown anywhere other than in his home country, has quite incidentally delivered one of the top albums reviewed in this issue.

★ 12 TURBULENCE – WHAT THE HELL Even if his album output runs the risk of becoming as inflationary as Sizzla’s, his offering for 2005 “I Believe” is one of his best in a long time, all the more surprising because it was produced in Europe.

★ 13 BURRO BANTON – YA DUN KNO After stints with Black Hoover, Roots Unlimited, Hot Sizzler, Gemini, Killamanjaro, Volcano and Stur-Mars, the icy, intimidating growl of veteran deejay Burro Banton now graces Massive B riddims, rendering tales of gun violence and ghetto retribution.

★ 14 T.O.K. FEAT. PITBULL – SHE’S HOTTER This is the reeeeemix! What’s a nearly one-year delay in releasing the album in view of the dancehall boy group’s take of the “Sexy Lady” riddim, feat. Crunk rapper Pitbull, and a clutch of bonus tracks? Absolutely nuttin’!

★ 15 MACKA DIAMOND FEAT. MAD COBRA – MI NUH DUN The artist formerly known as Lady Mackerel has by now got used to mashing up her male colleagues. She therefore has no difficulty in outdoing this otherwise so eloquent snake on the remix of “Done Already”. ★ Photography: Stefan Schick

RIDDIM CD#1 ★ 11

12 ★ INTRO

After fifteen years struggling to bust on the music scene Macka Diamond emerges as a rare, multi-faceted Dancehall gem.

M

oney O!” hollers the female deejay on stage at Jamaica’s annual summer musical extravaganza Reggae Sumfest; “Money O!” is the enthusiastic response roared from the ladies in the house. Sensationally dressed in a baby doll dress and knee high boots made of laminated currency, deejay Macka Diamond is rocking Sumfest’s prestigious Dancehall night with a script of witty lyrics, catch phrases and current radio hits. This Diamond in the rough accomplished a rare feat in the summer of 2004; with her single “Done Already” she became the first female in four years to hit number 1 in Jamaica. A scathing barb aimed at one-minute men “Done Already” is summed up by Macka asking the question frustrated women across the world would like an answer to: “Wha ‘appen to you my youth?” While “Done Already” has been her biggest tune so far (her sound clash special of “Done Already” reworked to say “sound bwoy your dub done already, play few tune and your box done already,” is a firm favourite with international selectors and a guaranteed rival sound killer)Macka is far from a one hit wonder. Some of her other boom shots include “Boopsie”, “Try Wid Him”, “Make That Money” on the “Scoobay” riddim, a remix of “Done Already” called “Mi Nah Dun” featuring Mad Cobra and “Lexus & Benz” where Macka light heartedly cusses the rides of several deejays including Sizzla, Bounty Killer and Beenie Man. “The tune was intended to be fun but some deejays took offence,” Macka says. “One or two behave bad so I know for next time who can take joke.”

It was Macka’s turn to get name checked on Beenie Man’s hit “Chaka Chaka” with The Doctor implying that Macka’s good friend deejay Predator left his long-term girlfriend for her. Such is the price paid for Dancehall celebrity and Macka accepts it with the same joviality in which she dishes it out. “I know it’s not true so I don’t watch it,” she states.

When I met Macka in 2004 at Kingston’s Big Yard studio she was dressed in sexy patchwork jeans and a crochet red halter-top. She was friendly and surprisingly soft-spoken, her crass stage manner replaced by that of a demure, coy, even humble woman. When asked about her meteoric rise to the number one spot Macka enthused, “It’s incredible. Things have blown up. There isn’t a day when I’m not in studio, doing interviews or performing. It’s my career 100%; it’s what me always want.” Macka’s dogged pursuit of a musical career has included a succession of revamped images and identities. Known as Charmaine Munroe to her family, Macka started her recording career as Lady Charm but soon switched her name to Lady Mackerel after success with “Don Girl”, a response to deejay Major Mackerel’s “Don Ban”. After years of enduring the Mackerel name given her by a producer, Munroe announced a new image, name and lyrical flow in 2003 with another counter tune “Tek Con”, the ladies call to arms response to Vybz Kartel’s controversial “Tek”.

Macka’s no-nonsense chat dismissing the “pots and pans” Vybz offers women in return for sex in “Tek” definitely resonated with Jamaican females. “Fi me that tune was what bring me back to the people,” offers Macka coyly. “I’m saying what the women want to hear but are afraid to say, that’s why it’s funny. Most of the men love me for my honesty but occasionally they don’t. I’ve had bottles thrown at me and been booed. The ladies always back me so it never gets out of hand.”

Macka’s success came after she dropped the constant string of partners and groups she teamed up with in her early career. Her act with Queen Paula ended after the ladies had an argument. In the late nineties she was also in Captain Barkey’s Worm Dem Crew with Wickerman, QP, LM and Angel Doolas, their collective talent unequal to their limited success.

“It’s been a struggle,” confirms Macka. “I’ve tried a lot of formulas. I’ve changed my image, name and style many times. Now I have it; I know what to give a crowd and how to be an artist.” Although consciously going it alone Macka hasn’t forgotten the colleagues that have encouraged her including singer Sandy Starr and deejay Lady G both of whom she frequently brings on stage to share in her limelight. “I grew looking up to these artists so if I can bring them on stage I will,” she declares. “The success I’m experiencing now could end but my friends would still be there. That’s what’s kept me going so I have to pay respect to them.”

Macka is currently at work on her much anticipated debut album titled “Money-O” for Greensleeves Records. She is collaborating with Jamaica’s topper-top producers including Don Corleon, Snowcone, Christopher Birch, Clive Hunt and Shams. “Some of the producers I work with now ignored me for years,” she reveals, “but it’s cool though cause I wasn’t ready to work with them those times. My time is now and I’m hoping for a Sean Paul kind of success.”

Macka is also preparing for her appearance at Sumfest 2005. “After last year I have a lot to live up to,” she admits, “so I have to start planning my outfit from now.” ★ The release for Macka Diamond’s debut album “Money O” on Greensleeves Records is scheduled for later this year.

INTRO ★ 13

MaCka diamond DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH

Words: Sarah Bentley Photography: Peter Dean Rickards

14 ★ NEWS

Anniversaries All Over CHANCE TO CELEBRATE

Marcia Griffiths

Singers, sound systems, stage shows, a band and a radio station are among the music industry players having landmark anniversaries in the industry. In 2005 Marcia Griffiths, looking younger than the number of years she is celebrating, marked four decades with a series of performances and the album “Shining Time”. With stints at Studio One in the 60s (“Feel Like Jumping”), singing harmony with the I-Threes for Bob Marley in the 1970s, hitting it massive with “Electric Boogie” in the 80s and teaming up with deejays Tony Rebel and Cutty Ranks next at Donovan Germain’s Penthouse label in the early 1990s, as she sings in the title song of her celebratory album, “it’s shining time at last”.

Shabba Ranks announces “Stone Love stands alone!”, Bounty Killer says “well Stone Love” and Buju Banton invites “tell dem come tes’ we nuh, if dem tink dem bad like a we”. Winston “Wee Pow” Powell’s sound is dubbed the “world immortal” by its selectors and, judging by the massive 32 years anniversary celebration session held in Kingston last December, it seems that Stone Love is just that.

Rebel Salute turned 12 with a huge “Homecoming of Jimmy Cliff” at Port Kaiser in St. Elizabeth in January, Lloyd Parkes and We The People Band looks forward to 30 years in 2005, Half-Pint gave “Greetings” on his 21st anniversary tour in 2004, the same milestone cutting edge radio station FAME FM (started April 1, 1984) marked this year with a street jam in Portmore, St. Catherine, which unfortunately was cut short by a crowd disturbance.

This year, though, sound system and family business Merritone celebrates its 55th anniversary, with expectations that its annual reunion series will again take the “merri music” experience, hosted by the legendary Blake brothers, across the island.

Mel Cooke /// Photography: Gregor Hohenberg

NEWS ★ 15

The Island GruveSupper Club

MUSICAL STEW PEAS

The introduction features a customer ordering stew peas (without the pork) but “The Island Gruve Supper Club” isn’t a restaurant; instead, it is an ambitious new release from Atlanta’s Terminus Records that shines a spotlight on Reggae in that southern US city. Set in a fictitious Jamaican dinner establishment (think the Buena Vista Social Club, the press release says, without the Cubans or the budget) the ensemble includes several locally based musicians including Errol Moore (founder of the NYC group Monyaka best known for their 1980s hit “Go Deh Yaka”), keyboardist and vocalist Monty Montgomery, St. Lucian born General Neah Francois and Erika Newell, a long time member of Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers. In the tradition of musical theater, each conveys personal stories through their songs, which, in this case, are solidly, upbeat Roots tracks highlighting the aggregation’s accomplished and varied musicianship. Some of the highlights include Francois’ sweetly penned “Almost Told Her” and the comforting “If We Pray”, Montgomery’s “Rock Steady Time”, Marsde Culture’s “She’s Waiting To See Me” and Moore’s “Little Rascal”.

In between songs, the artist’s banter about various topics including Jamaican women ingesting chicken pills (to enlarge their breasts and batty), the unexpected pitfalls of spending time in jail and surprise encounters with scantily clad women. The fine musical quality, friendly vibe and originality of the concept make this a supper club you will definitely want to visit but exercise caution when ordering the stew peas!

Patricia Meschino

News RootsManuva ROOTS MAN AT HEART UK HipHop maverick Roots Manuva has started his own label Banana Klan. According to Roots, the imprint will release “all things tropical. At the moment it’s Dub and Dancehall but it’s going to take in the whole spectrum of tropical sounds.” The label started in 2002 with a low-key release of Manuva doing over The Beatles “Yellow Submarine” but things really took off in 2005 with two sterling releases from veteran UK toasters Ricky Rankin on “Doogoo Machine” and Jimmy Screech on “Let’s Get Moving”. Roots Manuva, who describes his own music as “bastardised Reggae /HipHop” grew up listening to Reggae/Dancehall legends Smilie Culture, Yellowman, Wayne Smith and Saxon Sound. He decided to make music with toasters from a nearly forgotten era in UK Reggae because “I used to hear about Ricky Rankin and Jimmy Screech at school; I’m only here doing what I’m doing today because of guys like them.” If you want to get hold of Banana Klan works you’ll have to move quick: each record has a limited pressing of 1,000 7inch records. In the UK Banana Klan Records is distributed by Honest Jon’s.

Sarah Bentley /// Photography: Paul Hampartsoumian

16 ★ NEWS

It has been 20 years – and counting - since the “Sleng Teng” riddim, invented by Noel Davey, popped out of a Casio keyboard, found it’s way into the Waterhouse studios of King Jammy’s and then blasted through the speakers of a sound system on Waltham Park Road, Kingston, in a clash against Black Scorpio on February 23, 1985.

Sound owner Jack Scorpio himself claims pole position in the digitisation of Dancehall with Echo Minott’s “No Lazy Body”; whoever was first, there is no doubt about who was most popular. The tracks officially recorded on the “Sleng Teng” are uncounted but said to be in triple figures, with Wayne Smith (the man with the title song), Tenor Saw’s “Pumpkin Belly”, Sugar Minott’s “Jammin’ In The Streets”, Supercat’s “Trash An Ready”, John Wayne’s “Call The Police” and Johnny Osbourne’s “Buddy Bye” among the prime cuts featured on Jammy’s “Sleng Teng Extravaganza” collections (just re-released on VP Records). Jammy’s revived the riddim in the early 1990s for Bounty Killer’s “Lodge”, which appeared on the 1993 “Jamaica’s Most Wanted” album. It is a testimony to the riddim’s staying power that the Killer often still starts his live performances with the song. And, in true Dancehall fashion, the “Sleng Teng” has been revived in 2005 (one riddim compilation on VP Records), with Hollow Point among the new generation of artists to ride a riddim that was made when he was a child. Wayne Smith is the only “returnee” from the 1980s.

The impact of the “Sleng Teng” in the dancehalls and on the Jamaican airwaves cannot be overstated: its success highlighted the hit-making possibilities derived from a single instrument. As a result Jamaican music making got more compact, with smaller studios, smaller amounts of people making the music and, of course, smaller bands playing it back for live performances. How much smaller? Peter Tosh, Mikey “Mao” Chung, Pee-Wee, Dean Fraser, A. Brackenbridge, D. Madden, Nambo, Robbie Shakespeare, Sly Dunbar, Iziah Thompson and Noel Sims are the musicians credited on Tosh’s 1981 “Wanted: Dread And Alive” album. Dennis Brown toured with the seven-person Lloyd Parkes and We The People Band (not counting back-up singers). Beenie Man’s touring band Ruff Kut has four persons. How many musicians did it take to make the “Diwali” rhythm that Wayne Wonder had the Billboard charts clapping along to with “No Letting Go” in 2003? One. Steven “Lenky” Marsden.

SlengTengRiddim NEVER GROW OLD

King Jammy’s

Mel Cooke /// Photography: Peter Dean Rickards

VintageShows

Alton Ellis

NEW AND OLD FANS FOR FOUNDATION MUSIC The 17 year-old Heineken Startime and two year-old Stars R Us series have made time capsules of major concert venues across Jamaica over the past year, as vintage music keeps ever expanding crowds coming in and leaving happy.

The voices of the singers and deejays are almost invariably in pristine, near record condition, with still nimble legs and nifty moves showing that good music is the true fountain of youth.

And the same goes for the audiences, with older folk reliving the sometimes rebel music of their youth and the youngsters shaking a leg to songs that were oftentimes recorded before they were born.

The Heineken Startime series staged “Shock Attack” in Kingston at a rain-affected show on March 5 with Ken Boothe, Johnny Clarke, John Holt, Alton Ellis and Frankie Paul among the headline performers. Stars R Us turned two in October, with Yellowman, Gregory Isaacs and Sugar Minott among those doing the honours, but more recently celebrated Ska godfather Derrick Morgan’s 65th birthday with an event that ended before a packed house at the Mas Camp village in Kingston, where Admiral Bailey and Josey Wales were the standouts of the night.

The concept of vintage is changing with the Foundation Music Showcase at the start of 2005, also at Mas Camp, presenting persons as varied as Chaka Demus and Pliers and newcomer Natty King whose hit “No Guns To Town” was definitely appreciated. Among the more current entertainers to have performed on either of the popular vintage series are Cocoa Tea and Nadine Sutherland.

An umbrella organization, the Jamaica Association of Vintage Artistes and Affiliates (JAVAA), was formed in July 2003 and now has headquarters at the Jimmy Cliff owned Jamaica Vibes Restaurant in New Kingston, where monthly shows are staged as the mandate of representing the interests of the older voices in Jamaican music is pursued.

Vintage artistes do not always perform together, though; Ken Boothe was appreciated at Lady Saw’s Grammy Party and on May 22 the “10 Giants Of The 80s” brought the concept even closer to the present with Sugar Minott, Charlie Chaplin, Josey Wales, Brigadier Jerry, Sister Nancy, Pinchers and General Trees all on the roster.

Mel Cooke /// Photography: Lutz Voigtlaender

NEWS ★ 17

Bad Words and The Law OH BOMBOCLAAT!

One of the most memorable - and celebrated - lines in Jamaican film history is from 1997’s “Dancehall Queen” when Priest (Paul Campbell) advises Junior (Mark Danvers) of his extremely limited bill of rights under the Jamaican criminal constitution. He pushes a frightening face - scowl, dead eyes, gold tooth and all, almost as close to Junior’s terrified eyes as Bob Marley’s jeans were to his thighs and says: “walk an’ live… talk an’ bomboclaat dead!”

And we cheered.

It is officially OK to go to the cinema and hear bomboclaat, as well as its juicy Jamaican curse word mates pussyclaat, raasclaat and bloodclaat, in pristine HP 4000 sound, but not for the live version to be delivered on stage. Deejays Beenie Man and Bounty Killer (both of whom, ironically, figured on the “Dancehall Queen” soundtrack, Beenie with Chevelle Franklin on the title track and the Killer with Sugar Minott on the remake of “Tune In”) have found themselves in a variation of the script, as for them the line reads “talk bomboclaat and be banned” from sponsorship. Anyway, as the two who have been hitched at the musical hip since the early 1990s (mostly in acrimonious fashion) were summarily banned from the sponsorship of a six-pack of businesses in late April, after using a claat or two at the huge, nationally televised live concert that ended the annual Carnival celebrations.

It was a giant, commercial leap in a running battle between some deejays and the authorities, which was revived in late 2004 after a postSumfest 2001 lull. After that edition of the summer festival in Montego Bay, Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Alozade, Hawkeye, Elephant Man and Kiprich were charged with breaches of the Town and Communities Act. Alozade, who had carried a machete on stage

during his performance, lost it in court, assaulted two policemen and was sentenced to two years in prison.

Sizzla Kalonji was arrested after East Fest 2004 in Morant Bay although he hadn’t said anything that Beenie Man did not (the two appeared on stage together but Beenie Man was not charged) and that discrepancy may have had something to do with the fact that Sizzla chanted “we fia bun de whole a dem” when “The Girls Dem Sugar” decided to cool the pace a bit. (Morgan Heritage, the promoters of East Fest questioned the discrepancy in the cut “How Come?”). And, recently, Fantan Mojah was charged the standard J-$1000 (US$16) after “a one ting squeeze out”, as he would later describe it, at Western Consciousness in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland.

Performers should, of course, adhere to the laws of the land and perform within the parameters set out for them by promoters. (These parameters were, in the main, not stated before the Sumfest 2001 watershed year). And chipping claats for a cheap forward should not be rewarded. However, the Town and Communities Act, which dates back to the British colonial era, does not specify the “calumnious behaviour” it stipulates penalties for. It is not stated that persons should not say bomboclaat, raasclaat, pussyclaat and bloodclaat. In addition, the law is applied as unevenly as George Bush’s peculiar brand of democracy. For instance, at the “Death Before Dishonour” sound system clash in April in Montego Bay, the very city where the furore started, the claats flew thick and fast in the presence of a large number of policemen on security duty and no one was charged.

Neither was the former Minister of National Security, KD Knight, when he told fellow governing party member and present Prime Minister hopeful Portia Simpson-Miller that she was “f**kery” in the House of Parliament (not in the chamber, though), as reported in the country’s largest national newspaper.

Neither was Jimmy Cliff (and I am not saying that he should have been) when, in his homecoming performance at Rebel Salute 2005, he quoted from his Rhygin role in the 1972 classic “The Harder They Come” to introduce the movie’s title song, with “don’t get me wrong; I am from the ghetto. I know how it goes when I say don’t f**k with me, I will kill your bomboclaat.”

It would seem that the two “ts”, tourists and television, are the major factors at work in this most recent move. In a country where shortness of tempers is exceeded only by shortness of memory, many will have forgotten (or never heard of) Peter Tosh’s speech at the 1976 One Love Peace Concert, to a massive audience including then Prime Minister Michael Manley and Leader of the Opposition Edward Seaga, in which he let out a claat or two expressing his disgust with the shitstem, concluding “I am not a politician, but I suffer the consequences.”

He was not charged, but maybe the beating to the brink of death he received from the police a few months later was a part of the consequences. But in a country of 2.6 million people, where 1,470 people were murdered in 2004 and 845 for the year to June 27, 2005, to be arresting people for a word that is as freely used on the streets as condoms were distributed at this year’s Carnival is, quite frankly, a waste of raasclaat time, and it also provides an avenue for fraudulent defiance.

It does not seem, however, that this situation will change anytime soon. So I resign myself to sporadic outbreaks of “curse and charge”. As Peter Tosh said in the refrain of the almost never played “Oh Bomboclaat”, I sigh and sing (very softly) “oh bomboclaat, oh raasclaat”.

Words: Mel Cooke /// Illustration: Berni Valenta

12 ★ NEWS

News

Cash Flow Crew

Bedroom Bullies STUDIOS SHRINK, GET “RESIDENTIAL” On the opening track “As It Is” from the 2001 Grammy winning CD “Calling Rastafari”, Burning Spear recalls his early musical journeys: “I was going back and forth from St. Ann to Kingston 13 Brentford Road”.

That was – and still is – the address of the legendary Studio One Records (except that it is now called Studio One Boulevard). However, nearly four decades after Spear started singing there are many more studios available to youths trying to “get a bus” although they are not necessarily at such well known addresses and neither do they have room for the horn players who once provided the backbone of Jamaican music; the president of the Jamaica Federation of Musicians (JFM) Desmond “Desi” Young estimates that there are as many as 400 studios in the Kingston and St. Andrew metropolitan region.

In the early days of Arthur “Duke” Reid (of Treasure Isle fame), his studio on Bond Street in downtown Kingston was above his liquor store; now many small studios have gone residential, finding their home in the owner’s dwelling. One of the new breed of professional home studios, made possible by the wonders of technology, is Cash Flow, located (appropriately enough), in the Kingston community of Cooreville Gardens, where each street is named for a popular Jamaican entertainer. Their particular area is named after Bob Marley, who famously told journalist Neville Willoughby that “de yutes a get it together an’ do dem own ting”.

Three such yutes are Paul “Neil” Mitchell, Damion “Mexican” Roye and Ernesto “DJ X” Mitchell, who have been running Cash Flow under the guidance of Paul “Father P” Mitchell Senior since 2000. Things have changed a lot since they had Windows 3.1, a homemade mixing board and a drum machine among their basic equipment: now Pro Tools, Digi 02 and an MPC 2000 XL are among their “up to the time” gear and there is no longer a bed in the converted, sound-reinforced, blue décor, 12 feet by 12 feet bedroom, as there was when they just began.

The voice-room, which takes up about five by five feet of the floor space, has hosted some big and getting larger names, among them Capleton, Fantan Mojah, Anthony Cruz, Perfect, Galaxy P, Fury and Warrior King, to lay tracks on their riddim “Teardrops”, on which Iwan has the title track. Along with “Guilty”, “Teardrops” is the latest production from a studio that has put out the “Dutty Guitar”, the “African Tribe”, the “Reloaded” and their first effort, the October 2000 release “Killer Bees”. Father P explains that while they will not always be in Cooreville, they will always have a private studio at home – and a commercial one elsewhere. So when Shabba talks about a “bedroom bully” it may also apply to a good home-based producer, tapping out beats on an MPC, as well as a skilled “wukka man” pounding out a riddim of a different kind with a headboard – or head – against a wall.

Mel Cooke /// Photography: Carlington Wilmot

JesteringRiddim

Sugar Dread

BRINGING BACK THE FUN

One of London’s most respected radio DJs, Choice FM’s Sugar Dread, has produced and self-released a classic old time riddim called “Jestering”. Thanks to two hilarious cuts “2 Much TV” from Sandeeno and “Wife Swop” from veteran English vocalist Joseph Cotton, the riddim is flying out of independent record stores and Sugar has been approached by two major record labels who want to sign the track. “2 Much TV” is a hit with Sugar’s female audience due to Sandeeno delivering hilarious lines such as, “she want love and affection but there’s no connection, man still a watch TV. In the bedroom him flopping, sitting in the front room each night television him watching.” Joseph Cotton’s vocal tom foolery nonchalantly describes his wife leaving him and all the possessions she takes, “Time for a new spouse, wife swop, can’t take the running of you run out of mi flat, run with them clothes run with dem pot.”

The final laugh at the tribulations of romance comes from Antony Que on “No Jestering” who comes with a controversial track aimed at mothers, “Oh mummy I love your daughter no jestering. She said that I should wait till she’s 21, but she just don’t understand I’m a very impatient man.” Of the riddim’s success Sugar says, “I wanted to bring some fun back to Reggae. Nobody come with a tune like this for years; everybody loves to laugh and that’s why it’s so popular.” Sarah Bentley

NEWS ★ 19

Dancehall Originators HOT THIS YEAR AGAIN?

MEET AND GREET IN UNKNOWN LANGUAGE

TO K T.O.K.’s sophomore album for VP Records “Unknown Language” which has had it’s release date delayed (inexplicably) finally saw the light of day. To commemorate the occasion the label held an intimate meet and greet with Alex, Flex, Bay C and Craigy T at lower Manhattan’s Negril Village Restaurant. Publicist Jackie O. Asare led a question and answer session with the band, which (inexplicably) excluded the press in attendance. Nonetheless, the band discussed various aspects of the new record including the meaning of the title “Unknown Language”: “When we talk Patois people don’t understand so we decided to do an album and explain what we mean on songs like ‘Gal You Ah Lead’, because we want to take our music to the whole world,” remarked Craigy T. They also commented on tracks ranging from their upbeat Soca remake of the Calypso Rose’s classic “Fyah Fyah” (“We believe in all Caribbean music, Soca is not that far from Dancehall,” noted Bay C) to their uncharacteristically somber Jamaican chart topper “Footprints” inspired by the island’s upward spiraling mortality rate and the death of Alex’s brother by a stray bullet. “When we went to the studio we didn’t even have the intention to record a song like this,” said Flex, “but we started writing it and that’s how it came out. Even though it is not number one now it is still number one in the people’s heart.”

Delivering a spine tingling a cappella rendition of “Footprints” to the intimate gathering, T.O.K.’s stirring harmonies and synergistic vocal interplay alternating between deejayed and sung leads greatly transcended the New York Times’ somewhat simplistic description of them as “the worlds greatest Dancehall Reggae boy band”. Patricia Meschino /// Photography: Lutz Voigtlaender

The Tuff Gong label, synonymous with the music of it’s founder Bob Marley and his children will soon be releasing CDs from a variety of vintage Jamaican artists under it’s “Let’s Go Back…Way Back” brand of releases endeavoring to shine a spotlight on the various participants that have contributed to Dancehall Reggae’s current role as a preeminent cultural force. “Because Dancehall Reggae has expanded it’s fan base in the past few years, we felt it was important to go back and highlight some of the great artists, riddims and important producers that have been previously released and have contributed to the music’s development,” explains Tuff Gong president Cristy Barber who came up with the concept for the series. The series’ first release is titled “Dancehall Originators” which features veteran deejays Peter Metro, U Roy, Charlie Chaplin and Yellowman alongside younger talents Tanto Metro and Buju Banton all riding the classic “Hot This Year” riddim. The “Hot This Year” riddim created by Long Island based producer Philip Smart and popularized by the Dirtsman cut of the same name, was one of the biggest riddims of 1992 and it’s success proved that hit Reggae records could be made in New York and exported to Jamaica reversing the customary route of Kingston crafted tunes dominating airplay in the Big Apple. “A lot of people didn’t know that the ‘Hot This Year’ riddim was made up here,” explains Philip from his Freeport, Long Island studio. “When I went down to Jamaica to voice artists, they asked me if Sly and Robbie or Steely and Clevie built the riddim (Smart played drums with Raphael Allen on bass and keyboards and Anastos “Nas-T” Hackett programmed the samples). So we bridged that gap where we get the acceptance because it is not easy to be accepted in Jamaica.”

Patricia Meschino

20 ★ FEATURE

SOUND OVER STATUS Words: Ross Sheil /// Photography: Peter Dean Rickards

Steve Locke needed to put together a studio.

He had the equipment and the skill, but lacked the space and resources to create a working laboratory. The solution came with his father’s old truck and a little ingenuity.

Steve Locke along with his friend and business partner, the famed young percussionist Teetimus, created Truckback, one of Kingston’s hottest new studios, on September 13, 2004. Truckback studios ratings belie its small size: inside it is cramped, the musicians are concentrated and the only hangout spot is the family yard in which it sits. But through sheer word of mouth (still the best form of advertising in Jamaica) and the feverish pace of work that is churned out of the trailer, this relatively peaceful looking, middleclass yard on Braemar Avenue has started to look more like a backstage gathering than a place where people actually live.

The Truckback story began over ten years ago when Teetimus and Steve formed the band Kausion, securing a contract from King Jammy’s to back Bounty Killer between 1994 and 1999; eventual tours with Shabba and even Sean Paul (before his international breakthrough) followed. The band earned their respect through endless touring and live backing. (Hitting the road is still a part of Steve and Teetimus routine as they recently embarked on a grueling month and a half long US tour with Elephant Man, promoting his upcoming album, the majority of which is Truckback produced, including the singles “All These Tears”, “Bum Rush Dem” and “Original Gangsta”).

But when they were at home Teetimus and Steve worked on hollowing out the truck, installing their equipment and creating the space that’s got everyone buzzing.

As cars drive in and out of the yard, the energy and optimism on everyone’s face is obvious through the smoke clouds that fuel the jokes and creativity. “I worked at all the studios but now I stop doing that and work right here,” explains Teetimus. “Anybody who wants anything, they have to come here where I am comfortable with Steve my engineer – we know each other for ten years.”

One of their main objectives is to have artists come to their studio to record albums with the Truckback musicians rather than one-off voic-

ings on riddims. But for now, it’s a matter of using the riddims to get the studio’s name out.

Also working from Truckback is Steve’s younger brother Adrian, who is regarded by many as one of Jamaica’s most talented young musicians. Adrian is responsible for the voicing, Steve the mixing and Teetimus of course, is a famed, but often uncredited riddim-builder, contributing to albums by Sizzla, Bounty Killer, Lady Saw, Busta Rhymes, Sean Paul and Vybz Kartel.

Today Adrian, the youngest Locke, looks tired, as the artist in the booth struggles for over an hour to record a chorus. “We do a lot of this, for people who think they are artists,” he smiles, “helping them while charging studio time. I think about this all day (he’s a bank teller), and the music’s not coming out of here unless it’s perfect, understand?”

Despite the Truckback team’s exacting standards, there’s the considerable challenge of persuading Jamaican radio DJs and soundmen to actually play their music. They’ve (somewhat) surmounted that hurdle by featuring two Irie FM DJs (Sunshine and Digital Chris) on Truckback riddims, thus insuring Steve’s heavy one drop “Memories” riddim and Teetimus’ Dancehall riddim “Dancetime” both enjoy steady rotation.

Due to the studio’s sudden surge in popularity there’s an immediate plan to expand the facilities with another air-conditioned container to add further band rehearsal space. Like all successful Kingston studios, they’re even experiencing the occasional foreigner dropping by but even without the visitors, the studio already possesses an international flavor with Teetimus Productions based in the US from where he provides drums and beats to a serious who’s who of HipHop. “In the future once they hear the sound, the big names will come,” says Steve, “but here it is about sound and not status, let’s build up to that.” ★

22 ★ FEATURE

BACKPACKING One of the Magnificent Seven who performed at Sting 2004, he was swept to the top by last year’s one drop revival wave. Since then, every last child has been singing along to his ode to the poor, “Hungry”. Vicious tongues claim the only difference between him and a host of other talented no-names in Jamaica is that he always wears a rucksack on stage. But these are just the sort of people that Fantan Mojah’s music is directed at: the bad-minded.

Words: Ellen Koehlings & Pete Lilly Photography: Pete Lilly

S

itting in the spacious yard behind the studio/office building of Downsound Records, the label of the Black & White production team, Andrew Prendergast and Joseph Bogdonavich, we wondered why this place seemed so familiar to us – 43 St. Andrew Park, a small cul-de-sac off Molynes Road in Halfway Tree. It was only when we set foot in the studio that the penny dropped with a clang. We were standing in the former Box, Dave Kelly’s Madhouse studio where some of Dancehall’s most enduring riddims were created. Madhouse’s success story is something the studio’s new owners are looking to repeat with their small, yet exquisite roster of artists as well as riddims like “Invasion”, “Maroon”, “Cornpiece” and the current “Dutty Rub”. DYCR, Junior Kelly, Bongo Herman and Fantan Mojah have all joined the Black & White camp in a manner that amounts to far more than just loose cooperation. They plan their careers together, discuss their next moves, make decisions or simply hang out with each other. Although they are all very different, they see themselves as a family that looks after its own. All of them drop by almost daily, regardless of whether recording time has been scheduled or not. That was no different this lunchtime when we came to interview Fantan Mojah.

Suddenly, the ground reverberated, the birds took startled flight and a moment later, Fantan Mojah turned the corner at breakneck speed. As his huge paws clasped our hands in a warm and boisterous greeting, he was clearly finding it difficult to keep his excess energy under wraps. Like a bull in a china shop, this enormous man almost upset the beer and roots bottles on the table when he sat down, causing our primed MD recorder to hang suspended in mid-air for a moment. “Me full a vibes, man!” Indeed, he is. During our conversation, the excitable singer would repeatedly slap a nearby thigh or tug on a spare arm, evidently convinced this would help him put his point across.

During the past few months, Fantan Mojah has shot to the top of the Jamaican charts with two extraordinary singles “Hungry” on the “Invasion” and “Hail The King” on the “Maroon” riddim. His own history and ability to couch its lessons in simple, easy-to-understand terms make him a credible spokesperson for those that society has forgotten. Shored up by his success, he told us, “Bere love me give to the people. Dem uplift me so me have to do back some work for the people dem. Consciousness and righteousness me a show to them ‘cause if you nah show dem nothing, dem will continue inna de dark, so me have to take dem into the light.”

Christened Owen Moncrieffe, Fantan Mojah spent his early years growing up with his Christian family in the rural parish of St. Elizabeth in the south of Jamaica. When, at the age of ten he refused to be dragged to church any longer, his mother threw him out of the house. “My mother seh me a bad pickney, just giving her trouble so me run and left me yard and go inna de street. Me still come look fi Mama same way ‘cause me love mama and papa, me honor dem. But me is a little youth who grew up inna my own way lest me have to get spanking.”

When he was about 14, Fantan alternated between the street and his grandmother’s house before being expelled from school for paying more attention to deejaying than to his education. “Dem seh me bad, but me know myself, me nah bad, me just love to deejay.” In honor of Bounty Killer, Fantan initially adopted the name of Mad Killer and in 1993 ventured to Kingston to live with his aunt in the Cassia Park area of Eastwood Park Gardens. In response to finding new musical role models such as Peter Tosh and Jacob Miller (“rebellious youth dem, like me.”), distancing himself from his early gun-lyrical deejay cuts and starting to look like a Rastafarian, his aunt threw him out of the house and he once again landed

FEATURE ★ 23 mower and cut people’s yard whenever hungry bite me. So when you hear me sing about hungry, me know about hungry me talk of hungry, me walk of hungry. ‘Cause music nah easy, music make you go through hungry.”

Driven by an empty belly and his will to make it, he voiced “Search” on the “28 Karat” riddim and “Feel Di Pain” on the “Persistance” riddim for Cleveland Scott’s small Home Run label. “Those tunes never get no big buss,” says Fantan, “but we use them and pave the street,” a street that, as fate would have it, Downsound Records happened along.

Andrew Prendergast told us his label’s change in musical direction resulted from a dream he had; Haile Selassie appeared, telling him he should concentrate more on the Rasta movement so he and his partner decided to focus their future work on message music. Shortly thereafter, Andrew saw a live performance of Fantan’s on cable TV and thought that he was the right artist to accompany Downsound on its newfound spiritual course. By coincidence when Fantan was looking for recording opportunities he found himself knocking on the Black & White door just a few days later and was immediately signed to the label.

It was at this point, with Fantan’s hungry days now clearly numbered, that his greatest hit to date “Hungry” was created. The tune was recorded on the “Invasion” riddim (a remake of “Pressure And Slide”) which was tailor-made for “Hungry” and found favor within Reggae’s current one drop riddim revival. With lines like “Don’t turn your back pon de farmer man, who plant cassava and farm de land / Treat good de nurse and de teacher dem, why nah focus and feature dem,” Fantan appeals to Jamaica to stand firm in the face of spiraling economic hardship and a record murder rate.

Downsound producer and the percussionist Bongo Herman custom-created the Nyahbinghi riddim “Maroon” for Fantan’s followon the street. Subsequent work as a Hear wha gwaan inna de street. See up chant, “Hail The King”, which advocates box boy for Killamanjaro gave him octhe people dem who kill off demself, change through faith and love: “Hear wha casional opportunities to hone his dem badmind. Dem nah want to see gwaan inna de street. See the people dem skills at the mic during the wee hours a next man rise and help uplift a who kill off demself, dem badmind. One of of the morning when the dance next man. When him rise, him no the biggest enemy inna Jamaica now is would be all but over. He kept himself draw up him bredda or him sista. people who are badmind. Dem nah want to afloat by working as a baker during Some people dem have no love, but fi see a next man rise and help uplift a next the week, spending his leisure hours dem time a run out. man. When him rise, him no draw up him with Ninjaman who introduced him to bredda or him sista. Some people dem have Capleton. It was also the Fireman who gave him his present name. no love, but fi dem time a run out.”

Fantan had already gone from Mad Killer to Phantom at this time, but Fantan not only sings about the love needed to save his country, as Capleton advised against calling himself “Tom” (or Dick, or Harry) and he does on “Corruption” (recorded on the “Dutty Rub” riddim), he turned it into Fantan – “Mi fan dem fi (s)tan(d) wid me and more Jah”. also carries it on his back. Anyone who has seen him live may have It wasn’t until the end of the 1990s that Fantan got his first chance to hit wondered what the energetic performer keeps in the obligatory ruckthe studios yet the tracks he recorded for (Germany’s) Pow Pow and Trissack attached to his back. “A bere love inna it and when me pull it tan Palmer failed to see the light of day. “Me do quite a few tunes for Trisbere love come out of it.“ tan Palmer, me have about an album full of tunes, but they never got released,” Fantan recalls. “So eventually me say, alright, me cool out and After the interview, the rucksack was finally opened, but instead of touch the road again. Me start working at the gully, clean de gully and t’ing. love, out came a container of freshly squeezed june-plum juice, which Me nah t’ief nobody, me prefer work and get some food. Me buy a lawnhe lovingly shared around. ★

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24 ★ FEATURE

and

toots the maytals NEVER GROW OLD Words: David Katz

He’s been thrilling listeners for over forty years with dynamic stage performances and rousing studio works.

Still in high regard in Jamaica, where he holds the distinction of writing the first song to reference Reggae in its title, he has also recorded Blues, Funk, Soul and Country Music, collaborating with noted American stars on several occasions. It was, in fact, the captivating duets he recorded with Willie Nelson, Bootsy Collins and Ben Harper that gained him a Grammy for last year’s “True Love”. But instead of basking in the glory of that accolade, the only break the man took from working on what is sure to be another fine album was the 40-date tour he embarked on in March. Toots must be the hardest working man in Reggae and despite the fact that he’s getting close to sixty, it seems like he will never slow down.

H

e was born Frederick Hibbert in May Pen, an agricultural market town, where he grew up singing in various musically oriented churches. “It’s Seventh Day Adventist and many churches,” Toots clarifies, relaxing after an exhaustive performance at London’s Jazz Café, “not no special church, but where people would gather and singing so nice, praising God, that I always want to be there. My father was a preacher and my mom was a preacher, and my sister and brother, they are in the choir in the church – a clapping church, that was one of them. I began singing in the church and therefore my music goes as a churchical order.”

At the age of thirteen, he set out for Kingston in search of work and settled in Trench Town, a slum area teaming with vocal talent, becoming attached to a local barbershop, where he met aspiring singers Jerry Matthias and Raleigh Gordon. “I was pretty young when I start,” laughs Toots. “I went away from my country town because I used to listen to artists like Ray Charles, Mahalia Jackson, Wilson Pickett and James Brown on the radio and I wanted to sing; I used to do boxing in my youthful days but people told me I could sing so I stopped boxing. I stuck with some people who do barbering, then I met Jerry and Raleigh; they are bigger than me and they say, ‘I like the way you sing, I want you to teach me,’ so I began to teach people in my youthful days, people who was elder than me.”

They thus formed the Maytals in late 1961, and although most producers were reluctant to record them, Clement “Sir Coxsone” Dodd, founder of the Studio One label, soon recognized their talent, being instantly struck by Toot’s unfettered delivery, which held all the

fervor of a “revival” church service, spectacularly offset by the Maytals’ harmony. Their resultant debut album, “Never Grow Old”, contained six number one hits. Further hits followed for producers Prince Buster and Byron Lee, before Toots was imprisoned on a trumped-up charge, leading to a period of inaction for the group. “I get arrested because people wish me bad,” he grumbles. “I was just bailing a friend and I get arrested for nothing because it was planned.” On his release in 1968, the group teamed with producer Leslie Kong for another series of impressive hits, including “Do The Reggay”, “54-46”, “Monkey Man”, “Sweet And Dandy” and “Pressure Drop”, an enduring song eventually covered by The Clash.

After Leslie Kong died of a heart attack, the Maytals linked back with Byron Lee, who secured Chris Blackwell’s involvement in the landmark “Funky Kingston” album. Island’s 1976 release “Reggae Got Soul” was even bigger and soon the group was headlining sold-out venues in America and Britain. Then Jerry Matthias and Raleigh Gordon migrated to the USA, but Toots had no desire to leave Jamaica.

Thus, the loyal set of backing musicians that had been with him since the early ‘70s in effect became the Maytals.

After Island issued the acclaimed “Toots In Memphis” album in 1988, soul covers cut in Memphis with Sly and Robbie and US musicians, Toots’ recorded output became more sporadic, but thanks to a hectic tour schedule, the Maytals’ profile never dropped an inch. “I wouldn’t call myself vintage or whatnot,” Toots insists. “I’m an international artist, don’t go on no ‘old hits’ show; my energy comes from the people, and from the prayer I pray.” Such energy will surely keep him going for the foreseeable future. ★

FEATURE ★ 25

Junior Delgado was one of Reggae’s most distinctive voices.

Junior Delgado, singer and songwriter: born Kingston, Jamaica 25 August 1954; married (several children); died London, England 10 April 2005.

JuniorDelgado RAGGAMUFFIN LIFE Words: David Katz

His gruff, deep tenor held an anguished quality that conveyed emotive gravitas, and although the bulk of his catalogue dealt with rampant social injustices facing the global poor and the exploitative nature of world politics, he was equally convincing with romantic material delivered in a rasping growl. Delgado was also close to many of Reggae music’s most important innovators, making his contribution all the more influential in the music’s overall evolution.

Born Oscar Delgado Hibbert Junior, he spent his early years in a crowded slum dwelling at Luke Lane, one of the narrow streets in the heart of downtown Kingston, where his mother worked as a dressmaker and his father as a building contractor; his uncle, Lennie Hibbert, was a noted vibraphonist and bandleader of the famed Alpha Boys School. After street violence escalated during the early 1960s, the family moved to Rockfort in east Kingston, eventually settling in a suburban area on the outskirts of the city, where Junior met Orville Smith, Junior Marshall and Glasford Manning, with whom he formed the vocal harmony group Time Unlimited in 1973.

Patterning themselves after the Temptations, Time Unlimited were discovered by eccentric producer Lee “Scratch” Perry, whose Black Ark recording studio was just being established in the nearby suburb of Washington Gardens; Perry was particularly struck by Delgado’s unique voice and motivated him to allow a rawer, more honest Jamaican expression.

Although a number of songs were recorded for Perry, very little actually surfaced, so the group briefly moonlighted as the Heaven Singers, cutting the rousing “Rasta Dreadlocks” for producer Rupie Edwards, which referenced the Rastafarian faith that Delgado had embraced at seventeen; a couple of inconsequential numbers were also recorded for producer Tommy Cowan before the group disbanded.

As a solo singer, Junior’s first local hit was the emotive “Reaction”, recorded for Lee Perry in 1975; an alternate version, backed by the Wailers band and produced by London-based expatriate Larry Lawrence, was popular on its release overseas, as was the religious “Really For A Reason” (both songs were credited on release to Junior Hibbert). For Niney the Observer, Delgado voiced the spirited “Every Natty” and a decent cover of the ballad “Thinking”, but it was “Tition”, a condemnation of the politically-motivated violence then destroying Jamaica, that really helped establish his reputation; the song was produced by guitarist Earl “Chinna” Smith and released by Dennis Brown, one of Delgado’s oldest and closest friends. “Sons Of Slaves” was another landmark Lee Perry production, an evocative examination of the legacy of slavery, while “Away With Your Fussing And Fighting”, produced by visionary instrumentalist Augustus Pablo, also a childhood friend, was another thoroughly riveting effort, whilst collaborations with rhythm kings Sly and Robbie yielded the substantial hits “Fort Augustus” and “Merry Go Round”.

Delgado’s debut album, “Taste Of The Young Heart”, was a compelling set that gained critical acclaim on its release in Britain in 1978; “Effort”, the self-produced follow-up, was of near-comparable quality. As Delgado travelled between Jamaica and the UK, further albums followed, including the dub-laden “Disco Style Showcase” and “Bushmaster Connection”.

After a period of inaction during the early 1980s, Junior bounced back in 1985 with the prophetic “Broadwater Farm”, which predicted the riots that were shortly to ensue and another topical single “Poverty”. Then came the captivating “Raggamuffin Year”, produced by Augustus Pablo for Island Records, which brought Delgado to even greater heights of popularity; its follow-up, “One Step More”, was also successful and live performances from the period, featuring Pablo, Delgado and protégés Yami Bolo and White Mice were of a supremely high standard.

Delgado continued cutting strong material for labels such as Fashion and OnU Sound, while the “Treasures Found” series of retrospectives compiled by his good friend Colin Moore of Fencebeater Records helped maintain his fan base. In the late 1990s, Junior briefly ran a north London record shop before opening the Incredible Music recording studio in Tooting, where he worked with upcoming talent as well as on his own material, including the recently completed “Invisible Music” album. Friends and family will remember a forthright, kind and jovial man never afraid of speaking his mind. ★

26 ★ FEATURE

THE LIGHTNESS OF BEING Words: Ellen Koehlings & Pete Lilly Photography: Pete Lilly

With a trio of powerful singles including the stripperella story detailed in “Can’t Satisfy Her”, which was climbing up the Billboard Hot R&B and HipHop charts without the usual push provided by expensive record label marketing machinery, I-Wayne has elevated the lyrical standards of hit Reggae records and generated great excitement surrounding his debut album due later this year.

S

imple, that was how most every answer began and ended when we interviewed I-Wayne, “registered Clifford Taylor”, in his home, tucked away in a slightly oversized turning area in Garveymeade, Portmore. Life, music, his success, his songwriting, his reasoning, everything was “easy”, “balanced”, “unlimited”. These were more than empty phrases; his words seemed to rest on an understanding that made him appear less alienated than most in this often-times alienating world. The reserved, somewhat reticent young singer gives an impression of other worldliness although his lyrics are firmly rooted in the here and now.

After hours of hanging around the Portmore Mall, a functional but relatively uninviting place, we were finally collected by I-Wayne’s manager, Sonny Spoon along with several members of the Loyal Soldiers crew and a representative from VP Records. We all bundled into an SUV and like sardines tightly packed in a tin we made our way through the sprawling satellite town to one of the older, better appointed housing schemes and straight to the terraced house of I-Wayne’s uncle, acclaimed keyboard player Ansell Collins. Ansell is the creator of “Double Barrell”, the piano-led primarily instrumental hit that topped the UK charts in 1971 and his dazzling organ skills dominate the durable “Stalag 17” riddim. I-Wayne, who has lived in his uncle’s home since he was born 25 years ago, appeared slightly nervous when we arrived in his living room. The Soldiers greeted one another with a meaningful, long-drawn-out “Laaaavaaa!”. Shrinking back, I-Wayne almost disappeared into the right-hand corner of a brown, floral-pattern Courts sofa.

In real life, he is even leaner and smaller than his photos suggest but that could have been due to his recent bouts with exhaustion and dehydration. Perhaps all the hype surrounding this young artist and his strict ital diet had taken their toll; having cancelled several shows recently, the singer retreated to the country for a fortnight of rest and relaxation.

I-Wayne’s distinctively high pitched, almost feminine voice has triggered Dancehall’s greatest revolution since Sizzla (he cites Sade, Marcia Griffiths, Dennis Brown and Sizzla as his major influences) but more significantly he has given the Roots genre new depth by transcending the usual topics of praising Selassie and ganja or demanding one love, all of which are significant but grow tedious with incessant repetition. By transferring his views to real-life situations, drawing from a rich vocabulary and never sacrificing his message for the sake of a rhyme, I-Wayne injects new meaning into statements that otherwise could have been dismissed as righteous rhetoric.

His tune on the Loyal Soldiers’ “Father Jungle Rock” riddim “Can’t Satisfy Her” nimbly weaves a perilous tale of the consequences of prostitution and materialism anchored in a simple yet highly effective chorus “one man can’t satisfy her/she needs more wood for the fire”. The song’s massive popularity has played a major role in the revival of one drop riddims in Jamaica, has been on the Billboard Charts for several weeks (an anomaly for a Roots tune) and is now in regular rotation at

several urban stations across America including NYC’s very influential Hot 97. While “Living In Love” (on the Stephen Gibbs produced “Hard Times” riddim one of the best of 2004) is not enjoying the unexpected crossover success of “Can’t Satisfy Her” it is equally as impressive both for it’s sophisticated lyrics and I-Wayne’s flawlessly controlled falsetto and boasts no less than Luciano on the B side.

Later this year I-Wayne will release “Lava Ground” his debut album for VP Records who have signed him to a multi-album deal. (His demo CD is currently a hot commodity available on the Internet and from pirate CD retailers featuring some unfinished tunes and “free flows” as he calls them on standard riddims). The “Lava Ground” riddim created by uncle Ansell was named after the I-Wayne tune, arguably the most compelling of his trio of hits. While the song’s biblically derived lyrics can be interpreted as a tale of Armageddon, in terms of his career the title “Lava Ground” provides an accurate description of the scorching conditions I-Wayne has created with his music and live performances both at home and abroad.

We were forewarned that, like Sizzla, I-Wayne feels uncomfortable speaking to the press. He is friendly, but reserved, somewhat cryptic throughout the interview but certainly happy to talk. In a gentle, soft and slightly haunting voice, he politely answers our questions targeting his career but also regularly steers the topic away from himself, putting everything into a much larger, cosmic context, posing philosophical questions, drawing comparisons with nature, sermonizing and going off on various tangents.

What does it feel like to be one of the most talked about Reggae artists right now?

Well, it’s a simple joy, nothing fi hype about. Life is just a natural manifestation me give thanks for it. Me want to keep the joy as long as possible, keep it humble, keep it balanced. Simple, that is it.

Was it hard to get recognized in this competitive business?

No, it wasn’t hard, very easy, ‘cause life is easy. Music nah nuh limit.

Nothing fi worry about. Simple, easy as life. I just learn from the wind ‘cause without the wind you have no sound at all. The wind is one of the greatest teachers.

Your lyrics indicate that you had a good education.

It no matter what stage you leave school, life never stop teaching.

Me leave school eleven grades, me never go to college. I-Wayne just teach himself naturally, he would just read, hear the wind, just heights, natural. You can learn from a baby as well and the baby can learn from the I. Mother earth never stop teaching us. Life is the master, life is the mightiest teacher. In school now me do some

FEATURE ★ 27

28 ★ FEATURE

»You are not too big or too small to know about life because the ants and the birds know what them supposed to do. Now we claim we are the most intelligent being. Why di I dem a live so? Worser than the dog more time.«

likkle composition more time, master the comprehension ‘cause we were over the grammatical heights. Me can answer questions correctly ‘cause me listen keenly. And me read thoroughly through di I dem a read fi get a great overstanding. So you really know what you are saying, it’s not a think or believe thing, it’s more of a surety. And I don’t write my lyrics, me just I-pose it and keep it within my head. Me just look pon it, me see it and me just sing it. I can keep it inna my brain like that good enough.

In your songs you talk about reality topics like HIV, prostitution, bleaching.

When you check those things, they are all some form of disease. Diseases flow around in the wind and how people live causes diseases too.

The hell that them talk about is really what you make it, cause if you make your place messy you draw the roaches and the fly dem so it’s like you create a hell. So me nah really look for no religion, for no one with no fork and no ray. The people make hell, it’s them weh destroy and trouble other people, who never disturb no one and never trouble no one, the innocent. So right now me just burn religion, cause religion is a big disease, too, one of the biggest diseases, me nah lie. It cause the diffusion and the division. So me just praise life ‘cause everyone is supposed to just love life. That it really is simple. Even with Rasta now, them just praise up a casket or a image. Them nah really want to look pon the characteristics, dem nah look what dem things for. Let dem say, I-Wayne never praise Selassie I and Selassie I a man. So me just laugh and say that’s the reality weh me a talk about. At least you can say Haile Selassie I is a man. But what is God? Where is God? What a question - and I know that question remains unanswered. The youth dem need answers, true answers, no likkle joke or lie thing. Me give thanks for reality because life is reality. You are not too big or too small to know about life because the ants and the birds know what them supposed to do. Now we claim we are the most intelligent being. Why di I dem a live so? Worser than the dog more time.

It’s just so simple, we just live it natural and real and praise life more and we grasp more from life. Yeah, that is it, simple. I-Wayne praise the sun, I-Wayne praise the moon and I-Wayne praise the stars, the brimstone and the lava. Me praise things that are forever, priceless. And this higher than career, music is so much more than money, so much more than career. All when the money done, music can’t stop ‘cause music is life and life is music. That is it, simple.

You are part of a young generation that is co-responsible for the revival of one drop riddims.

Yeah man, real sounds, genuine sounds, authentic, Studio One type of flow. Me realize the rushy thing (computerized riddims) nah really nice.

Inna the Dancehall me realize the clash thing nah make it neither.

‘Cause clash go inna the dance thing, the artist dem clash and the dancers dem clash. That not too nice, that cause death. And a bag a dancing like man to man dance, that not make it neither, the jiggy jiggy joke. That’s why I give thanks to the wind, always bringing and I-rating new sounds. When dem feel like it done, no man, the glory never done. It keep flowing like a mighty reservoir, like the River Nile. As I say, “the banks of the Nile so mild and so fertile”. You always have the mighty youths that spring up, lots of great seeds. Simple.

So racism nah really make it, religion nah really make it. Me just hail life and the ones that deal with uprightness. Me nah pretend. I say “living in love, no swimming in blood” and when I say “Lava Ground” it’s not a particular spot or place. You haffi know that lava flowing all over inna the earth. That is it, simple. Let me tell you about the likkle color thing. If you check the rays of the sun, it has all the colors from

black to pure heights color there, the colors of life. So me have to give thanks, me nah bother with the racism thing. If you nah live up in love, you get fire bun. Just live up and everything will be alright.

Do you think that conscious lyrics can exert an influence on Jamaican society?

People all over the world, yeah ‘cause it nah have no limit. So it’s not like a think or a belief, me know man, me sure man! Me feel a strength as even I alone would do it then, until them ready fi forward in and give a helping hand. So fi now I just a gwaan and burn through and do as much as I can fi help the youth dem and fi restore the Iciousness, the way that the I dem also be living, you see it. Me just show, it’s so simple.

You are part of the Loyal Soldiers crew. What’s that all about?

The Loyal Soldier youth dem are not just a label, they are some genuine youth ‘cause dem hear the genuine sounds and dem never neglect it. So me just deal with them genuine as family, no boss thing.

They deal with some youth weh someone would a neglect fi dem music too slow or too different. But dem youth never do that, me haffi give thanks for them strength.

Your demo CD is all over the Internet. Did you purposely put it on the web?

Yeah man, it was on purpose, I knew what I was doing. A student neighbor just around the road him have a little studio, me just heights up the demo. It just deh deh and I just free flow. And me carry this and make my aunty hear it. So them distribute it and me realize it even reach Ethiopia before me know it. It reach over Europe, all over the world dem have it and sell dem thing. But a more promotion fi di I and you know me make the music fi dem, so why not? So if me nah get no money fi it, that’s the least, you know. Me love it more than money, so me haffi just do it fi di love of it. That is it, simple, plain. Looking forward fi do the real thing soon still, so I get forward the tunes together and going in the studio, and I do some recording and then put them together.

Can you tell us something about the upcoming album already?

Yeah, it’s unlimited. Me can’t tell you the exact date, because me nah rush music, just make it forward like that, we don’t want to tell no lie, cause that can cause the people dem fi swim in di blood. So you haffi watch what you say. You have to watch the words weh forward from your tongue. You won’t haffi write down nothing ‘pon a paper because it’s all there. It’s all dere up and it’s so clear up fi everyone to hear up and the fruits shall bear up. And of course it fi everyone fi share up. I know you care of (laughs), Babylon can’t tear up. You see that. So it just appear up.That is it. Simple!

Simple.

Simple. ★ The album “Lava Ground” will come out on VP Records later this summer.

30 ★ FEATURE

L

azy journalism suggests he’s the Eminem of Reggae music: in a genre dominated by black artists, he’s a white MC possessing extraordinary mic skills who won his reputation the hard way, at the grassroots level. That he paid his dues in the dancehalls of Cologne rather than Kingston is irrelevant since such beginnings, coupled with outstanding achievements both on stage and in the studio, means he can now stand alongside other top Reggae acts as an equal instead of a token. Such acceptance is unprecedented yet Gentleman plays down its significance by pointing out how today’s Reggae music is a truly global affair and can no longer be viewed through separatist eyes.

“You can’t even talk about the different merits of a German or Jamaican production because everything kind of moves together,” he says. “If you check it, a producer can make a riddim in Berlin, have Tanya Stephens voice it in London and then it get mixed in Jamaica. So who can really say where this product coming from? It’s an international music now and it’s becoming more and more so as the musical exchange between different artists and producers continues to grow. I’ve noticed so much of that happening over the last five years, and it’s very promising for the music.” His three studio albums (all of them, like his live set, released on Four Music) feature several collaborations with leading Jamaican artists and producers yet Gentleman’s skills are not overshadowed by any of them. His duet with Capleton on “Fire Ago Bun Dem” from his 2002 set “Journey To Jah” was proof of that and there are further fireworks on his latest and most accomplished work to date “Confidence”.

“We compromised less on this album because it’s more of a pure Roots Reggae album compared to ‘Journey To Jah’ which has a Dancehall element to it,” he explains. “But the direction is the same and I don’t see any reason to change it, y’know? This album’s more rounded than the last one. It’s more relaxing too and that’s a reflection of recording with people like Bobby Digital and the Firehouse Crew who I’ve worked with already and the more we work together, then the more we grow in a it, that’s also happening with Don Corleon. But I also like to make my own music as well; I’m not saying that I’m »You can’t even talk going to stop working with other producers, but I about the different mefind myself drawn to making my own music more rits of a German or Jaand more, especially as I find out more about what I maican production bewant. Some of the riddims I’ve made are played by cause everything kind of the same musicians I perform with on stage and moves together. I mean that makes a real difference.” if you check it, a produHis own production company Bush House contribucer can make a riddim in ted several tracks to “Journey To Jah” including “Love Chant” and “Danger Zone” featuring Junior Berlin, have Tanya SteKelly. That was only the warm up however with phens voice it in London “New Day”, “Mystic Wind” (co-starring Tony Reand then it get mixed in Jamaica. So who can bel), “Children Of Tomorrow” (with Jack Radics) and really say where this “Caan Hold Us Down” all benefiting from the close product coming from?« understanding shared by the thirty-one year old and his Far East Band. The way he cuts loose alongside Barrington Levy & Daddy Rings on “Caan Hold Us Down” is especially mesmerithat tally with several new songs, including the former sing, and a version album of the same riddim (concentrating exclusively on femasingle “Blessings Of Jah”, featuring Ras Shiloh. le acts) is already underway. However it’s his single, “Intoxication”, produced by The down to earth Gentleman is full of praise for Bobby Don Corleon, that’s winning hearts and minds with its catchy, romantic melodies and Black Scorpio, who produced two tracks on “Confiand delightful one drop backing track. Released on a CD single by Four Music dence”, as well as his recent single “Flesh And Bone”. and accompanied by an hour-long video shot in LA, “Intoxication” entered the Fellow singer Richie Stephens is another of his longtime German national charts at No. 34 just days before we conducted this interview. friends on the island since it was at his studio where For an artist who won Best International Act at the German Echoes Awards, as earlier hits like “Heat Of The Night” and “Leave Us Alone” well as Best National Pop/Rock Act and whose last album went straight to No. 1 were recorded, as well as “No Time Like Now” (again on the German charts, this is to be expected. What is surprising is that Gentleman featuring Jack Radics) from the new album. is a Roots Reggae artist whose primary motivation is to write songs that can efGentleman, whose real name is Tilmann Otto, develofect social and personal change. ped his love for Reggae via his older brother’s record “My objective is to permanently reach a state that I have only known for short collection. The son of a local churchman, he has lived in periods, that is a feeling of closeness to God,” he once told a reporter covering Cologne all his life yet he became an established Regthe Sierra Nevada World Music Festival. “It’s an attitude towards life I try to hold gae artist through a time tested Jamaican tradition: risup and pass on to others in my music.” That sentiment is expressed on tracks like ing through the sound system ranks.

“Send A Prayer” and “Be Yourself”, which contains the lines, “You’ve got to be “In the beginning of the 90s you had lots of sound syyourself, no one else / you’ve got what it takes inside and that’s where your true self stems from Hamburg, Berlin, Cologne and every city on resides.” The epitome of contemporary Roots Reggae with its live riddim and conga the Rhine,” he recalls. “I worked with Pow Pow and aldrums Gentleman voiced that one at Bobby Digital’s studio in Jamaica with Cocoa so another crew as an MC during that time and I’ll still Tea. Bobby opened his account with Gentleman some time ago and now adds to hold a mic in a dance every so often.” There’s evidence

FEATURE ★ 31

Gentleman is Germany’s foremost Reggae ambassador, the artist who most effectively symbolizes that country’s love affair with Jamaican music.

He can sing and deejay, he is an adept lyricist and his ability to create engaging melodies could easily bring him crossover success, as his single “Intoxication” demonstrates.

GLOBAL AFFAIR Words: John Masouri Photography: Tom Trambow

of this Dancehall apprenticeship on tunes like “Screw Face” and “No Competition”, which have a battling quality about them, although it wasn’t until he met Jack Radics that he seriously pursued a career in Reggae.

“I was always interested in the music, but I never planned to make anything of it and I didn’t even go to Kingston the first few times I went to Jamaica,” he discloses. “What happened was, I had the opportunity of working with this HipHop band in Germany and then suddenly I had a record deal, which is what gave me the opportunity to go to Kingston and record. It all started with Jack Radics because he was living here in Cologne when I met him and he gave me the link to Red Rose in Jamaica, who produced me and Terry Linen on this track called ‘Jah Jah Never Fail I’.”

Richie Stephens and Richard Browne then entered the picture and work on Gentleman’s debut album “Trodin’ On”

(released in 1999) began in earnest. Happily, German producers such as Pow Pow, Tommy W, Roger & Shorty of the Digital Diamond Crew, Pionear, Don Philippe and Hamburg’s Silly Walks Movement were also involved. Such allegiances have served Gentleman well in addition to shedding invaluable light upon the abundant talent within the German Reggae scene. Unsurprisingly, he has continued with a similar blend of producers ever since, except this line-up has now been augmented by his own productions and those of Don Corleon, AL.TA.FA.AN and Kingstone’s Rolf Radny, who issued “Wicked Thoughts” and the “Isyankar” Remix, featuring Mustafa Sandal.

For Gentleman there are plenty of other exciting projects to come, including his duet with incarcerated Jamaican singing sensation Jah Cure (“Share The Love” on the Vertex label). Meanwhile two HipHop legends – Muggs from Cypress Hill and DJ Premier – are both working on remixes of his tracks, which should expose this deserving artist, as well as Germany’s profound embracement of Jamaican music, to a much wider audience. ★ Gentleman’s latest album “Confidence” is out on Four Music.

32 ★ SPECIAL

unDa DI

unDataker ere is one Fulfilling one of life’s ironies, the man with the name Taylor, THE FAMILY picture. A once a badman involved in gang war fare, once an upholsterer UNDERTAKER picture in stuffing sofas and car seats, now cares for the dead as an This September numbers: 1999 one undertaker tailoring and upholstering the corpses that pass makes twenty years calendar year. Jathrough Taylor’s Funeral Home. It is also ironic that this since Renford Taylor maica. In a population modest business serving the mostly poor east Kingston has operated a downof 2.5 million 66 peocommunities could be situated on the same street as the high town Kingston funerple killed in twelve rise Air Jamaica office building, the Gleaner offices (the isal home. The calendays. Bow! Bow! land’s leading newspaper), the Institute of Jamaica and the dar for 2003 shows a Spark your lighter in Bank of Jamaica… but when the sun goes down an di big man man that promises to the Dancehall for all businesses shut, East street clearly belongs to the people of take his clients out in downtown Kingston: the barber who dresses their heads, the the departed spirits. style. For Taylor this Gwan chant! Terror shoe maker who measures their feet on a sheet of cardboard was the most secure Fabulous, Merciless, paper spread out on the sidewalk, and Taylor, the undertaker who business he could John Gotti, Bounty Kilknows his community from all sides and takes them under… ever have started. la. Tel Aviv, Angola, Words: Jasmine „TuTum” “…it is a business Water House, Zimbabthat will always keep we. Gwan go bury yu ded. The names, the Yu wan go a dance, go downtown, to the me in business”. He gives me the same crews, the lyrics fly as fast as the shots in ghetto, to the concrete jungle Bob Marley straight faced look he has on the funeral home downtown Kingston and the Dancehall is sings about. My friend wants to meet the calendar for 2003. Considering the high death where the communities gather to express all badmen. I tell him before he meets the badtoll in Kingston’s garrison communities where that happens. Joy, longing, suffering and grief. men he has to meet the undertaker. gang warfare and susu (informing) keep the

H

SPECIAL ★ 33 stakes high in the game Bounty Killer calls the “Blood Sport”; he might well be right. Taylor is as much a reflection of his community as the community is a reflection of him. Not unlike the don who serves the living, “dem build and keep the community”, the undertaker serves the dead, sometimes even at risk to his own business, especially when a Western Union money Transfer cyaan reach from foreign: life at times is just as tough for Jamaicans working abroad and some still can’t afford to bury their dead back a yaad…

Minimum wage 500-800 JA /day ($8$12US).

FROM AN UNCERTAIN PAST TO A CERTAIN FUTURE With a birth rate averaging 10,000 per year, most inner city Kingston babies open their eyes at Victoria Jubilee hospital to an uncertain future. Some are lucky: “even if dem don have money dem ‘ave life an love” according to G.T Taylor of Jamaica’s Irie FM radio. Rene Taylor was also born at Victoria Jubilee “an grow a yaad the hard way” sometimes going to bed hungry. Luckily for him his mother was a “soft woman full of love”. He still played the cards the Kingston environment dealt him: in the seventies he was a badman, a hardcore knifeman operating as Rene Rankin in Tel Aviv, a well hot Kingston community, just as hot then, as it is now. He knows he was lucky to get out alive: “in those days you could still walk away, change your life, today there is no escape.” He believes God spared his life back then because he followed what he considers the unwritten rule of a badman: “You never steal from people,” especially when possessions have more value than life…

believe that one can ever be completely desensitised to death, it is more a matter of accepting it as a process of living whichever way you choose to live. Taylor is subdued as we leave the back room, he has two sons, eighteen and twenty years old, and somehow he must be trying to figure out the odds of them lying in front of him.

Casualties of Wild West Kingston…

afford Gotti’s clothes emulated his style as best they could with their meagre funds.

This self expression spreads out to cover business as well. What flashes the people?

What brings the holy and the hungry together? What would make someone spend their last penny on a departed one if it wasn’t for the style and the profile that would make them smile down at you from heaven?

UNDA DI UNDA TAKER

THE LAST SUPPER

The wall is papered full of newspaper clippings of murders, daily quotes, photos of friends and family, photos of himself in the Star (a popular daily tabloid) where he’s featured twice as one of Kingston’s best dressed. Rene points to one of the pictures and says proudly: “Is we bury him.” I quickly readjust my focus to read: Willy Haggart Moore, early thirties, a self styled don, leader of the Black Roses crew was shot down execution style in broad daylight, West Kingston Arnette Gardens on April 19th 2001, the gunmen remained standing over the lifeless body pumping several bullets into it, a friend of Mr. Moore says: “up to last night everyting was nice and straight… a pure movie star vibes an sportin’ did a gwan…” Moore’s funeral was highly publicised. The attendance of Dr. Omar Davies, a member of parliament for the South St. Andrew constituency at the don’s funeral made at least one aspect of Jamaican garrison commmunity politics clear: the government is obliged to acknowledge the important role the dons play in their communities. For Rene Taylor it was a challenge and an honour to dress the body of a man whom he knew personally and who many in the community saw as a father figure…

Taylor’s funeral calendars go fast at the beginning of each year. There is nothing morbid about someone having one of his stylish undertaker pin ups with holy messages in their bedroom or living room. At least it’s one way of marking the deaths that take place in some Kingston communities on a weekly, if not daily basis. At Taylor’s Funeral home, the inside lid of every casket has the funeral home’s trademark scene of Jesus with his apostles at the last supper. White, sky blue and pink caskets stand open with their plush interiors of white satin frills ready to receive. Casket costs: 15,000-20,000 JA. (US$250.00-$330.00) Funeral Package (transfer from hospital to morgue, body storage up to two weeks, metallic casket, transfer by hearse to burial grounds, black and white graveside printed programme) 140,000 JA ($2,400US) considering the minimum wage and the lack of insurance plans that “most people don deal wid” the costs can be deadly.

A funeral is a big deal in Jamaica and people wear their best to such events, even if they must duck for cover when the graveside gun salutes go off… Movie star vibes send the clients off to meet their maker and the undertaker becomes the angel who is able to fulfil a ghetto dream, which in life might have been deferred again and again. ★

AT THE END OF THE BLOOD SPORT GAME

GHETTO FABULOUS…

Its 10 a.m in the morning when Taylor and I meet out front of the funeral home. It’s a one story building with a burglar bar entrance. He pulls up in a Rav 4 mini jeep, flashes me a comfortable smile (the initials RT are set into two gold teeth). He hails up two bredren going by with a mix of fists touching and hugs.

He has a relaxed, self confident air about him which might be due to him being an undertaker or simply because he has a role in his community. We pass through the main entrance waiting room and casket display area to where the bodies are stored. Body storage cost: 500JA/day. It’s a small room with a large stainless steel work table smack in the middle of it. Taylor’s work day begins with two bodies brought in yesterday. As he opens the freezer the bodies shake stiffly on the supporting metal trays, the flesh grey brown, waxy and lifeless. The air is still with death and my nose feels numb. One male, eighteen years old shot by the police. The other male, twenty years old killed in a gunman to gunman shoot out. It takes a lot to

Taylor is a self styled ghetto fabulous don of the undertaking business. The calendar for the funeral home has him posing in a tailor made three piece suit topped with a matching fedora, his fingers and neck decked with gold.

He’s made the whole dance lif up at some of Kingston’s “best dressed” contests. Not surprising, the late John Gotti, one of the last famous Hollywood style mafia kingpins known as the “dapper don”, is one of Taylor’s role models. Gotti’s highly publicised trial in early 1980s in New York City saw the mafia star dressed to kill in expensively tailored suits. With the dynamic capacity for self expression in Kingston’s inner city those who couldn’t

34 ★ FEATURE He has recorded ten albums and toured extensively but this graduate of the Sizzla school struggled for years to find his own voice.

Then in late 2004 with the release of two scorching signature hits followed by a series of exhilarating performances at major Reggae concerts Sheldon “Turbulence” Campbell was transformed into one of Jamaica’s most notorious artists.

NOTORIOUS NATTY Words: David Katz Photography: Pete Lilly

rue to his stage name, Turbu- »Any Rasta and so-called Rasbody else who want to produce and manage lence arrived on the scene as a manic ta where I see come upon de Turbulence, I say, ‘Okay, you get two shows, burst of energy, an uncontained firescene and talk about ‘Burn but no manager, cause Fatis is the big man.’” ball with all the pent-up aggression and random this’ and ‘Burn that’, what In his early days at Xterminator, Turbulence cerdestructiveness associated with an unexpectdem a know about what dem a tainly drew much inspiration from Sizzla; their ed storm. I remember seeing him doing a burn? A fool dem! They are initial similarities caused some confusion and guest spot at a Sizzla concert held on the island fools, because you can’t judge rumors circulated that Sizzla was displeased of Grenada in 1999, where he pogo-ed wildly people, leave all judging to when Turbulence began his ascent. Yet Turbuacross the stage, barking his way through half a the Almighty.« lence insists there was never any animosity number before disappearing again. When his and makes a point of praising Sizzla for the imeponymous debut album appeared shortly thereafter, it felt like producer portant guidance the star has given him. “Sizzla is a great soul,” he exFatis Burrell had jumped the gun, because it sounded as though the plains. “Sizzla is a expressionist, meaning him express what him feel. I young singer wasn’t yet in control of his voice and many of the tracks came after Sizzla, meaning me go a Sizzla school; Sizzla sound good, so seemed like second-rate Sizzla emulations. Then came the much imsome want to be like him, but as the years pass by I start to differentiproved “Rising”, which evidenced far more consistent songwriting and ate, I start my style and definitely now people can say, ‘That’s not Sizzla, greater vocal versatility as Turbulence veered away from hardcore toastthat is Turbulence,’ cause me style totally different from Sizzla right now. ing to present a more melodic singjay style. The subsequent release Everybody has to have a role model who they look up to and I looked up “Different Thing”, produced in Jamaica by a European production team, to Sizzla and now you have people who try to patternize me.” proved to be exactly what the title indicated, a distinctive disc that disSimilar to his original role model, Turbulence has often been highly outplayed greater maturity and flexibility. Additional releases on the Bospoken on disc and although more recent efforts have concentrated on galusa label such as “Join Us” and “Triumphantly” solidified his reputathe positive aspects of life, during a recent appearance at Kingston’s Asytion overseas but in Jamaica Turbulence was just another underrated volum nightclub, he made it perfectly clear that he does not approve of hocalist struggling to make a breakthrough. Then, in late 2004, everything mosexuality. Yet in person, Turbulence is full of the positive rationality that fell into place: first came “Want A Natty (Pon Mi Frontline)”, the suggeshas marked the best of his work. “Any Rasta and so-called Rasta where I tive duet cut with sexy chanteuse Sasha for Kariang Productions, which see come upon de scene and talk about ‘burn this’ and ‘burn that’, what brought him to the top of the Jamaican charts. “Notorious”, a gritty realidem a know about what dem a burn? A fool dem! Because you can’t ty tune set to a minimal HipHop riff put together by associates of Kariang judge people, leave all judging to the Almighty. You haffi know say Rastacalled THC Muzik, was even bigger; in this emotive and broadly appealfari is love and revenge is not a part of Rastafari, so me no deal with the ing number, Turbulence gives an earnest, autobiographical account of revenge thing… me don’t believe in violence no time. We burn corrupthe role the Rastafarian faith has played in preventing the singer from tion, yes, but the fire is a purification, so a just telling them, you are doing adopting a life of crime. Performances at high profile Jamaican concerts something wrong, so differentiate yourself from that corruption.” such as Sting, East Fest and Rebel Salute were also well received, makTurbulence also points out that audiences outside Jamaica should keep ing the artist’s future seem very bright indeed. “Jah say, through rightin mind that Dancehall lyrics should not always be taken literally. “Peoeousness comes royalty and hard work,” the singer explains, underlinple in Europe and all over don’t have to take dem things too serious, being the sentiment with a wry smile. “You must get your pay, so my hard cause it’s just music same way,” he reasons. “When man say, ‘Me work is paying off.” have me gun, me have me knife, me a go shoot you’, they no really Turbulence, born in 1980, was raised by his mother in Hungry Town, one mean it, and one man can’t have ten girl and twenty girl. Nobody of the narrow ghetto lanes that are incongruously nestled deep in upshould take music too literal, you know, only the message from the mutown Kingston at the foot of Mannings Hill; in fact, he still lives in the sic, which is positiveness. You listen to music and enjoy yourself; [it’s area, where he is building a house for his mother and guiding the Higher only] one life we have and life is very short. But when you have youth Trod family, his crew of young Rasta talent. “Ah some youth in the ghetdem, sing more songs which have meaning and set examples to the to, but dem terrible,” he emphasizes, “terrible in a good way.” His youth. We live in a life right now whe as you step ‘pon a man corn, friends Jumbo Ras and Black Warrior have already built seven rhythms you’re gone; as you step ‘pon a man foot, you’re dead so I can’t stray for voicing by the neighborhood hopefuls, so watch this space. from my positiveness, cause me a Rasta.”

Turbulence was first brought to the attention of Fatis after the youth’s Ultimately, Turbulence is thankful for the support he has received and as uncle heard him singing at his grandfather’s funeral. Although other prois revealed in “Notorious”, he sees his progress as directly resulting ducers facilitated his breakthrough, the singer still works closely with from his Rastafarian way of life. “It is merely signifying what could have the Xterminator boss, one of the most revered figures in Dancehall probeen,” he says of the hit song. “Inna the ghetto, you don’t see food, you duction. As Turbulence explains, “Fatis is always my manager, because see guns. So what the people a go choose? If we get food, clothes and Fatis was the only one to take interest in me before I’ve locks on my shelter, we choose that over the guns, but we see guns, so we a go head. From seven years now he been working with me and now I am choose the gun and kill off each other. But Rastafari take me away from on the verge of making it, so give thanks to Fatis and me can’t move, all of them things there. If I wouldn’t be a Rasta, I would be a gunman, cause Marcus Garvey dun tell you say, ‘A man without his history is like so I say, ‘I could have been one of the most notorious, I got saved by the King and his graces are glorious.’ Anybody out there could have been a a tree without its root’. You see, when you are a young artist, no man bad man; give him a gun and him a turn bad. Anybody can fire a gun, no voice you; man say, ‘Me nah listen to you, you are not Bounty Killer, even down to the little kids. I could have been and I got saved by Jah, so you are not Beenie Man, you are not Sizzla. Who are you?’ In the young all praises to Jah.” ★ artist thing, it’s all about that link. My uncle get me with Fatis because him and Fatis are friends; me go there on a Sunday and I sing fi him, Turbulence’ latest albums are “Songs of Solomon” (VP Records) and “I Believe” (M-Records). him say, ‘Yeah man, him need a little work, but him can bust.’ So every-

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FEATURE ★ 35

36 ★ FEATURE

FEATURE ★ 37

MUSIC IS THE WEAPON Words & Photography: Markus Hautmann

Assassins are usually best avoided but in Jamaica people are drawn to a young man with this menacing name whose weapon is music and resultant massacres are of an acoustic and verbal nature.

Ever since 9/11 the world has become aware of the link between the words assassin and sleeper. However, the association is far less ominous in a Jamaican Dancehall context than in an Islamic fundamentalist realm. In Jamaica the connection manifests in the slumberous, barely audible response “please call again at 12” to the call I made to Assassin at 9 in the morning, as we had previously agreed.

Same story at 12, and again at 2... sleeper!

And finally, at 4 p.m., a beaming and well-rested Assassin apologized for the immense delay by explaining he had only returned from New York the night before and had underestimated how strenuous traveling would be.

who was pursuing music,” explains Assassin.

“He introduced me to his uncle and so one of my songs, ‘Big Up All The Shotta Dem’ was performed by Spragga on the ‘Street Sweeper’. That was kinda like my resume going into the summer of 99, something like my summer job type a t’ing. Then I really started taking it serious on a professional level. The talent and love for the music had always been there because in Jamaica you’re very close to the music cause music is such a big part of the culture.” Despite this achievement, music was not Assassin’s original career goal. “It was pretty much what I wanted to do, but until that time I was Dancehall music has come under a lot of scrutiny. A lot still into of people are saying that the message in the music is a tradicompletely negative and that’s not true. People record tional good songs, uplifting songs and I just want to hightype a light dat. You can’t do away with all of it because some caartists might have negative material. reer.”

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Less than three minutes into our interview (which took place on the front-door steps of the cable TV music channel RETV), we were surrounded by a group of curious onlookers including the RETV staff. No surprises there: Assassin is hot in Jamaica. Mega-hot! Just a few weeks earlier he had headlined UWI’s annual Spectrum concert and when Buju called him on stage at Rebel Salute, the audience almost gave him a bigger forward than the Gargamel himself, despite the fact that the conscious-Reggae-loving Rebel Salute crowd doesn’t necessarily belong to Assassin’s hardcore Dancehall fan base. “Being on a show like Rebel Salute with the likes of Jimmy Cliff and Tony Rebel, that in itself was a great deal to me,” says Assassin, displaying a level of humility that is rare among popular young artists. “It’s good that Buju who is an icon in this business was able to introduce me, that was what allowed me to do well among that type of audience, it’s like he was giving me his credibility.”

Although he has just turned 22 Assassin has long passed the stage of newcomer. He’s already put dozens of releases on the market since he first exploded on the scene in 1999 when the “Street Sweeper” riddim, a ruthlessly monotone masterpiece by Steely and Clevie, held the island in its thrall; the sparseness of that riddim required tough lyrics and Assassin readily supplied them. “I was writing songs in school and luckily I was hanging out a lot with one of Spragga Benz’ nephews

But there was no going back after “Big Up All The Shotta”. Assassin joined the Red Square Crew with Spragga Benz as his mentor and today, six years and an arsenal of hits later, Assassin still sees himself as being in the early stages of his career. “I always try to develop and improve and acknowledge the fact that I am a work in progress and not a finished product. Anywhere I will be in five years, as long as it’s a position where I am more advanced than now, it’s good.”

Assassin’s debut album, which is due for release in late summer on VP Records will provide evidence of his growth. VP places great faith in Assassin and has given him a comfortable three-album deal with an option for a fourth and Assassin is confident he can do the expectations justice. “I just came back from New York, working on the album,” he says.

“We did six tracks this time. We’ve already recorded about a dozen exclusive tracks, so the program is going on nicely and I think the new songs will really create a buzz. The album won’t be just a compilation. I’m putting a lot of work in it and people will appreciate it.”

Assassin often mentions the responsibility he feels towards young people and his album will give exposure to largely unknown youngsters in addition to established producers like Steely and Clevie, Donovan Germain, Christopher Birch and Lenky. “That’s because I want to endorse the next generation of music,” Assassin reasons. “What I

would like to accomplish is to contribute a substantial amount of work to the music industry so I can preserve it for other generations. As I was able to come into the industry and make a living, I would like it to be there for other people to do the same.”

Assassin’s concern about the future of the Jamaican music industry is entirely justified. Frequent violent incidents at dances have led to rig-id police procedures and strict curfews.

Some artists’ dubious lifestyles including their regular brushes with the law and the ongoing debates about politically incorrect song lyrics, which have caused varying degrees of consternation in the US and European markets in particular and increasingly in Jamaica, have cast a menacing shadow on Dancehall and it’s ability to capitalize upon the international interest generated by Sean Paul’s mainstream success. Although Assassin is prepared to deal with this ongoing controversy, he feels the wholesale aspersions that are continually cast on Dancehall artists are unjustified.“Dancehall music has come under a lot of scrutiny. A lot of people are saying that the message in the music is completely negative and that’s not true. People record good songs, uplifting songs and I just want to highlight dat. You can’t do away with all of it because some artists might have negative material.”

Assassin also wants to be kept out of artist’s conflicts, particularly the battle between Vybz Kartel and Spragga Benz, who to the amusement of the general public indulged in a musical slugfest last year. “There is no fuss, zero. I mean, this is 2005. What I want to accomplish in Dancehall is to make a meaningful, substantial contribution and that does not mean being in any form of beef. I want to concentrate on more positive things; this is 2005 and I really would like to move on and leave all a dat in 2004.”

Considering his musical peace plan, his image as an “Assassin” (a nickname acquired during high school) doesn’t truly reflect his identity so an intended name change seems quite appropriate. “A lot of people don’t call me Assassin, but just Sassin,” he says. “So probably I will just delete the ‘A’ and be Sassin straight.” Although it’s an understandable move, the Dancehall massive had no objections to being victims of this Assassin because his weapon is music and when it hits, you feel no pain. ★

38 ★ FEATURE NAME: Donovan Spalding a.k.a. Burro Banton EARTH DAY: 12.27.1956, Jubilee Hospital, Kingston 5 CURRENT RESIDENCE: Grants Pen, Kingston 8 PROFESSION: Veteran Deejay

Y A SOLDIER’S STOR

By Ulli Gueldner gtlaender Photography: Lutz Vo

»Yuh touch raw wire, yuh bound to get shock / yuh waan’ hang a man, hang him high inna tree top / if a sound get drop, Volcano do dat / it must be the lyrics dat Papa Buro a chat...« “Nonstop”

N

ext to Nicodemus it was Burro Banton who captured the imagination of patrons with a harder Dancehall disposition in the first half of the 80s. His icy and intimidating growl was tailor-made for gun talk and gut-wrenching tales of ghetto retribution. Like Ranking Joe, U Brown or Brigadier Jerry, Burro qualified as one of Jamaica’s quintessential live-deejays and his most impressive performances are scattered across a multitude of sound system tapes by Killamanjaro, Volcano and SturMars. With an endless supply of savvy rhymes, Burro Banton or Papa Buro as he was then known could switch from a Rasta tune of redemption to a rude bwoy boast about terminating the life of a rival deejay in the blink of a blood-shot eye. To this day he remains criminally underrated. Most Reggae followers a foreign never managed to assess his true impact. He was first and foremost venerat-

ed by the screw-faced Dancehall hardcore: Guinnesses in hand, clad in Clarks booties, Arrow shirts (worn Spanglers posse style with only the top-buttons closed!) and rolled-up Wrangler or Big Sid jeans who lapped up his mean metaphors while barking out gunshots in badman spots like Avon Park in Arnett Gardens or the Ambassador Theatre, perched on the borderline between the Kingston war-zones of Rema and Jungle. I’d be hard pressed to remember if I ever heard Burro’s music on the radio or in popular uptown clubs like Ephiphany.

Burro’s studio stop-overs can be quickly reeled off. In 1981 it was General Plough, a youthman singer from the Grants Pen area of Kingston who first carried him to the studio to record “Who Are The General Now”, a tribute to his slain deejay brethren General

FEATURE ★ 39 Echo. Over the next few years Burro released a number of boom shots including “Nonstop” and “Tell Me What You Want Out Of Life” for the late producer Henry “Junjo” Lawes, as well as “Chicken Farm” for ghetto area-strongman-turned-dancehall-producer George Phang. But his career as a recording-artist is best summed up as tragically unfulfilled. In his heyday he coughed up just one album (“Buro”, on Clive Stanhope’s CSA imprint in 1983), a roughneck rub-a-dub classic whose commercial appeal was impeded by producer Lawes’ seeming indifference towards the project. “I think I never got a fair deal. The riddims that I really needed, I never got them. Junjo jus’ use me for his sound (Volcano) an’ Yellowman go world-wide!” Around the same time a partially finished album for George Phang got scrapped due to “money problems” as Burro caustically puts it.

After a decade-long stay in the states, Burro finally found his way back to his old turf Grants Pen. He received widespread attention in the late 90s when he rerecorded his classic “Boom Wah Dis” (which itself is based on his ever popular “Nonstop” lyrics) on Steely & Clevie’s bangin’ “Street Sweeper” riddim. Today he’s seldomly seen near a Kingston recording-studio but maintains a close association with New York producer/prominent radio personality Bobby Konders, leaving his voice-prints on almost all of the man’s new riddims.

When I caught up with Burro in a packed cafeteria at Berlin’s Tegel Airport he discussed his preferred topics seemingly oblivious to our noisy surroundings, at times expressing a dry, somewhat dark sense of humour and self-irony. His story is one of endlessly changing loyalties, clash skirmishes and sound killings; most fittingly he compares himself to a soldier who went to battle, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. The most vivid memoirs of rhymeslayers like him always hinge on terms like “corkin’ the session” (blowing up the spot) and “makin’ a bread” (gettin’ paid). The following account runs up to 1987 and covers the most crucial period of his career. It is related in Burro’s own words and focuses heavily on his shifting sound system alliances, to me the only legitimate way to discuss the lifestyle and ascension of a consummate sound deejay.

BLACK HOOVER – ROOTS UNLIMITED – HOT SIZZLER “I first started with a sound called Black Hoover from Grants Pen in 1978. Then I meet up with Josey Wales who’s really my first sparring-partner on a sound. We start workin’ pon Roots Unlimited Hi-Fi with Willie the selector an’ Busty the owner. They was from off Waltham Park Road (West Central Kingston). Then Josey Wales get shot. Politics! Labourite an’ PNP t’ing (Labourite a.k.a. JLP, the Jamaica Labor Party and PNP the Peoples National Party, the island’s dominant political parties are prone to violent clashes, particularly at election times). Him was just walkin’ down the street an’ get six shots (according to Josey the incident took place in February 1978 on 83 Lane off Waltham Park Road). More people get shot... maybe me next? They came an’ keep warning me, say I must stop walkin’ with Josey Wales. I get scared an’ leave, go back a Grants Pen an’ Black Hoover. But I wanted to move on so I step out an’ get a work with a sound named Hot Sizzler from Standpipe (a slum patch in a prosperous uptown Kingston area).

Dat sound don’t play often enough to give yuh a career becah the owner work for Stanley Motors (car dealer), he had a big job an’ didn’t haffi live off the sound. But he just love it. He was the first man to take me a Jungle to deejay. There I meet George Phang; men like him had influence an’ he hooked me up with Gemini, dat was my first big, international sound.”

GEMINI “Back in those days Gemini was like a Stone Love, dem run the country! That’s where I get my first break. Gemini had their own club (the Gemini club near Half Way Tree, centrally located between downtown and uptown Kingston) where every deejay in

Jamaica come an’ buss (get a break): Yellowman, Ringo, Welton Irie, Lone Ranger... when yuh don’t come an’ do good on a Wednesday night at Gemini club, your career don’t take off. It’s not like I did so much for Gemini, they do t’ings fi me! Dem get me established all over Jamaica. People start sayin’ Burro, yuh really come good like a Ranking Trevor or a Ranking Joe. No deejay in Jamaica come badder than Ranking Joe! He’s the best I ever see. That’s who I really wanted to be like, he was my idol...

But in those days, cho (kisses teeth) Yuh see, Gemini is a big sound an’ yuh start out there, but the money is small. I keep asking him (Papa Gemmi, the owner) for more, but I didn’t get it.”

KILLAMANJARO “It was a Christmas Eve (1982), the sound named Killamanjaro was playing at Skateland an’ nobody is in the dance! Just me alone. Big, empty Skateland. I sit on the skating-rink an’ they play a tune called “Dub Plate Playin’ In The Ghetto Tonight” (a Johnny Osbourne special). Dat sound was different, a raggamuffin sound, the sound me waan’ deejay for. Cah Gemini used to play all kinds of music, soul, calypso, everyt’ing so yuh couldn’t deejay Gemini all night long, only when dem play Reggae. But Killamanjaro now... Jim Kelly (singer Junior Kelly’s older brother) was the resident deejay and he come from Roots Unlimited too, he was with we from back in the day. I walk up to a man named Ted an’ asked who owns Killamanjaro an’ he points out Mr. Harper to me. I went to him an’ tell him I’m Burro, cah in those days I never get the Burro Banton yet. An’ Mr. Harper say, I really love to have yuh on the sound but I can’t give yuh the work unless Jim Kelly accepts yuh. So I approach the man an’ Kelly tell Mr. Harper him waan’ to have me pon the sound. The first night me come a Killamanjaro me deejay from 9 o’clock ‘ til 12 an’ me bring Peter Metro. Me an’ him was friends in those days through Arnett Gardens connections. Mr. Harper paid me $200 (Jamaican). When I get $200 fi three hours me say: eeeh! (contorting his face to an astonished expression) cah me get $200 a week at Gemini! But Yuh see, in those days I never I asked for a raise see it (deejaying) as a career. over there an’ they I check it as a rude bwoy didn’t give it to me, t’ing. Afterwards in America so I moved along I get to find out that this was (with Jaro) an’ I take my career an’ I didn’t know... the crowd from Yeah, I could have been the Gemini to Jaro, that’s man! But I never know dat how dem get so big this t’ing could get so big. and we mash up Jamaica. In those days they said I’m the first gun deejay; before Demus I give yuh “Gunman Connection” an’ “Badman Takeover”, all those kind of lyrics... An’ then disaster (pauses for breath)... Jim Kelly get killed in Spanish Town! (in 1983). It was terrible fi me cah it’s like yuh lose a brother. Everytime I go to the sound I could see dat he’s not there.

I couldn’t take it.”

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VOLCANO “At that time now Junjo Lawes come out with a sound named Volcano. The first night dem play in front of KIW (Kingston Industrial Works) at Spanish Town Road, every deejay in Jamaica came out to see what it’s like... but nobody could move this big crowd. Then I go in the deejay booth an’ from when I started... gunshots everywhere, salutes, fence started to beat! I did three tunes cah I didn’t wanna take (over) the sound, I was just passing through as a deejay. The next day I heard Junjo, the big boss, waan’ see Burro. When I go to check him he said Burro, yuh haffi deejay the sound! An’ then Junjo wrote me a cheque for $32,000 just to be on the sound!! That’s the first time I get a big money. I didn’t change the cheque. I wanted it to soak inna me pocket! When I finally wanted to change it, the bank didn’t wanna take it cah I showed it to so many people that the

40 ★ FEATURE cheque get dirty. Afterwards I had to go back to Junjo for another cheque an’ Junjo say to Steve an’ Bellow (his sound managers): even when nobody else gets paid, make sure Burro get his money.

So I leave Jaro an’ become a (Volcano) resident, together with Toyan, Little John, Louie Lepke, Billy Boyo an’ Lee Van Cliff. An’ Josey Wales would join us later.”

the only sound that ever died. Other sounds lose clashes an’ play again. Not Volcano. I was the one that built it... an’ I killed it!”

JARO... AGAIN! “Volcano is gettin’ very, very big now an’ conflict start cah some people say Burro is the best an’ others say Josey. Also Charlie Chaplin come along (to Volcano dances) sometimes but I notice everytime when Charlie come him waan’ clash me! So it end up that Volcano an’ Killamanjaro clash at 121 Maxfield Avenue (a popular venue at the top part of Maxfield, near the police station. The actual event took place in July 1984). When I reach the dance gate it’s like... (takes a deep breath) yuh know, Volcano is my sound an’ Charlie Chaplin an’ Josey Wales was already there but they don’t act like they’re clashing Killamanjaro, they’re comin’ like they’re clashing me... on my sound! Becah when I reach there I remember Josey Wales sparring partner buss a lyrics an’ the lyrics is about me. An’ me say to myself I haffi prove tonight who’s the best deejay in Jamaica! Everybody is looking for me to go on Volcano now. Those days a clash would be an hour (per set), back an’ forth. So I wait ‘til Volcano’s hour was up... an’ then I go for Killamanjaro’s mic!! Yuh see, after me leave dem Jaro hook up with Supercat an’ Early B. Supercat love it when him see me comin’ back! So me alone was deejaying one hour first but to tell yuh the truth, I don’t get one forward in the dance. Everybody just stand there an’ looking at me thinking this kid is crazy. We really come fi see him on Volcano sound an’ him go back over to Killamanjaro. I make Volcano play a next hour, then Jaro start play again. I can remember dem drop an Al Campbell (dub), “Long Time Jaro A Wait Pon Yuh, Long Time Jaro Sent Come Call Yuh” an’ the wickedest t’ing, it was on the riddim me love the most, “The Answer”. At the time I had a new lyrics (chants): ‘Na-na-na-nine, na-na-na-nine, na-na...’ I had it built with Josey Wales an’ Charlie Chaplin’s name in the song, the first time I ever call people’s name as a lyrics. Me say: ‘Dance dem a keep over Washington, dem sent fi Josey Wales an’ him friend Principal (Charlie Chaplin) / but all dem a chat couldn’t cork di session...’ An’ all mi hear was just: BLUP! BLUP!! BLUP!!! Whole heap a gunshot! Supercat just take the mic from me an’ say ‘Charlie Chaplin a Dread an’ still him eat meat! Burro catch him with a pound of pork inna brown paper an’ tell him ‘bout cheeseburger’... Bare gunshot again! Dat’s how Cat make him name, dat was the rising of Supercat. Dat night! Josey Wales waan’ fight now, him can’t take it anymore, he flash a long knife. Supercat have an ice-pick. Yuh have a police in Jamaica named Bigga Ford (Cornwell “Bigga” Ford, one of Jamaica’s most notorious ‘super cops’ who was a regular at almost every major dancehall event). He come in between an’ say Josey, come take your defeat tonight. Yuh can’t do dem deejays here nuttin’.

Dat was the proudest night of my deejay career! It was a big dance, well big. I was the last man to come out of the dance. I wait ‘ til Killamanjaro pack up him sound. Them was a little neat sound, the whole ah it fit inna VW van, the double 18 (inch) speakers, everyt’ing... While Mr. Harper was driving out I wait an’ I’m the one to give him the signal to move the van. An’ people are still watching me. This is like six o’ clock in the morning now. I’m proud! (almost screaming) I don’t go home. I leave an’ go a Skateland (nearby at Half Way Tree) cah yuh know people don’t come out of Skateland before twelve or one o’clock (mid-day). I wait fi dem, I couldn’t go home. I feel sooo good.”

“Yuh waan’ know how Junjo take that blow?” he asks lowering his voice. “I don’t like to say it but dat’s the killing of Volcano. The sound (is) not big no more and never play again in Jamaica.

(Shortly afterwards Junjo would carry the set to New York). Dat’s

STUR-MARS “I’m with Jaro for a while again ‘til Nicodemus come to Jamaica (summer `85). He was living in In those days, cho (kisses New York for a long teeth) Yuh see, Gemini is a time. Once he had big sound an’ yuh start out his break in Jamaica there, but the money is he got his visa an’ small. I keep asking him (Pa- left for America cah pa Gemmi, the owner) for the first time he more, but I didn’t get it. flew inna plane dem never let him into England, dem sent him back to Jamaica cah the paperwork jus’ never right. In those days when yuh go to a foreign country as a deejay yuh tell everybody I’m flyin’ out tomorrow! So when dem see him back on Monday after he was supposed to have left on Saturday, dem say Demus, man... yuh never leave! Just a Ochi (Ocho Rios) yuh gwaan a Jack Ruby’s (sound system), man. So the first time him go a New York him never come back, dat was around the time Yellowman get famous (1981)... Anyway, Demus said to me that there’s a sound coming down from foreign, it’s a computer sound (meaning it could afford the latest state-of-the-art equipment) an’ the owner (Kenneth “Skengdon” Black, then based in Miami) waan’ Burro, Nicodemus, Supercat an’ General Trees fi deejay. That sound was Stur-Mars. The first time dem play a Jamaica, Demus carry me to Mandeville to check them out. I did half an’ hour there an’ I really get paid. I see this man come up to me an’ palm me. It was a good lickle tick. When I get the chance to count it I get 57 fifty-dollar bills… US money! An’ the guy’s asking me if I’m alright... I say Alright? (he raises his voice excitedly). Me waan’ go a me yard an’ tell Cat... So me leave an’ go home quick an’ give my girl three bills an’ tell her change it! Fix up the house! Buy a food an’ everyt’ing… Then mi go over Seaview (Gardens) fast where Cat live an’ wake him. Cat lived there with a girl named Sharon, so we call her Sharon Boops. She is the Boops (meaning Sharon inspired Supercat’s breakthrough 1986 hit “Boops”). When I go there me wake him an’ say Cat, wha’ gwaan? An’ him say, eeh, Jaro supposed to screw ‘bout last night cah me never come an’ work, but… cha’. So mi show him wha’ me get a Mandeville. I take three (notes) off the money an’ give Supercat an’ say that’s yours. Cat, the man waan’ yuh! Some time after dat me, Nicodemus an’ Supercat went to America together. I went in `87. Me really go up there to see if I could make it bigger...”

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Just before the last boarding call for his flight I ask Burro if he regrets migrating to the US and he seems to freeze into a pillar of salt in front of the Air France check-in counter. Slowly he lets his bag slip to the ground and fixes me with a bewildered look. Strugglin’ for words, his hoarse and lazy drawl takes on an almost agonizing tone. “Yuh see, in those days I never see it (deejaying) as a career. I check it as a rude bwoy t’ing. So many youts dying from the gun in Jamaica… This is the only t’ing I could have done to save my life. I was a daily labourer... Afterwards in America I get to find out that this was my career an’ I didn’t know... Yeah, I could have been the man! But I never know dat this t’ing could get so big.” ★ © Ulli Gueldner 2005

42 ★ SPECIAL

REGGAETON IN

THREE WORLDS COLLIDE Words: Sarah Bentley Photography: Debbie Bragg

SPECIAL ★ 43

PUERTO RICO

Across Latin America and the United States, Reggaeton, the hybrid Latino genre of Jamaican Dancehall and US HipHop, is blowing up.

In the past two years Jamaican Dancehall artists Elephant Man, T.O.K. and Sasha to name a few have collaborated with Reggaeton artists, as have US rappers Wyclef, Lil John and Noriega. Although Reggaeton has only just reached mainstream attention, it has been the sound of Puerto Rican youth for over a decade.

44 ★ SPECIAL Ivy Queen

Nicky Jamz

I

t’s 2 a.m. and the dancefloor of De Noise, the ghetto club run by DJ Ne-

groe in Old San Juan, is packed with kids partying Latino style. The “Dembow” drumbeat (from an early 90s Dancehall hit by Shabba Ranks) boom-kaboom-ka, boom-ka ka, the anchor bassline of Reggaeton, drags hedonists to the dancefloor. This is no place for awkward chatter between shy, inexperienced teens.

This is the spot where the hardcore barrio youths come to forget their troubles and get wild. The vibe is sexually electrifying and instantly infectious.

Chiselled papis roll in crews decked out in pristine sportswear, olive-skinned, long limbed mammies rock belt sized skirts and crop-tops and everyone is downing Zombies a lethal cocktail of rum, fruit juice and Coca-Cola. Some couples face each other, arms locked around the waist, banging their crotches together hard while for others the guy stands behind the girl, pushing it up against her as she gyrates her culos (batty). Ladies without partners shake their butt cheeks and dip their knees. Solo guys pull suggestive faces and dance as if riding an imaginary horse. To the uninitiated the scene looks debauched, but this is a regular night in a Reggaeton club where the perreo (doggy-style grind) dance is the only way to get down.

Jose, a nineteen-year old from the Santurce area of San Juan, explains the perreo.

“It’s the Lambada of Reggaeton,” he says. “It looks like we disrespect women but the ladies are in charge of how sexy the dance gets. If you dance with a girl for a long time, maybe you take her number and meet her after the club. You don’t need to talk shit for hours. If that’s what she wants she’ll let you know.”

»We all have guns but I have a license. We’re Americans. We kill here; you have a problem with someone, you kill Nicky Jamz them.«

Even Tego Calderon, one of Puerto Rico’s most celebrated rappers renowned for strong social commentary said, “I used to think Reggaeton was fake but I fell in love with it after I went to a party. I felt like I’d had sex with seven women!”

In the summer of 2004 Reggaeton dominated dance floors in New York and Miami and swept across the Latin America region. The large Hispanic community within the United States had been playing Reggaeton in underground clubs for years but it wasn’t until US Rap artists began collaborating with Reggaeton acts that non-Latinos were introduced to the culture.

A classic US/Puerto Rican club anthem is “Culos” by Pitbull and Lil John but the most successful union was “Oye Mi Canto” featuring N.O.R.E, Nina Sky, Tego Calderon, Gem Starr and Daddy Yankee. Wyclef linked with Reggaeton’s

SPECIAL ★ 45 language Reggae in the late eighties, his “Te Ves Buena” and “Tu Pun Pun” tracks particularly successful. About the same time Vico C was recording Spanish language HipHop. Both artists earned large fanbases in the Puerto Rican barrios. The people were already fans of US HipHop and Jamaican Dancehall so when Spanish language versions of the genres hit the streets their success was inevitable. Today’s Reggaeton stars Don Omar, Daddy Yankee, Javia and Nicky Jamz started their careers singing and rapping over “borrowed” Dancehall and HipHop beats. Nicky Jamz describes these times as “the start of Reggaeton, but it wasn’t Reggaeton.”

Today’s Reggaeton isn’t Reggaeton unless its anchored in the boom-ka-boom-ka, boom-ka-ka, “Dembow” drum pattern. Like the foundation of any music, no one knows exactly who first used the “Dembow” drumbeat, but every artist camp has a version of the story. My favourite was offered whilst hanging out in Villa Kennedy with Reggaeton’s biggest selling artist to date Daddy Yankee, and the legendary producer DJ Playero.

“See that apartment?” Playero points to a balcony on the third floor of a dishevelled apartment block. “That was mine. I had a home studio. From there I make HipHop, Dancehall, everything.” He pauses to cuss his limited English. “I record many artists and make mixtapes to sell on the streets. About ‘94, I make beat with the ‘Dembow’. It was riddim 34. The artists love it. I make mixtape and the people go wild.”

He grins at Yankee as he finishes his tale. “It was just a couple of guys drinking beer, having fun. I never thought it would be so big and people from the other side of the world would one day listen to it.”

REGGAETON IN PUERTO RICO

tough leading lady Ivy Queen back in 2001 on “In The Zone” but perhaps the track was before its time; Ivy’s 2004 collaboration with Sasha, a Spanish version of Sasha’s Dancehall hit “Dat Sexy Body” was far more successful.

In 2003 American kids of all social backgrounds started experiencing the rush of the perreo and the culture blew up.

Club DJs dropped a couple of Reggaeton tunes and found they couldn’t take them off. Renowned mixtape DJs Buddha, Tony Touch and DJ Camillo of NYC radio station Hot 97 included Reggaeton in their selections. Radio stations were inundated with requests for Reggaeton tracks, fifty stations currently changing their formats to bi-lingual half Spanish, half English. The music sold so well the Reggae industry complained Reggaeton should have its own chart because it consistently kept their artists off the top spots.

Reggaeton is a culturally loaded sound. It combines elements of Salsa, Bomba, Plena, Cumbia, US Rap, Jamaican Dancehall and Latino HipHop. The Godfathers of the sound are viewed to be Panamanian deejay El General and Puerto Rican rapper Vico C. El General started releasing Spanish

San Juan’s barrios are the heartbeat of Reggaeton and for over a decade the music existed exclusively inside their confines. The youths from these areas rap Reggaeton lyrics and see the music as a way of life blasting it from cars, mopeds and apartment windows. “We don’t have many things in the barrio but they can’t take Reggaeton away from us,” says Gabi, a twenty-four year old hustler whose neighbourhood El Gandyl, described by locals as Stop 15, is a barrio in the Santurce district close to the affluent tourist strip Condada. “Reggaeton is the sound of us, the poor people. It is our identity.”

Middle-class Puerto-Rican society however viewed the Reggaeton culture as vulgar.

The media and government attempted to squash it by creating an anti-Reggaeton policy banning it from radio, TV and established retail outlets. People playing Reggaeton in their cars would be stopped by the police and have their music destroyed. At the height of the national anti-Reggaeton sentiments Ivy Queen became embroiled in a spat with Puerto Rico’s then female Governor, Sila Calderon. “She said, ‘all of you are bad apples’ but just because you see a basket it doesn’t mean all of the apples are rotten”, says Ivy indignantly. “The lyrics are strong. We rap about what’s happening on the streets. This music comes from the heart, that’s why I fall in love with it.”

Today many Reggaeton artists write positive tracks encouraging the barrio people to live more righteously. Rapper Eddie Dee is renowned for his social commentary lyrics. Ivy Queen sings anti-domestic violence anthems. Tito El Bambino urges gangsters to put down their guns and party. Tego Calderon raps about racial identity. Daddy Yankee calls for the barrio people to stop living off drug money.

Drug money, however, started the Reggaeton industry because it was the only sizeable income available to the barrio community. Every barrio has a drugs hotspot. El Gandyl’s consists of one small street and a narrow alleyway behind the street’s houses. On this patch crack, coke, weed and heroin deals are brokered in broad daylight. Small clipseal bags, 3 by 1.5 cm, are stuffed with a $6 US serving of weed, enough for three modest spliffs. Coke, crack and heroin come in small brown envelopes or wraps made of newspaper. Around the hustling, groups of young mums chat animatedly in Espanol whilst pushing their kids in prams. Lean dudes in singlets reveal intricate, pious tattoos. Although it’s an undeniably heavy atmosphere, the people are friendly, returning our upfront greetings with a bemused “holla” or “hey baby where you from?” Listen to any Reggaeton album and you will hear the barrio.

The language the artists spit in is not Spanish but Boriquen, a Puerto Rican Spanish Creole with a similar flow to Jamaican Patois. Sound effects mimicking guns echo throughout the tracks. Although gun crime is a serious issue, shots are an accepted part of Reggaeton’s sound. Trivales, a trio Reggaeton group from Southern Puerto Rico simply describe it as, “a noise you select on the computer. You can even choose what type of gun you want. They all have different sounds. I’ve never owned a gun but I always use shots on my productions. They get people going in the clubs.”

Inside the gated government housing project Residencial Luis Llorens Torres in San Juan thousands of people live inside uniform, three storey apartment blocks painted

46 ★ SPECIAL yellow and baby blue. Kiddies dash about the streets sucking ice poles. The people are multifarious shades of brown, the result of Puerto Rico’s Hispanic, AfroCaribbean and Taino Indian heritage. Cruising meat wagons and strutting policemen with pigeon chests saturate the streets. “Many of the police take steroids”, Freddy, a local taxi driver tells us. “They can’t do anything about the drugs. They wear the uniform to impress girls.”

Standing on the street corners are dealers of all ages, wide hipped 30-something mammies, swaggering big-bellied men and skinny hawk-faced teenagers. An almond-eyed girl scurries past with a crack-pipe scab across her mouth. People get killed inside the project every week. Numbers vary depending who you talk to. Freddy claims, “at least ten people a month go down at that entrance point alone.”

On a whole the community is a tight knit family with ongoing violence between drug cartels or drug cartels and their customers. Non payment of drug debts is resolved with violent threats followed by a bloody execution designed to show non-payers will not be tolerated. Joolio, a twenty-two year old from the nearby Margari barrio tells us, “My friend was found last night with 72 shells round his body. They blew his face and neck »We don’t have many off. He owed $2000 US.” Stories like this althings in the barrio but ways end with an edgy, “Huah Huah” laugh they can’t take Reggaefollowed by a nervous silence. ton away from us. Reg-

gaeton is the sound of Nicky Jamz describes himself as Reggaeton’s us, the poor people. It is most controversial artist. “I’m always in the our identity.« news,” he proclaims. “I had two babies outGabi, a 24 year old hustler side my marriage. I shot someone.” As if to prove his point he whips his Hummer over a traffic island and through a red light.

“We all have guns but I have a license.” He gets the license out the glove compartment to show us. “We’re Americans. We kill here; you have a problem with someone, you kill them.” Over looking his trigger happiness, Nicky is a well-spoken, extremely talented singer, rapper, producer and songwriter. Even the wrinkly receptionist of our small guesthouse says, “Nicky Jamz is my favourite. He’s a real talented guy.” Nicky moved from Massachusetts to Puerto Rico at nine years old not knowing one word of Spanish. By the time he was ten he was rapping and singing in “ghetto Spanish” to Jamaican Dancehall and American HipHop beats that were the basis of Reggaeton in the early nineties. Nicky admits he wasn’t very good but, “I was cute so the girls screamed.”

“Pun Legahiset” his first underground hit demanded the legalisation of Reggaeton and the end of police persecution of the music. “Back in the day we used to talk bad”, says Nicky. “Guns, girls, clubs, weed. That’s what we lived so that’s what we sang. The government didn’t want to acknowledge the barrio life so for years they were on our case. Then it started commercialising. Artists made it mellower; it’s still real but we’re not threatening to kill each other on records anymore.”

The office of White Lion, independent record label and home to Reggaeton and HipHop artists Tego Calderon, Zion y Lennox, Voltio and Jarvia, is situated in the fashionable area of Old San Juan. The streets are narrow the architecture whimsical and intricate porcelain tiles act as signs. Boutiques, bars and clubs buzz happily with locals and tourists. Rent and real estate prices are top dollar so business for White Lion must be good.

Step inside the office and further confirmation of Reggaeton’s success becomes clear. Beautiful assistants with manicured nails type busily on Macs; homies talk loudly on cell phones and posters and awards decorate the walls. Ricky Martin’s exmanager, industry hot shot Ricardo Cordero, is the label’s new president. A publishing expert from EMI has been with the company since November, “sorting out the

publishing. The artists have lost millions of dollars. We can’t go back but I’m putting everything in place so it doesn’t happen in the future.” Although it’s still an independent, White Lion operates like a mini-major.

The label’s founder, Elias De Leon, is in Miami so Orlando Torres, a childhood friend of Elias who has been with the label since it’s inception in 1989, tells the story. “We were just street kids”, he says. “We love the music, the HipHop, the Dancehall. No one was supporting these sounds the artists didn’t have bases so we decide to do it.

We didn’t have music business experience but we hustle on the streets everyday. Now many music people work for White Lion but the original family is still here. In Puerto Rico we keep things in the family.”

This DIY approach provided the foundation of the Reggaeton trade. Major labels didn’t want to get involved so the people around the artists picked up the mantle which has resulted in an army of powerful Reggaeton independents including Pina, Imperio, Flow, Sellos Asociados, El Cartel and VI. These collectives have sold up to 200,000 copies without using the standard distribution channels and mega-bucks marketing campaigns. But to expand the genre globally, overseas links had to be made.

Anthony Perez is the president of Miami based Reggaeton label Perfect Image and Perfect Image Film & Video Production. He was one of the first non-Puerto Ricans to believe in the genre. He established links within the scene when no other companies would go near it and because of the genre’s roots this didn’t come easy. “Making connec-

A STARTERS GUIDE TO REGGAETON.......................................................................

Tempo – “Salvatore” (Racing Junior, 2004) Tempo was one of the scenes founding gangsters. He’s been in jail since mid nineties where he continues to make music. Voltio – “Voltage” (White Lion Records, 2004) Puerto Rican young gun Voltio is being praised by some of the biggest names in the business for his unique flow and powerful delivery. La Favela & DJ Buddha – “Presents Caribbean Connection Mixtape” (Paidout, 2004) One of the hottest mixtape compilers in the business; this CD is a banging collection of well researched Reggaeton, Dancehall and Soca. Lunytunes – “La Trayectoria” (Flow Music, 2004) This Dominican-born duo are “The Neptunes of Reggaeton”. This CD features some of their biggest hits to date. DJ Nelson – “Flow La Discoteka” (Flow Music, 2004) Puerto Rican industry big man DJ Nelson drops the biggest hits that rock his weekly “Flow” and “My Flow” clubs in San Juan. Don Omar – “The Last Don” (Sellos Asociados, 2003) Received Artist of the Year honours at the Premio Lo Nuestro awards for this disc. Remained in US charts for over 90 weeks and still counting. Various Artists –

SPECIAL ★ 47 harsh criticism by the wider Puerto Rican society, Reggaeton now enjoys wide mainstream acceptance: Daddy Yankee speaks on national radio; celebrities perform the perreo on family television programmes; Tego Calderon is the face of a local finance company and perhaps the most revealing event, a presentation between the senate and the Reggaeton industry was held in March 2005.

A major part in the process of Reggaeton’s acceptance was the launch of Puerto Rico’s first 24/7 Reggaeton radio station, The Mix 107.7FM. The Mix began broadcasting in 2000 and was the brainchild of DJ Coyote and his Multi Music Media Company. Coyote was a Reggaeton DJ with a few one hour Reggaeton slots on Puerto Rico’s more progressive radio stations. Many people doubted the station would succeed but Coyote was always confident.

“They said there wasn’t enough music for a station to play Reggaeton 24 hours”, says Coyote from inside the studio where he has just finished presenting his weeknight “Salpa Fuera” show. “The people on the streets knew the truth,” he comments. “After three months of broadcasting we were the number one station in Puerto Rico; the media was surprised but I wasn’t; I knew the power of the music.”

When asked how many people listen to The Mix Coyote laughs. “I don’t have any figures but if four million live in Puerto Rico, two million listen to The Mix. Not just here but across the world. Our website can’t cope with the traffic; we constantly have to make it bigger.”

Tego Calderon

Daddy Yankee

tions to do business was tough”, says Anthony. “That’s why it stayed underground for ten years. It was too hard for the majors. In the scene’s early days some of the biggest people you had to deal with were drug dealers. Major labels laughed in our faces when we approached them ten years ago, now they’re banging on our doors. Everyone in Reggaeton has their own label and promotional network. The struggle at the beginning has paid off; it means we have our own industry and we can call the shots.”

Although the genre started off super hardcore, and endured

A street dance is being held in La Perla, a barrio on the coastline close to Old San Juan. You enter the barrio by descending a steep hill instantly dropping into a drug hustling hotspot.

“What do you want baby?” demands a charged dealer as he thrusts a cardboard canister at us stuffed with wraps. Weaving between the narcotics salesmen we make our way to the party. Five hundred Puerto Rican kids pack the residential street. A DJ plays Reggaeton from a stage as a Reggae band Natty Roots set up their equipment.

Residents hang out with their families on balconies watching the jam from a far. The vibe is upbeat but it’s not the careless hedonism seen in Reggaeton clubs. The local area don gets jumpy about being caught dealing so he has a no-cell phones, no-cameras policy. You know these rules by word of mouth or you learn the hard way and have your phone or camera smashed to pieces.

A gang of weathered looking guys lean against the wall near the liquor store. They are smoking cigarettes and doing lines of coke off the back of their hands. One of them is eating a piece of coconut cake. I’m starving. “You want some of this?” asks the grinning papi who’d caught my wandering sugar-eyes. I accept the cake and explain the purpose of my trip.

“Wow you are taking Reggaeton to Europe? Hey,” he shouts to his friends. The guys cease sniffing and start chattering in animated Spanish. I catch, “Gracius… respect culture… identity… barrio”, then the cake giver interrupts, “We are proud you are listening to our music, the barrio people’s music, on the other side of the world.

They are trying to say thank you.” ★

........................................................................................................................................................

“Reggaeton A Lo Cubano” (Cubaton, 2004) Hybrid genre Cubaton is Cuba’s original take on Reggaeton. Vico C – “Greatest Hits” (Sony, 1994) Puerto Rico’s Godfather of Spanish language HipHop. Not Reggaeton but Vico’s early HipHop tracks were the foundation for Reggaeton. Ivy Queen – “Real” (Imperio Music, 2004) The Lady Saw of Reggaeton. Hardcore flow, tight lyricism and aggressive delivery make Ivy one powerful mammie. Tego Calderon – “El Abayarde” (White Lion Records, 2003) Tego is the hero of underground heads. Technically a HipHop artist Tego spits conscious raps with a difference. Nicky Jamz – “Vida Escante” (Pina Records,2004) The latest album from Reggaeton’s bad boy. A phenomenal singer renown for sexual lyrics. Wisin y Yandel – “Mi Vida My Life” (Lideres Ent. Group, 2003) One of Puerto Rico’s most popular double acts, their “Dem Bow” track is still massive in clubs today. Zion y Lennox – “Motivando A La Yal” (White Lion Records, 2004) The hottest double act in Puerto Rico with a string of anthems popping son the streets today.

48 ★ FEATURE

When I first met Don Corleon a little over a year ago he was riding a wave of success with bashment riddims like the “Good To Go” and the “Krazy”; he also produced major hits for Elephant Man, Predator and the debut album for Dancehall’s biggest star at the time and one of his closest collaborators Vybz Kartel. Just prior to his departure for a late afternoon guitar lesson, Don played something he had been working on but hadn’t quite completed, a slow paced one drop beat highlighted by gentle guitar strums, a radical departure from the hardcore riddims that had built his reputation as a Dancehall hit maker. “I want to voice Luciano, Morgan Heritage, Sizzla, Beres Hammond, concentrate on those type of artists for this,” he declared at the time. Don released that riddim, the “Drop Leaf”, shortly thereafter and it became one of the biggest Reggae riddims in recent years.

and his skills as a producer that turns them into hit songs. There were the furious Flamenco flavored acoustic guitar strums and the seductive murmurs of an Indian female vocalist layered over textures of tabla drums, elements primarily associated with so called “world music” recordings that delivered the key ingredients in two of his biggest riddims of 2003/2004: respectively the “Good To Go” and the “Egyptian”. While the “Egyptian” provided the musical foundation for major hits by Elephant Man and Vybz Kartel, among other artists, “Good To Go” was essential to veteran (although often times overlooked) deejay Predator scoring the biggest hit of his entire career “Nah No Head”.

Taking a break from several projects he is simultaneously working on including voicing Vybz Kartel for his new album due later this year, the affable Don of Dancehall production sets aside some time to reason about his approach to music making and the astounding success he has reaped in less than four years. “I just do what I feel,” Don simply offers. “We just concentrate on our thing. The majority of the producers make music for the people out there, audience, disc jockeys. I am a disc jockey I know what I’d want to play so I just do that.

I just know what the people want.”

»

on voiced only eleven artists No one wanted the ‘Drop Leaf’ and when it started to take off big, they on the “Drop Leaf” and a sigsaid we need it and I said nope. But something inside me said don’t nificantly high percentage of give anybody this riddim, keep it for yourself. All of them was telling those songs have become hits. Alme you are not going to sell more than 3000 copies but when I told though he never got Beres on it (“voicthem the figure that I sold, everybody frighten. ing Beres is my dream, he’s a baaaad singer”) but he voiced Maxi Priest and helped resuscitate the singer’s Donovan Bennett, 25, was born in the western Jamaican parish of career with the romantic “I Believe”; Sizzla turned in one of his Westmoreland. The nephew of singer Lorna Bennett (who recorded stronger recent efforts with “Be Strong” and Don captured a kinder the 1972 Reggae hit “Breakfast In Bed” which became a Pop hit for and gentler side of T.O.K. who renounce their thugs of Kingston imUB40 in 1988) and cousin of Third World bass player Rupert Bent, age on the sensitive tragic tale “Footprints” and in an even more draDon was just 13 when he first began selecting Reggae music for his matic transformation he captured the warlord Bounty Killer crooning a sound system. At 16 he moved to Miami where he completed delove song (you read that correctly) on the novelty “It’s OK”. Tanya grees in electronics and marine engineering. Four years later he reStephens delivers a fatal attraction set of lyrics on “After You” (do not turned to Jamaica and settled in Kingston where he formed a new cross this woman!) and incarcerated singer Jah Cure turns in what is sound system that he christened Vendetta. arguably his most exquisite vocal performance to date “Longing For” The Vendetta Sound System specialized in professional quality mix a romantic lament as well as a plea for freedom; the song was voiced tapes (CDs) of Dancehall artists’ custom-made dub plate specials for behind bars. sound systems. When Don opened his dub plate (recording) studio one A major catalyst in Reggae’s one drop riddim renaissance the “Drop of the first artists he voiced was a fledgling deejay named Vybz Kartel.

Leaf” is also the first riddim Don has released on his own label Don Kartel’s specials, characterized by his humorous metaphors, complex Corleon Records (he primarily releases his riddims on Greensleeves rhymes and singular delivery, became a popular feature of the Vendetta Records but has also given a few to VP Records). However Don’s mix tapes and provided a springboard for the deejay’s meteoric rise on decision to release “Drop Leaf” on his own was initially made for the Dancehall scene. “Me playing a disco (sound system), I heard him by the labels; since the riddim actually predated the one drop reabout Vybz Kartel,” recalls Don. “I met him at Anchor Recording studio vival, the companies just weren’t interested in it. “No one wanted and he did two dubs for us. When I started a little dub studio, he came it,” he admits, “and when it started to take off big, they said we up here and did some tunes, I re-mixed them onto rap rhythms and inneed it and I said nope. But something inside me said don’t give anystantly there was a big buzz about him: people wanted to know who’s body this riddim, keep it for yourself. All of them was telling me you that guy on the Vendetta mix tapes. Because no one else don’t have it are not going to sell more than 3000 copies but when I told them the (Kartel’s specials) they are going to want to listen to it. That was in 2001 figure that I sold, everybody frighten. I am not going to disclose the and from then, it was just on a different level.” figure but it is doing well, well, well for an independent. I am still givWhen Don made the transition from sound system dubs to fulling riddims to Greensleeves and VP for the time being, you have to fledged production it was only fitting that the first artist he recorded work with people, but certain projects I am going to keep for myself; was Kartel who scored a major hit with “New Millenium” (featuring I have all the means to distribute my own music now.” singer Wayne Marshall) on the “Mad Ants” riddim. The success of Encouraged by the success of the “Drop Leaf” Don’s next release “Mad Ants”, demonstrating Don’s ability to dominate Jamaica’s on Don Corleon Records will be the suitably titled “Don Corleon’s Dancehall production mob prompted Kartel to name Don’s new comVendetta” which features 14 new riddims with one or a combination pany Don Corleon Productions; Kartel also chose the name because of artists voicing exclusively on each. “Nobody is going to get that, “Don looks like Marlon Brando in The Godfather”. Don and Kartel’s they are not even going to preview it on radio,” Don emphasizes. “It strong musical affinity (“the chemistry between me and Don is like will be all different types of stuff, all one of a kind. I have a Vybz KarBiggie and Puffy”, says Kartel), is evidenced on the thirteen tracks tel, Sizzla and Wayne Marshall combination, I tell you it is something Don produced for Kartel’s much anticipated (albeit modestly selling) different again. Like having Bounty Killer singing, you have to keep debut album “Up 2 Di Time” released in November 2003 on trying different things because you never know what can happen.”

Greensleeves Records. The album featured previously unreleased It is Don’s audacity and willingness to provide variations on the tried Kartel tracks and a few of his most popular tunes including his biggest and tested Dancehall template that makes his riddims so distinctive hit to date “Sweet To The Belly” recorded on Don’s hypnotic “Egyptian”

D

«

FEATURE ★ 49

don CORLEON bennet

DON CORLEON’S VENDETTA

Words: Patricia Meschino Photography: Marlon “Ajamu” Myrie

50 ★ FEATURE

rhythm. “Egyptian was the first rhythm where I really hit with a live feel,” explains Don. “The tablas that I used are live (from a sample CD) it give it like a swing; it sound different, it didn’t sound like a computer rhythm. I am very proud of ‘Sweet To The Belly’. It’s not like I build a rhythm and Kartel come hear it and build a song; he was there when I was building the rhythm. I finish the drum pattern, lay the bass and I was looking for one more thing for the rhythm. Then I found an Indian (female) voice and I put it in. Kartel start to laugh and him say, ‘it’s sweet to the belly…’”

The sweet success of “Sweet To The Belly” on the Dancehall charts internationally prompted Don to give Kartel exclusive rights to the female vocal sample featured on the song. “The girl is not moaning in the rest of the versions of the rhythm (available on the “Eygyptian”, Greensleeves Rhythm Album #40) only Kartel’s because after he built a song around it, I couldn’t use it back.” Another major rhythm for Don in 2003 was the “Krazy”, it’s irresistible whistling keyboard effects and deep synth bass spawning several major hits including Elephant Man’s “Krazy”, the Wayne Wonder / Elephant Man scorcher “Crazy Feeling” and the Wayne Marshall / Vybz Kartel boom shot “Why You Doing It?”.

Don’s production has provided the rhythmic foundation for several Elephant Man chart toppers including “Signal De Plane”, “Blasé” and the biggest hit thus far for both artist and producer: “Pon De River Pon De Bank” which spent 24 weeks pon de Billboard Hot R&B/HipHop singles chart and 11 weeks pon de Hot 100 singles chart.

The farthest-reaching, most diversified display of Don’s deft production abilities can be found on fiery Dancehall chanter Sizzla’s “Rise To The Occasion”. Released on Greensleeves in October 2003 to mixed reviews, “Rise To The Occasion” comes across as a highly promising demo tape rather than a finished work with the vocals often incongruous to the accompanying rhythms, resulting in several non-cohesive tracks. But Don’s audacious efforts, incorporating swirling Bangra beats, free form Jazz riffs, sweltering Funk and sparse Dancehall rhythms, compel Sizzla’s vocals to scale falsetto heights then dive to hardy depths in a daring performance that surprises even his most loyal fans. Adhering to the same streamlined methods he has utilized since he began producing it took Don just one week to complete the “Rise To The Occasion’s” 18 tracks. “I am in the learning process just now so I just keep everything simple, just essential things then I experiment,” Don discloses. “First I build a rhythm with keyboards, drum machine and acoustic guitar. Once I build the rhythm, then I start voicing; after I voice, I overdub beats and that’s it.”

Don has completed another album with Sizzla, “Soul Deep” for Greensleeves Records. When asked how it differs from their previous collaborations, Don replies: “Obviously I am going to keep on

»I prefer to try different things.

the track that I was on with Sizzla because out of ‘Rise To The Ocassion’ we got a remix with Mobb Deep and we got Sony interested to sign Sizzla so it is a nice vibe.” Although Don can’t yet discuss Sizzla’s Sony album he promises “big things are coming.”

Riding a red-hot rhythm-driven hit-streak extended even further in 2004 by the “Trifecta”, “Cool Fusion”,“Mad Guitar” and the “Tighty Tighty” just to name a few, Don is, as expected, overwhelmed by artist’s requests to voice on his rhythms. “I consider all artists to be my family, because I am in the music business to make music I am not segregating,” he explains. “You can witness it on other riddims I voice Baby Cham, Capleton, Beenie Man, Cobra, everybody so you will have some artists who will stick to me more who like to work with me. I voice a lot of new artists, try new people, but I can’t voice everybody. When I do a rhythm I plan it. This track I want Sean Paul, I need this guy, that guy, I plan it out that’s how I do my thing but all of my tracks have to have Vybz Kartel, Wayne Marshall, Assassin, Sizzla, certain people, that’s what I am going to stick to and who I pass on, that’s it.”

Don is ready to release another one drop riddim “Seasons” (“I am just waiting for Sizzla and Gentleman to voice on it”) but if you think he has surrendered his hardcore Dancehall beats to the success he is experiencing with a rootsier sound, take a closer listen to the radio. That’s his engaging, energetic “Jonkanoo” riddim receiving constant play on radio and in the dancehall with hits by Wayne Marshall, the braggadocios “Make The Come” and Beenie Man’s declaration of innocence related to the murder of dancer Bogle in January 2005 on “Frame I And I”.

Don Corleon’s productions vacillate between a hardcore Dancehall sound and a Roots Rock paradigm which isn’t the result of a split musical identity but rather a strategic formula, which is reaping tremendous results. “I prefer to try different things,” he reiterates.

“After I put out the one drop, I am doing some fast tempo rhythms right now. When I did the ‘Good To Go’ you had 100 people trying to do that now; the ‘Drop Leaf’ 100 people are doing the one drop thing now so it is like a cycle. I am not following anybody I am making up stuff as I go along. Believe me, there is a whole formula to this thing. I can’t say what that formula is but just to let everybody know that I have the formula in my head!!” ★

After I put out the one drop, I am doing some fast tempo rhythms right now. When I did the ‘Good To Go’ you had 100 people trying to do that now; the ‘Drop Leaf’ 100 people are doing the one drop thing now so it is like a cycle. I am not following anybody I am making up stuff as I go along.«

52 ★ COVER STORY

jah

cure

COVER STORY ★ 53

JUDGE NOT

„Judge not, that ye be not judged.“ Matthew 7.1 “What am I longing for / My baby to love me more / What am I longing for / Babylon release the Cure”. Tears fall onto the bare concrete floor of a prison cell. A yearning for liberty, hopes for an early release, pain over fresh disappointment – and suddenly, these are your tears and your feelings, and it is you sitting in jail directing a hopeful glance out through the rusting bars on the window, it is you trying to fade out the here and now, imagining what could have been. The last six years were just a bad dream, your girl is holding you in her arms, you feel her warmth, she gives you faith, you feel secure... wait a minute, are you identifying with a convicted rapist? Considering the moving lyrics of “Longing For” (on the “Drop Leaf” riddim) one could easily forget the awful deeds that their creator has been charged with. He has already been an inmate of St. Catherine District Prison in Spanish Town for six years and it is here that he recorded some of the greatest conscious tunes of 2004. The Reggae community has believed in Jah Cure’s innocence from the start. Understandably enough, Jamaicans tend to place more faith in a successful Roots singer than in their

His name stands for what is very probably the most controversial career in Jamaican music. In 1999 while he was pursuing a highly promising career as a Reggae singer, Jah Cure was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment for rape and gun-related charges. Now, in 2005, whenever a Reggae artist struggles to get a reaction on stage, crying “free Jah Cure” is guaranteed to earn a rousing forward while Jah Cure’s tunes “Longing For”, “Good Morning Jah Jah” and “Jamaica” have become anthems of liberation for his multitude of supporters.

Words: Ellen Koehlings & Pete Lilly /// Photos: Pete Lilly ever an artist hits a sticky patch on stage, crying “free Jah Cure” will suffice to have the audience reacting in an enthusiastic manner.

A prison inmate with such celebrated stature is unlikely to go unnoticed by the media. But not just Jamaican publications like The Gleaner, Star or X-News are running ever more frequent stories on him, even the renowned New York Times describes “Freedom Blues” (VP Records) as “the season’s most eagerly anticipated Reggae album” and the honorable British BBC hails Jah Cure as “the hottest artist anywhere right now”.

At some point, somebody somewhere was bound to take offence at a convicted rapist being given so much attention. Major Richard Reese, Head of the Correctional Services Department, is said to have ordered a search of Jah Cure’s single-occupancy cell in Spanish Town at the beginning of February and the prisoner himself to be transferred to Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre in downtown Kingston after several mobile phones and a DVD player were alleged to have been found in

28, 2007 has been given as the earliest possible release date for Jah Cure.

Who is this man that is keeping Reggae fans, the media and the Jamaican authorities on their toes? Because of Jah Cure’s transfer, we were unable to update the interview we held with him in March 2004 (prior to his chart success) but it is chiefly his early history that made the singer what he is today.

Jah Cure was born on October 11, 1978 as Siccaturie Alcock in Maggotty Bush,

Hanover. This is where, half way between Montpelier and Cascade in the north-west of Jamaica, his Rastafarian parents ran a smallholding, acquired on the back of Michael Manley’s land distribution policy. Jah Cure’s father tried a sideline career as singer, but failed to make a discernible mark. After the divorce of his parents, Jah Cure, his mother and his seven half-siblings moved to Flankers, a ghetto community near Montego Bay airport, in 1979.

He then attended Flankers All Day School and later Montego Bay Secondary School.

He discovered his love of music early on in life.

Like generations of youngsters before him, he used to creep out of the window at night to pay surreptitious visits to local dances and stage shows.

The annual Reggae Sunsplash festival, held right next door to where he lived, gave him an early opportunity to experience the most important the roadside on I couldn’t believe it.

Reggae greats. When he was and say, eleven, his mother If you suspect me, you are supposed asked him what he to and have an ID parade. Instead they asked her to wanted to become , say if I am the person. She didn’t answer to that. when he grew up. His yes, I am the person who raped her. self-confident answer was immedi. ate: a singer! A year later, his father took him to Kingston for the purpose his cell. Although detailed information was not own judiciary. Again and again there is talk of of sorting out the formalities for a trip to the forthcoming from the Jamaican authorities, it his soon being able to leave those gloomy USA. However, the embassy run failed to bear has been confirmed that Jah Cure now shares prison walls and walk free and again and again fruit, the visa applications for father and son a cell with three other inmates. The conditions those hopes are dashed and the plea “Babylon were declined. Instead, Jah Cure ended up livrelease the Cure” turns into a demand for the in this high-security prison, locally referred to as ing with his aunt in Mona Common, an estate listener. That the mere mention of his name the General Penitentiary, are said to be even between Hope River and University Hospital, is enough to guarantee a forward at a stage harsher than those of the prison in Spanish framed by Papine and August Town. His conshow is chiefly due to tunes like “Longing Town, which is not exactly known for its stant habit of singing hit tunes in the street enFor” that were recorded in jail. Songs like the sympathetic interpretation of human rights. sured his voice quickly left an abiding impresmoving “Jamaica”, a declaration of love clad Initial concerns that Jah Cure would now be sion on the people in the neighborhood. He asin simple words and common clichés, the inforbidden to record further songs were dissumed the stage name of Little Melody, first fectious, Nyahbinghi-informed “Congo Man” pelled by Reese in a Star article. However, tried his hand at smaller stage shows, hung or yet “Good Morning Jah Jah”, which manhe also quashed all hopes of Jah Cure’s around outside studios, took the mic at sounds ages to be so joyous despite his incarceration. most recent successes on the world’s Reglike Turbo Force or Fresh, both from Papine, As further testament to his popularity, whengae charts leading to his early release. July and made initial contact with people from the

e

You can’t just stop me “This is the man.” carry me to the station She didn’t say So let me go home « »

54 ★ COVER STORY music industry. He also met Capleton along voice seems to take on the role of an instruBeres Hammond. The album was aimed at this route and he further acquainted him with ment like instruments take on the role of voices rousing public interest and eventually effecting the business, took him along to dub platein Jazz. Apart from his love of Jazz, Blues and his release. Beres Hammond, meanwhile, recording sessions even gave him his first opSoul Jah Cure is a walking embodiment of iconpursued a different strategy. To ensure the portunity to record. However, this was not an ic influences like Burning Spear, Bob Marley, Jamost talented singer in his stable didn’t fade immediate success as Jah Cure ran out of cob Miller, Yami Bolo, Junior Reid, Garnet Silk, into oblivion, he gradually released Jah Cure breath half way through the recording. It was all of whose positive messages he has internalsingles on Harmony House for a number of also Capleton who confronted him with quesized to such a degree that his tions of faith and after countless reasonings in songs are free of any ranDavid House among the mostly turbaned cor. In addition to Bobo (Rasta) bredrin, Jah Cure began to let his the suffering dreadlocks grow. He went on a pilgrimage to they exBobo Hill, drew inspiration from the orthodox as well as spiritual lifestyle of the Bobos there and began to follow the teachings of Prince Emmanuel. It was also Capleton , es me that gave Jah Cure his name due to Now I’m like, I don’t mind… It just mak the latter’s copious consumption of gonna . People only gonna see me when I have ganja – ganja is the healing of or do interviews on TV. Otherwise . the nation. people are some man, ca, Jamai In .

The first release under Honestly, I am gonna this name was “Jah Is My . Dem no build great man, Guide” on a Jungle riddim for the English producer Rebel Ruler. However because the tune was only released in the press, his songs always leave room for the upyears before finally compiling the 2003 album UK it failed to give Jah Cure the push he had liftment of Jah people. It is Jah Cure’s self-as”Ghetto Life” (VP Records). Six years have hoped for. His career then slowly gathered mosurance, far removed from any overestimation now passed since Jah Cure was imprisoned. mentum with “I Know” for African Star but big of his own capabilities, which has yielded this His application for parole has just been denied.

Spanish Town, December 2003. We breakthrough came when he made friends positive attitude. His staunch faith in himself remember standing at the corner of Barrett with Sizzla. With two much-praised conscious was instilled at an early age thanks to the love and White Church Street. The slender, potalbums on the market “Praise Ye Jah” and and affection lavished upon him by his family, holed road hugs the straight and seemingly “Black Woman & Child”, Sizzla already was who always saw him as exceptional. It is also endless prison wall, stretching upwards revered by every hopeful Rasta artist; together this faith that has kept him from despair during some 16 feet and topped by a sunshine-dapJah Cure and Sizzla toured the island, cooked his term in prison. ital food, visited various studios and wrote their His career could hardly have been more pled spiral of barbed wire. An open sewer songs. One night, they were working on a com- promising when Jah Cure was sentenced to drain between the wall and the street filled bination at the Mixing Lab studio on Dumbarton 15 years in prison for rape and gun-related the air with its acrid stench. After walking a Avenue; Jah Cure was singing his part when charges at St. James Circuit Court, Montego little over half a mile we reached a crowd of along came Beres Hammond from his HarmoBay, on April 26, 1999. As the Daily Star repeople gathered around a narrow, yet heavy ny House studio across the road. He was fasciported three days later on the basis of police wooden door adjoining a wide steel gate for nated by the unknown voice he heard. The reports, Jah Cure was said to have been identhe passage of prison transports. same night, Beres produced the Jah Cure/ tified as one of two attackers who, in NovemSt. Catherine District Prison, also Sizzla duet “Divide & Rule (Kings In This Junber 1998, had forced two women into a car at known as St. Catherine Adult Correctional Cengle)” one of the biggest tunes of 1997. Beres gun point, drove them to the Spring Farm tre or just plain Prison Oval Rock, was built by Hammond went on to become Jah Cure’s area of Rose Hall and then raped them. The slaves in the early 19th century. According to most important mentor. Although the latter cautiously worded article ended with a declaAmnesty International, conditions in Jamaican continued to record for other producers includration of Jah Cure’s innocence by his attorney, prisons are cruel, inhuman, degrading and fall ing the Firehouse Crew, Shadowman, Syl GorRoy Fairclough. Despite the terrible crime that short of every international minimum standard. don or Iley Dread, it was Beres that showed Jah Cure was alleged to have committed, The high-security prison in Spanish Town has him how to work professionally in the studio. there was (and is) widespread belief in his inalso made the headlines on numerous occaHe taught him never to make musical concesnocence in Jamaica. The fact that friends, colsions: for violence meted out by prison sions, not to rush or force things and to treat leagues and producers like Sizzla, Capleton, warders, with fatalities being no exception; for every song as though it were his first and last.

Jah Mason, Buju Banton and Beres Hamovercrowding – instead of the 600 inmates for In 1998, Beres took his protégé on a trip to the mond were all convinced of his innocence, which the prison was originally built, it currently UK and the Netherlands and had him voice on preferring to give credence to a conspiracy houses 1,300 with up to five prisoners sharing every Harmony House produced riddim. In theory, is not particularly surprising. But even a single cell; for inedible food, appalling sanitary short, Beres became a kind of father figure, a an article printed in the Jamaican daily newsconditions and inadequate medical care. The role he has maintained to this very day and Jah paper, The Gleaner, in September 2000 rebuilding is in such a dilapidated state that sevCure thanked him by giving his very best. His frained from casting aspersions, instead calleral ground-floor cells regularly flood during voice plaintive, nasal yet heart-melting and aling Jah Cure’s guilt into tacit doubt. longer rainy spells, repeatedly forcing their inready very mature for his tender age conveys A year after Jah Cure’s conviction, the sound mates to wade through waist-high water. the suffering throughout the African Diaspora. engineer Fabian “Goldie Locks” Francis and The group at the prison door was alHis style of stretching and positively tenderizing Dane Moo Young, A&R man at Weeded most entirely made up of women – mothers, syllables so that individual words are difficult to Records, put together and released the album grandmothers, girlfriends, fiancées, wives – make out creates lugubrious, haunting “Free Jah’s Cure” with the best tunes that all jostling along the narrow canal bridge, actumelodies that can bring tears to your eyes. His Cure had recorded for producers other than ally no more than a provisional-looking con-

scared of people I’m stay far a stage show I’m just laying low too just hide out corrupt dem kill great man.« »

COVER STORY ★ 55

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crete slab, towards a small patch of shadow cast by the prison wall. “You have to queue over there for the write up, after that you wait here till you are called.” Every couple of minutes, the squeaking wooden door would open, a man in uniform would call a name, whereupon a woman would emerge from the waiting crowd and disappear into the murky depths within the prison walls.

Suddenly, a stout woman kindly pushed us forward. “It’s your turn. You have to enter your names in a list inside.” A smartly dressed warder in a khaki uniform and polished kneehigh black boots led us through a long, damp and austere, concrete-built corridor to a sort of foyer, no less dank and bleak. More people in uniform, among them some women, sitting at rickety wooden tables, oversized folders in front of them. We were required to provide proof of identity and state our case. Once outside again, we had to wait another half an hour before we were called up, “Jah Cure! This way!“ Again we were taken to the foyer where we first had to deposit our bags on a table before being escorted to the visiting room. A wall with windows runs through the room, separating the inmates from the visitors. There’s a phone at every window to let you talk to the inmate behind the wall. The room was a Babel of voices.

A door opened behind the wall and a goodlooking Rasta, clad entirely in white, bounded into the room with a broad smile on his face.

In the best cinematic fashion, he placed his

right hand on the pane of glass in greeting.

We did the same and grabbed the phone, “You look great! It’s good to see you.” “Just holding the faith.“ So many things were going through our minds during the few minutes that the warders let us have with Jah Cure, but there was only enough time to tell him about our intention to make his story known to the public. Before he was taken back to his cell, he gave us the phone number of his girlfriend. Two days later, she told us he was scheduled for a dental appointment outside the prison. She wanted us to catch him there so that we could at least take some photos.

Together with Jah Cure’s then girlfriend Shana, we found ourselves waiting in a car park in front of the dental surgeon’s office.

Time passed, hour after hour, no sign of the singer. Shana related how she had met him in prison while visiting a relative. Since then, she had made the journey from Freetown, Clarendon to Spanish Town every day to make sure her boyfriend had clean clothes and healthy food. She was utterly convinced of his innocence – a man who could sing like that was unable to harm a fly. By some strange coincidence, his haunting voice suddenly filled the air... “Songs of freedom I cryyyyy, black man wipe your tears from your eyeyeye.” Somewhere in a nearby yard someone was playing his first album “Free Jah’s Cure”.

After we had waited for five hours an ambulance finally drew up. Shana, “That’s him!”

Two broad-shouldered warders in civvies escorted a handcuffed Jah Cure from the car, across the lot and up a flight of steps to the dental surgeon. Some 30 minutes went by before a warder approached us, “The singer says you want to take photos of him? No problem. He’s a good boy. I trust him, he’s innocent anyway.” The second warder joined us, admonishing his colleague, “You can’t just take his handcuffs off!” “Don’t fret, I know him well. He won’t give us any trouble.” Ten minutes later it was all in the bag. We returned to the prison on foot, straight through Spanish Town. The more chatty of the two warders kept assuring us that there was no danger of Jah Cure trying to escape, that he fully trusted the diminutive Rasta. Before disappearing inside the prison walls, Jah Cure hugged us close. We arranged for a telephone interview to enable us to talk without interruptions.

Jah Cure, it is extremely difficult to obtain precise information about your case; can you tell us what caused you to go to prison?

Well... one Sunday night, 16th November 1998, I was coming from a club in Montego Bay when a police car put the siren on and stop me.

That was on Gloucester Avenue, in the tourist area. I got out with my driver’s license and they said they were searching for drugs and guns. I said to the police officer, “You’re not gonna find that, I don’t deal with those things.” Anyway,

56 ★ COVER STORY

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be happy man, one day you »I pray to God every day and tell myself, just gonna be a star. Keep your karma, keep your joy, knowing that when I’m free I’m gonna be blessed. I’m gonna leave prison right into success.«

when he was finished searching me, I asked, “Can I go now?” He said, “no, look across the road, you see that police officer in the phone box? When him finish talking, you will know if you can go.” I was like, what do you mean? He looked at me – honestly I’m speaking everything that happened – and said, “let me tell you this straight up. We suspect you of a rape that happened last week.”

And me say, “What?! You mad, you crazy?!

From Sumfest July I haven’t come back to Montego Bay. This is the first time. And my name is Jah Cure, I’m an upcoming artist, the future of Reggae.” And they was like, “Oh yeah, oh yeah…” They were mocking me ‘cause my name wasn’t really recognized. And while I was saying, “man are you crazy?! I don’t know nothing about that,” I just hear somebody say, “look, a fi him dis!” And when me look around, me see a whole group of people. I don’t know who they were. Afterwards I realized they were all family. The policeman said to a girl, “this is the man.” And she said, “the voice sound like him.” Can you imagine?! The policeman say, “this is the man.” That’s what he said, like psychologically he was forcing her.

That’s not how the police is supposed to work. I could tell the world that’s what happened to me. And I said, “how you mean the voice sound like? Don’t play with me. My name is Jah Cure. Don’t mistake me fi nobody.” Motherf**k, how I get into this?! Then they’d be talking about my car (a white Toyota), it was a car like mine. I say, “officer, there’s thousands of cars like this in Jamaica. How come my car get into this?” Then I saw this Bobo that used to come by Capleton’s David House. He was escorting some white people like a tour guide when he recognized me and said, “Wha’ ‘appen Jah Cure?” And the girl said to the police, “dis guy is one of them, too.” The officer knew that it was very crazy what she was doing and said to the Bobo, “go about your business,” and me bredrin got scared and went back to the tourists. I couldn’t believe it. You can’t just

stop me on the roadside and say, “this is the man.” If you suspect me, you are supposed to carry me to the station and have an ID parade.

Instead they asked her to say if I am the person. She didn’t answer to that. She didn’t say, yes, I am the person who raped her. So let me go home. You’re gonna still detain me? For what? Anyway, if it’s possible for you to detain me, you can’t detain me over 24 hours. But I was in jail for a week and a half. It was a violation of my rights. If any human rights activist or lawyer in the world wants to check back the station diary at 14 Barnett Street, 16th November, 1998, Monday morning one o’clock.

When they finally took me to court, I got the cheapest bail ever, J$ 20,000. The allegation was rape and they also said I robbed the people with a gun. There is no way ‘cause I never robbed anybody in my life. Where is the gun?

They don’t catch me with a gun, nobody, nowhere, no time! But I wasn’t taking my case serious. I was running off my mouth, “I’m gonna sue you! I’m in jail for one week and a half.” At the time I was young, I should have just gotten a lawyer. Anyway, later the girl’s mother came to me. She knows that they are guilty of getting me mixed up, but they don’t want to just drop the case. So she tried to make some money off of me. She saw that I was eating a little bread, that I have a car. In the meantime I had a lawyer and he told me to give them the money. I said, “what?! I’m innocent, I don’t pay nobody.”

Beres Hammond, Buju Banton, Capleton, everybody was ready to make an offer…

Sometimes I regret that I didn’t just give them. But maybe Jah sent me to learn. That’s the only way I could ever look at this, just to relax myself about this situation. Now at the day of the trial the girl come into court and say she only saw me from sideways, that it was dark, that she couldn’t see me good. I didn’t know nothing about court, I paid this

lawyer and I thought that was it. But the lawyer didn’t even show up on my trial day.

He is the craziest lawyer in Jamaica. I don’t know why I am so bad-lucky to get a lawyer like him. If it wasn’t for him, I would be out.

But still, 15 years! That’s damned harsh punishment!

Listen, 15 years… and I didn’t do nothing!

Since I’ve come to the prison, I’ve seen more than 50 people who were sentenced to death and they are innocent. I’m telling you, I could prove it. Their cases have been tried with so many errors. Jamaica… oh, gosh, I don’t even know how to describe. But Jamaica is not the only place where people go to prison innocently. Oh gosh, man, every time I think about it it’s stressing me out. I have to just tell myself within that I come here to do a mission. It just stresses me and keeps me grieving every day. Why?! How?! Why me?! But when you are all the way down you can only go up. This is gonna make my life so different and I’m gonna be one of the most unique persons whether musically, spiritually, livitically, and physically… in every way.

What was going on in your mind when they delivered the verdict?

Boy, me tell you... I was standing straight and I felt like I was standing lean. I can’t believe what I hear. I was telling myself, no, probably by tomorrow they call me back and tell me that it is a mistake. But I never see nobody come back up until this day… Sometimes I wonder if I’m dreaming. It’s just now that I’m coming to a reality, that’s the way how it is ‘cause I’m gonna come home soon. Now I’m like, I don’t mind… It just makes me scared of people, I’m gonna stay far. People only gonna see me when I have a stage show or do interviews on TV. Otherwise I’m just laying low. Honestly, I am gonna just hide out. In Jamaica, man, some people are too corrupt.

Dem no build great man, dem kill great man.

COVER STORY ★ 57

When we visited you in prison, we were surprised to see how well you looked.

How do you manage that in such a place?

I get support from my mother, from friends.

People always look out for me. I get visits daily and they often cook food for me. I don’t eat the prison food. It keeps me going when I know that people call me and say: “Hey, your works are doing well.” I mean people from America, Canada, England… I pray to God every day and tell myself, just be happy man, one day you gonna be a star. Keep your karma, keep your joy, knowing that when I’m free I’m gonna be blessed. I’m gonna leave prison right into success. A lot of entertainers leaving prison have to start all over again with their careers. My career is just set. With me now I’m gonna fit into the business, like I wasn’t missing, that’s the thing. And God bless me, man, I could tell anybody that I’m blessed. It’s been five years now and I still could get a record deal straight and a lot of stage shows as well. I don’t even have to sing a new song ‘cause I never even have performed any of those old songs for nobody.

You mentioned your mission in prison...

Well, as I told you before, sometimes I look at it and ask myself, why am I here? How come? But I want to look at it more deeper where I see that I’m definitely here for a mission. ‘Cause there are a lot of youths I take care of and show things. When I get my food I share it with others that don’t have no family that come visit. And sometimes when I got two pair of shoes I give away one to somebody who got none. No matter where I am in the world, I always will be doing that.

From when I see somebody don’t have, I’m gonna let them have. And many youths tell me, “Man, if you weren’t here, I don’t know how I would go on, bless you man.”

I also learned a lot of things I definitely don’t need in my life though. But over the years I got to read and study things, look into my life, know what I want, what I’m gonna do with my life and outset the things in my mind and make it happen in reality. I wanna be on the Billboard charts, reach the mainstream with my music, the whole world.

When we met your girlfriend Shana she told us that you enjoy a number of privileges, like a single-occupancy cell?

Yeah, they treat me like a king in the prison. The warders know me as an artist. Well, you have a few officers who are jealous, because I’m treated that way. But I deserve it, because I’m not a high risk, they know that I am here innocent.

Does that mean no one has to pay for your privileges?

(Insistent) No! I’m not the only person having my own cell. Everyone in this section is living in single cells. It’s the music section, so it’s a privileged section.

You have no doubt written countless songs during the past five years...

Of course, I write songs every day.

Has your songwriting style changed from the material we know?

No never. I’m only getting better, deeper.

Do you get to hear what’s going on outside in terms of music?

No, not to the fullest but I kind of have an idea. Sometimes I get to listen to the radio.

And I’m vexed right now. Some true artists are getting conquered by the lewd side, because the lewd side create so much hype, where some cultural artists are getting drawn away. Me can’t put a man down when him sing fi him eat him bread. Some Reggae artists no deh pon the real thing, dem deh pon the forward thing. It’s all about the forward, the jump up. I want no one to jump up for me, I just want the people to listen, rock to the beat, sing along with me, communicate with me. But some men are trying to mix Reggae like Reggae name Dancehall. A no Dancehall, no sir. Dancehall is just this digital type of thing and this fast beat. You have a lot of social commentary, but you also have a lot of slackness, man telling woman to do all kinds of things with themselves, to sell their bodies. That’s not right. But good music is inevitable. Music must be beautiful with sounds. Even some Rasta artists, no matter how dem think dem great, dem lose the crown. Because dem deejay certain things and no matter what dem call deejay culture

again, see dem branch out. You got to know what you are doing. That’s music! From once you come out, your mouth is pon record, bredrin. Once you portray yourself as a great man, people look up to you. What do you think, deejaying ten slack songs, degrading women? And you sing them at a time when you know yourself already? It means that you were just pretending, my friend. Message is not a joke thing, you can’t play with the people. They take the message serious. But some artists don’t realize how serious the people look at the message. I will forever be singing the right thing. No guy can make me sing no boogu yagga. Me sing my songs for a reason and me haffi stand for what me stand for.

So there we have Jah Cure’s own version of events. We were unfortunately unable to obtain statements from either the victims or the attorney. As a result, it was not possible to check the veracity of Jah Cure’s account. However, the story he told is perfectly conceivable considering the corruption-ridden institutions of Jamaica. This is borne out by any number of newspaper articles about other cases in which the accused spent several years in remand waiting for their trials or were completely denied any sort of fair judicial treatment.

Arbitrary police behavior as well as social discrimination in Jamaican courts of law are also constant concerns of Amnesty International.

Apart from the physical injury involved, rape is the most degrading form of power exercised by men over women (or men) and traumatizes the victim mostly for the rest of her (or his) life. As grave as the crime is that Jah Cure is alleged to have committed, the truth is only known by the people who were actually involved. Being equally lost for an answer, we therefore hold with Bob Marley’s lyrical wisdom: “judge not before you judge yourself / judge not if you’re not ready for judgment / the road of life is rocky / and you may stumble, too / so while you talk about me / someone else is judging you.” ★ Jah Cure’s current album “Freedom Blues” is available on VP Records.

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Photography: Carlington Wilmot

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64 ★ FEATURE

Your style is different to that of most selectors. What do you think makes Matterhorn so special?

Well, I think it’s self-explanatory. Matterhorn do what the other selectors don’t do. Like I do the breaking of the ice. I am the one venturing out in all these places where the music is not that strong, yet. So I’m like the Dancehall ambassador. Most Jamaican artists and selectors think the business is just New York, Miami. They don’t even know that it is bigger than that. Most of them are scared to venture out, ‘cause they probably think (kisses his teeth) Germany, I don’t know what to play there. But if you don’t go, you don’t know. I’m like Columbus! Anybody who is going to Japan or Europe has to confront Matterhorn, Trooper, Freddie Krueger… “Matterhorn, weh me suppose to play over there?” Me say, “Dem love Roots & Culture, one drop.” But me, I’m different, I’m giving dem Dancehall, bere mad things. ‘Cause that’s Matterhorn. I am a mad person. People in Europe are used to the one drop, dududududuuummduuumm. I’m like “Thunderclap”, “Propeller”, pure mad s**t. I have like 20 different playing patterns. I’m an international person.

THE DEFIANT ONE Words: Ellen Koehlings & Pete Lilly Photography: Pete Lilly

Frequently advertised and even more frequently cancelled, today the man is finally in town. Having already wriggled out of doing an interview with us when we had last met in Kingston – he pranced around under our noses and with an “I am like the wind, you can’t catch me” attitude, woosh, he simply disappeared from view. Now he was trying to do the same thing. “Oh, I’m not well, I’ve got a terrible headache”, he croaked on the phone when we called his hotel room from the lobby.

We insisted and ten minutes later the door to his room opened and a sleepyeyed, slightly straggly-looking Tony Matterhorn emerged, asking, “Do you need long for the interview? I feel so bad...” before disappearing back under the covers with a single leap. Even if it didn’t initially look like it, The Mentally Ill, The One-Man Show, The Top Juggler, The War Machine, Gyals Selector, Street Dance Impressario, Dancehall Comedian, the person you love to hate slowly got talking until he finally graduated into seemingly endless monologues while casually sorting hundreds of CDs without any apparent system, chain-smoking all the while.

You are known for experimenting with various genres and juggling for a variety of crowds. Do you really listen to all this stuff?

Where does your knowledge of music come from?

Well, if you ask most people they’d be like I have it from my father, Don Taylor, who used to roll with Bob Marley dem. But I think it’s just an inborn concept, mainly because I’m not a prejudiced person cause if you are prejudiced then you lock your mind to certain things. You can’t play Spanish people music if you are prejudiced against Spanish people. You can’t play white people music if you are prejudiced against white people. You have to be open-minded. You know that thing I came up with, “Mad sick head nah good” and the techno “mad, mad, mad”, that was my European side coming out. The remix that I did, “First thing I do when I wake up, I wanna fly away” that’s like my MTV side (laughs). And then I just slip into the Christine Aguilera mode, “Tell me why the hell you make things so complicat-

»Any sound clash, once Matterhorn is in it, the other players don’t remember anybody else. Four, five, six sounds, it’s a gangbang, the world against Matterhorn. They just think, we should go at Matterhorn, because he is the biggest selector in the world.

They don’t want to admit it, but the world know and they know.« ed.” Even the “Hawaii 5-0” riddim, papapapapaaaam, for Fully Loaded.

It needs an international person to pick up things and blend this culture and that culture. When you can do something like that, you’re gonna be remarkable.

Even as a child I used to listen to a lot of different songs. My favorite is Country & Western. My music thing came about when I was like 16, around 1987/88. They had this new sound in Kingston, Inner City Disco, which was next door to me and I was just fascinated with it.

That’s when I developed the passion for the music. I used to follow the sound until one day in 1990 they were playing out at Greenwhich Farm and none of the selectors showed up. That was my chance. Me just mash up the place. Nobody never really know I coulda play the sound. It was like one of the most hardcore juggling sounds back then. It was Stone Love, Aries, Metromedia and Inner City. That’s where I became a juggler. And it was Mark Dragon from Inner City who give me the name Matterhorn from me smoke so much cigarettes. But when I went to Addies, King Addies was like a war sound.

But there is where the versatility comes in, I could just switch easily.

And being a juggler, then start doing war, it develop my skills. Right now Matterhorn is the best in both worlds, King of the Dancehall (laughs), ‘cause Beenie Man say that tune is for me!

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Which do you prefer clashing or juggling?

Juggling, definitely! You interact more with the crowd. It may sound weird, because in the clash you are supposed to be working with the crowd, right?! But in juggling you have different departments. In clash you have just one department. No matter what kind of tunes you play, you are trying to outdo the competing sound. So all you have to do is just play derogatory tunes towards that sound. Everybody in the clash just want to hear “sound bwoy fi dead” or whatever. But in juggling now, you’d probably be in a club and you want to hear a likkle soca, while he wants to hear two clash tunes, that other person wants to hear some R&B. It’s a wide scale. So being a top juggler is even better because anybody could be a top war selector. All you got to do is make some war speech, play war tunes and you get the forward. But in juggling, you have to have the know how, how to combine it. It’s more intense than just one track… pfhhht.

»Trooper, Panther, all the namebrand warheads despise Fully Loaded. And then they want to come on it? You watch me lay the bricks, do the steel and you chastise it? And now that the house is built and my yard is pretty you want to come over? No. And they start saying, oh Matterhorn is bad-minded.« You keep declaring that you are going to retire from clashing. But then we see your name in the line-up again...

Hmm (kisses his teeth), every now and then I stop clash, ‘cause I’m just tired of it. If you notice, every war that they keep, any sound clash, once Matterhorn is in it, the other players don’t remember anybody else. Four, five, six sounds, it’s a gangbang, the world against Matterhorn. They just think, we should go at Matterhorn, because he is the biggest selector in the world. They don’t want to admit it, but the world know and they know. When I step into the clash arena every sound point their finger at Matterhorn, brrrrrup, Matterhorn we waan kill. That’s making the clash boring. Because, guess what, then somebody who don’t even deserve to win probably win the clash because they are so busy with Matterhorn, somebody just slip through. Like Black Kat always do that. Black Kat is a nice sound, Panther is a good selector, no doubt. But he win the World Clash four times, break my record and still he is not a champion. I am a champion. I am the man who goes to all these places, teach the

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»You know that thing I came up with, “Mad sick head nah good” and the techno “mad, mad, mad”, that was my European side coming out. The remix that I did, “First thing I do when I wake up, I wanna fly away” that’s like my MTV side (laughs). It needs an international person to pick up things and blend this culture and that culture.« people the music and upgrade them. And without me the other players don’t really have nothing to motivate. Look at World Clash last year in New York, I wasn’t there, but I heard it was the most boring clash of all times. They need a popular person to pull the crowd. Because if I don’t go, it’s Black Kat and who?! You know and I know, there wouldn’t be nobody in that clash. I am the one who made that UK clash so big.

I am the one who made the New York clash big. You have three different kind of entities in our business: 1) the people who can pull a crowd, 2) people who can’t pull a crowd, but they can work the crowd and 3) people who can do both, pull and work a crowd. Even in the artist industry, say Baby Wayne or Ninjaman. Him can’t pull a crowd, but if you put him on a show with Capleton, Bounty, Beenie, Ele, all of them big name, Ninjaman probably come out as the man taking the show. You have sounds like Black Kat that can win a clash, but they can’t pull a crowd. Trooper will pull a crowd, but him nah mash the place. Then you have people like Rodigan and Matterhorn, who can pull a crowd and mash up the place.

What do you think of this development that clashes are by now being staged with six, seven or even eight sounds?

Well, I think it’s bulls**t. But then again that was designed for me. You see that’s why I have to say I can’t be bothered with the war thing because they designed so much things to try stop Matterhorn and Matterhorn can’t be stopped. I told them I am like the mountain, not like the cigarettes, I’m cold, solid and just there, not moving. Check your history. When Matterhorn buss big time on Addies, it was Addies clashing Saxon, Addies vs. LP, Addies vs. Jaro, Addies vs. Bass Odyssey, right? You can’t bite talent. If there was ever such a thing as a perfect sound King Addies was that. Because King Addies had the money, the tunes, and the selectors. As I said, everything has three dimensions, that trinity thing. You have sounds with money and tunes, but the selector is f***ing dumb, then you have sounds like Black Kat, weh have no money, no tunes, but a great selector. King Addies had everything, the money, the tunes and they had the best Dancehall combination ever: Matterhorn and Babyface. There were never two people that play sound like a unity.

It is said that you and Babyface were barely on speaking terms outside of the dance...

Yeah, it’s so wicked. The fans knew Matterhorn and Babyface wasn’t friends.

‘Cause Babyface tried to tell me who to talk to and I am like, are you crazy?! My friends are like some little thug niggers, hoodlums, cause I grew up like a thug.

Babyface friends were some, phhhtttt, Emanuel I and blablabla (laughs). In just about every clash that we won, me and him war before we go in the clash. First I thought he was just trying to stir me up for the war. But me and him just couldn’t get along. Somehow on the sound it just worked though, it was just remarkable and Addies was the first war sound that could juggle. If you put Addies in a dance with pure females, Matterhorn deal with it wicked. If you put Addies in a clash, Babyface and Matterhorn deal with it wicked. If you put Addies in a culture dance, Babyface deal with it wicked. Juggle, clash, anything!

Babyface was the one that first made Addies big...

Yeah, most people fail to understand that Babyface was the original man who build up Addies. Then Addies had to come off the road for a while ‘cause Addies is a gangster sound. When they started out back on the road in 1993 I came on the sound. It was the third dance. The first dance Babyface lost against Saxon, the second dance he lost against Black Kat. The third dance now was the rematch against Saxon and Babyface said, “Massive, may I unleash Addies secret weapon.” And I deal with Saxon like a piece of s**t. The whole of Brooklyn was like, that new kid on Addies, he is dangerous, he is talking mad s**t! So the next dance was the rematch with Black Kat. The same thing. I f**k up Panther so bad, dance got shoot up, everything bam bam bam. Then it just went across the world: Addies new mike man is Tony Matterhorn. So eventually I was even getting more popular than Addies, but I was

keeping it in the camp. My popularity still reflects back on Addies. Then bam, Babyface got in some immigration trouble and went to jail for a year. I decided to change the whole thing ‘cause I was like, s**t, change the sound. Addies was straight clash. Pure thugs and hoodlums come to Addies.

But Matterhorn is a lady’s man, pure females. The girls dem love Matterhorn, oh that likkle cute boy, rae rae rae. Bam, they start coming. Bam, I started taking dates like in the clubs. So the popularity started getting bigger again. The people were like, me never know Addies could a juggle so wicked. So what I started now was a new thing in Dancehall that got me real big now. I said, let’s cut two dubs, one the juggling way and one the clash way, the girl way and the war way. Addies originate that style. Like we put (sings), “There is no other girl in the street like Addies girls dem…”, and then we cut it like “There is no other sound who can test King Addies sound…”. Bam! Addies becomes this big juggling entity. And some people were like, is Addies a juggling or a war sound, a girlie sound or a rudeboy sound? You have a problem with it? People was like, rae rae rae, we want to see war. I say, alright, bring it on.

They brought Bodyguard, boom, kill! They send Super D, boom, kill! Exodus 4 x 4, boom, kill! I was like, anybody next? I blend the best of both worlds. The girls love Matterhorn, the gangsters love Addies.

Why did you ever leave Addies in view of all this success?

Well, I was having problems with Babyface when he got back out. Even though I was giving him all the credit when I was playing dances while he was incarcerated, always saying “Big up Babyface” he had all the time in the world to sit down and be jealous of Matterhorn’s glory. When he went in it was Babyface’s Addies. When he came out it was Matterhorn’s Addies. Even though I am trying to shed the light on him same way, the people just say Matterhorn is a more friendly person. Babyface wasn’t a person who talk up to people. He is like a Sizzla kind of person. I was a ghetto celebrity, ghetto superstar. I was the biggest thing in New York. But I keep it real, I am like going over and pounding my friends, I am like, “What’s up, rae rae rae.”

The popularity get so big, when Babyface got out, he was upset with the outcome. He wanted back the sound because I turn it into a Matterhorn’s kingdom. All he had to do was just groom back in and it would be eventually back to Matterhorn and Babyface. It’s two of us. But he saw it like he was the senior selector and I am the one getting all the attention. It’s a jealousy thing. When he said he was gonna leave I said, alright I’ll leave.

Was it clear to you from the start that you would continue alone?

That was a big step, but I knew I could do it. I was talking to Bounty Killer and he said, “you done have the name already ‘cause the name done worldwide. You want to do the journey?” Me say, alright (kisses his teeth), “f**k that s**t, I can do anything, I am the defiant one (laughs). So I went to Miami. I am the main reason for the Miami scene to get so big. I brought the New York ruffian and Brooklyn thug style to mild Miami.

Did you even have a box back then?

Spragga Benz gave me the first dubs, him and Sean Paul. I had a handful of dubs. But being the selector that I am (kisses his teeth), dangerous. I came to Jamaica and ripped up Fully Loaded. I am the main reason why it got so big. I made

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»There are talented youths out there, but they don’t have this turbo-charged drive to burst through the New York atmosphere, wwwwwhhhppp. It’s been like twelve years now and up to now nobody has made a follow up. I could even go and rise Addies, I was gonna do it now (kisses his teeth)… but I changed my mind.« a new clash, a juggling clash. You don’t have to go to the real depth to kill your opponent. And bam, it took off, Fully Loaded got big around the world. Bam, my popularity rose, Matterhorn become a world name again, not as King Addies, but as Tony Matterhorn. It was a breakthrough. I got the juggling fans and the uptown people to start liking clash. I gave them a clash on a silver platter. That’s Fully Loaded. It has everything a clash needs, but it don’t have to be no derogatory thing like, suck your mother… People start to lick out on it and be like (kisses his teeth), what kind of clash that, a girl clash? Trooper, Panther, all the namebrand warheads despise it. And then they want to come on it? You watch me lay the bricks, do the steel and you chastise it? And now that the house is built and my yard is pretty you want to come over? No. And they start saying, oh Matterhorn is bad-minded. They can’t hold me I am the defiant one.

You also played a part in the success of the street dances in the last few years...

When I went back to Jamaica after being on tour for a while, Fire Links just started the Hot Mondays thing. I was like, okay, upgrade that s**t. Me and Swatch International came up with Passa Passa now, which became even bigger. Passa Passa is in the ghettos, in Tivoli Gardens. I brought all these uptown people, ministers and all these big shots to the ghettos. Passa Passa started two weeks before I went there, but it was only about 40 people in the street. The next week I brought about 30 people with me. The following week the dance ram. But still people was like, “Tivoli ain’t my place, it nah safe.” So I started to bring these likkle uptown girls, cause they have a big following. Bam, I brought (cable TV music channel) RETV down there and they did an interview with me while we were driving. I said, “This is me driving through the ghetto. Look, the only thing on the streets is dogs and gunmen, but it perfectly safe.” Now everybody see Passa Passa on cable. So don’t despise the ghetto if you’ve never been there.

When I came on in the morning of New Year’s eve 2003 it was like, okay, the Prime Minister of Jamaica just arrived (laughs). As daylight out I just say, “Good Morning”, and bere gun salute, all hell broke loose. It was beautiful, man.

How did you manage to tear down the barriers between uptown and downtown, be it only for one night a week?

I guess it takes a people person to break the uptown/downtown barrier. I know the ghetto thing and the uptown thing. I am originally from Kingston 13, Maxfield. Then I moved to live with my aunt in Meadowbrook/Havendale, that is real uptown. So I know how to talk to the uptown youth and to the ghetto youth. I came up with the uptown gangster concept. Uptown kids were carrying their daddies’ licensed firearms. I was telling them if you want to be gangsters, you have to hang out with the real gangsters. The downtown people were scared to go uptown though because they feel seh there people are posh, they talk a little nicer. They are supposed to think they are the ones who the people fear, but they fear the uptown people. So when Matterhorn go uptown like, “yo, bumboclaat and rae rae rae”, and deal with it wicked, ghetto people listen the tape and say, how Matterhorn do that?! So they start come to Fully Loaded, Delano’s Revenge and blend in with uptown people and say, it wasn’t all that bad. And the uptown people say ghetto people aren’t all that bad. But Passa Passa was the real bridge now, the icing on the cake. After that I built up Early Mondays in Standpipe. Stress Free out by Rockfort, that’s me and Metromedia. And the one in August Town, that’s me and Travellers. So I was just building up the ghettos dem and breaking down the barriers. Me and Bounty Killer are the main reason for that, nobody else. ‘Cause we are like thug youth, but we are so respected in uptown. When I sit back and reflect on my life I’m proud of what I have accomplished because in Jamaica, you know, they are prejudiced against their own. They welcome everybody else but their own, white man, Indian, Chinese, they don’t care.

While we’re on the topic of Bounty Killer.... you were the best of friends and now you don’t even talk to each other. What happened?

I really didn’t tell nobody why me and Bounty kick off. Let’s say, I’m a true friend ‘cause I’m a Piscean, so I’m a friend till the end, until you f**k up. And he f**ked up. I was a general in his army for twelve years, made him even bigger. I was like his scout, the point man. I wrote most of Bounty Killer’s songs back in the days. I was the one who went out there. I even went more places than Bounty Killer, trust me, and when I really needed him most, I went to him for some help and him shun me so me look pon that as a disrespect.

You were constantly on the move between New York and Jamaica then they refused to give you a new US visa a few years ago. What happened?

It all started with somebody fighting me. The Sound System Association had a project where they really needed Matterhorn and I was like, I can’t do it. So they called my name to immigration. Bam, I came down to renew my work permit and they give me likkle problem (kisses his teeth). The guy who interview me was asking me some bulls**t questions and if there is one thing I’m very ignorant to it is bulls**t. You are supposed to have no problem with me as long as I am not going to Islamabad. I haven’t committed any crimes in your country, at least not that you know of. Then the guy was getting prejudiced and if there is one thing I hate it’s prejudiced people. I was like, take your f***ing visa. Weh you feel like?!

The world will end because you cancel a f***ing visa?! I am not one of the people who is Americanized crazy. As I said I am the defiant one. The longer it takes till they give me back the visa, the more I’m in demand. So if they give me back, I’m rich again, God bless America. I like to defy people. That’s one of the main reasons why I burst out in New York. There are talented youths out there, but they don’t have this turbo-charged drive to burst through the New York atmosphere, wwwwwhhhppp. It’s been like twelve years now and up to now nobody has made a follow up. I could even go and rise Addies, I was gonna do it now (kisses his teeth)… but I changed my mind. ★

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KINGLY CHARACTER

O

n Saturday December 10th 1994, Reggae singer Garnet Silk died in a fire at his mother’s house in Green Vale, Mandeville, situated in the Jamaican parish of Manchester. I’d spoken to him the night before to arrange an interview for UK music weekly Black Echoes, yet when I rang back on the Sunday as agreed, his phone line was disconnected. A call to Kariang studios confirmed stories already in circulation that a bullet fired from a shotgun had hit a gas cylinder, turning his mother’s one room home into a raging inferno. According to eyewitnesses, Garnet initially survived the blast then dashed back into the flames in a bid to save his mother’s life. Their charred bodies were later found locked in a deathly embrace among the ashes. Early reports of his death were shrouded in rumour. Some said that he’d been shot immediately before the explosion, and it’s still unclear whether a shotgun found in the burnt out ruins had belonged to him or not.

Either way, no charges were brought, despite “If you know not Jah, you know not love” – this quotation pre- stories that he’d been involved in disputes with cisely summarises the philosophy at the core of Garnet Silk’s neighbours over the theft of building materials. music. Due to the efforts of this humble Roots singer, positive, Garnet, who left behind a wife and seven chilspiritual themes returned to Dancehall Reggae in the early dren, was arguably Jamaica’s finest contemporary 90s, an era dominated by x-rated and violent lyrics. With his Roots artist. His passing was widely mourned, essingles “Give I Strength”, “Complaint”, “Zion In A Vision” pecially in Jamaica, by fans and industry insiders “Mystic Chant” and so many other contemporary Roots Reggae alike. The twenty-eight year old singer’s immense classics Garnet influenced all succeeding artists of the genre. talents were already enshrined in dozens of memJohn Masouri is one of the few journalists who had a chance to orable recordings and live performances and interview this exceptional singer. raised hopes that he would one day emulate Bob Words: John Masouri /// Photography: Tim Barrow Marley on the international market.

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Like Marley, Garnet Then on December 10th came the shockDaymon Smith was a ing news of his death, consigning the country boy, having future of Roots music to uncertainty and been raised in the reducing Kingston studios to silence district of Brumalia in the days after his passing near Mandeville, some seventy miles west of Kingston. He was born on April 2nd 1966, just two weeks before Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia visited Jamaica. He loved singing and with his mother’s encouragement sang in school concerts; at age 12 he made his stage debut at the Channel One Club in nearby Hatfield. Thereafter he regularly appeared on local sound systems such as Peppers Disco, Soul Remembrance, Thunderstorm and Destiny Outernational, deejaying under the name of Little Bimbo alongside his friends Tony Rebel, Culture Knox and Everton Blender.

As the digital Dancehall era gained momentum Garnet made his recording debut with “Problems Everywhere” produced by Delroy “Callo” Collins in 1987. His second single “No Disrespect” appeared on Sugar Minott’s Youth Promotion a year later; however Minott’s label was already well-staffed with future stars such as Tenor Saw, Nitty Gritty and Junior Reid so the young deejay had to look elsewhere for further recording opportunities. It was at this point he and Rebel began voicing for Ska veteran Derrick Morgan and prolific producer Bunny Lee, who later issued an album of these sessions (called “Tony Rebel Meets Garnett Silk In A Dancehall Conference”) at the height of Garnet’s popularity. As Little Bimbo, Garnet also recorded for King Tubby, Fatman and King Jammy’s during this same period but his

lack of hit releases forced him to withdraw from the Kingston scene and return to Mandeville where he began writing songs with his friend Anthony Rochester.

“Anthony Rochester, he’s my brethren from a long time, from Bimbo days,” Garnet told me. “Him even know we from me a baldhead, yeah man! Bonafide! Him never leave me because even during the time me a struggle and a hungry, we hungry together and we feed one another y’know wha’ me say? But him is an independent writer and I’m an independent writer too; we don’t depend on each other. We move when the spirit say move when we are supposed to write a song together, we just humbly do what we are supposed to. We just put Jah upfront and forget all the other t’ings. Ah so Jah a work, y’know?” Garnet and Anthony co-wrote a number of Garnet’s best-known hits, including “Oh Me Oh My”, “Fill Us Up With Your Mercy”, “Commitment” and “Music Is The Rod”, which lends its title to an excellent double CD retrospective by VP Records featuring tracks from various stages of his career, including one voiced as Little Bimbo.

“Them times there was a struggle man,” Garnet continued, referring to the Bimbo days. “And there was more struggling even after that until I meet Steely & Clevie,

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then people start The “It’s Growing” album, which receihearing about me a ved widespread acclaim, confirmed the little more. They nev- fact that Jamaican music now had a er released many new star in its midst, one with the visisongs with me on to take the music beyond the shortthough. Like about lived notoriety it had achieved with two still, but I did an Shabba at the helm. album for them, then after that now, Tony Rebel introduce me to Courtney Cole, so I stop chewing my hair and start to sing clearly now…”

Steely & Clevie’s “Love Is The Answer” album wasn’t released until after Garnet’s death yet it was they who’d changed his name to Garnet Silk and convinced him to concentrate on singing. Two early releases, a cover of Horace Andy’s “Skylarking” and also a duet with Chevelle Franklin failed to arouse much attention however, and it was tracks on Courtney Cole’s Roof International label such as “Seven Spanish Angels” (shared with dub poet Yasus Afari) and a cover of Johnny Nash’s “I Can See Clearly Now” that finally heralded Garnet’s arrival in 1991/2. Jack Radics was so moved by the tune “King Moses” from the “Bam On The Roof” riddim album it inspired him to start writing original songs; this wouldn’t be the first time Garnet would have a galvanising effect on his fellow artists. Music to him was a spiritual mission and since his songs were intended to uplift and educate others, it was only natural they should act as a catalyst for positive change.

A flood of Garnet’s 7 inch singles soon began pouring out of Jamaica led by “Fill Us Up With Your Mercy” on King Jammy’s followed by songs for Main Street (“Oh Me Oh My”), Black Scorpio (“Zion In A Vision”) and Penthouse, whose “Lion Heart” combined singing and deejaying to outstanding effect. Bobby Digital, who released Garnet’s debut album, “It’s Growing”, in the summer of 1993, was another early champion of his talents. With the support of Jamaica’s newly inaugurated all Reggae radio station Irie FM Garnet’s Neo-Roots music and sanctified sentiments were fervently embraced throughout the island; by then he had also registered his first UK No. 1 hit with “Hello Mama Africa” and voiced an impressive selection of songs for labels like Jahmento, Star Trail, MacDada, Tan Yah and

Sky High, most of which were eagerly snapped up by Jet Star and VP for the best-selling compilations “Reggae Hits” and “Strictly The Best”. Garnet’s succession of hit records attracted the interest of many major record labels but he signed with the Atlantic Records subsidiary Big Beat who promised him full artistic control and had the means to take his spiritual message worldwide.

Garnet’s Rasta and reality themes shone out like a beacon and were sung over rhythms already well familiar to Reggae lovers. The “It’s Growing” album, which received widespread acclaim, confirmed the fact that Jamaican music now had a new star in its midst, one with the vision to take the music beyond the short-lived notoriety it had achieved with Shabba at the helm. Additionally, Garnet’s ability to deliver fresh classics over tried and tested rhythms unified the tastes of Dancehall devotees and fans of traditional Reggae and helped bolster the foundation of Reggae’s contemporary Roots movement.

The following quote is from a discussion I had with Garnet during his visit to the UK in 1993, when he performed as part of a Roof International package co-starring Tony Curtis and Jigsy King.

“By doing that we were telling them what should have been done earlier on those riddims,” he explained. “When you hear those new songs that are deh pon it now, them hold you, because the only purpose of man is to serve Jah and the truth, and to obey His commandments. And everything leads forward to Jah, so the players of instruments; if they play a riddim and there’s something done on it that was not for the love of God, then it have to come around again y’know? Then the right thing can take its place and show them what it should have been like…”

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Within an hour of our meeting at the Wembley Hilton in NW London, Garnet was kidnapped, and only released after his captors had tired of obtaining a ransom. That night’s show at the Fridge in Brixton went on without him, although he returned in time for the second concert, at the Tudor Rose in Southwell. According to Garnet, none of the songs he’d been working on over the past six months had been released as yet. He also announced that his al-

In an interview included on “Music Is The Rod”, Garnet denied that he was unwell, claiming it’d been exhaustion that had caused him to visit a hospital in New York during the summer of 1994, and not drug problems as some suggested. He also denied that Big Beat were unhappy with him or his music, saying that it was him who chose the musicians and producers, and that he was pleased with Big Beat’s contributions. As an illustration of how humble he was, he dismissed fame as being illusionary and called himself “a servant of Jah.” He also diffused comparisons with Bob Marley, saying they were simply “sons of the same father.”

Garnet’s doctor had recommended rest and from mid-1993 onwards, the number of new releases slowed considerably. Taxi’s “Harder”, Bobby Digital’s “Kingly Character” and “Splashing, Dashing” and a brace of killer tunes from Penthouse, “Complaint” and “Fussing And Fighting”, were among the best of these and noticeably more sophisticated than some of his previous work, despite still utilising popular rhythms. The following August he gave a riveting performance at the 1994 Reggae Sunsplash in Portmore, Jamaica, resplendent in a white robe and earning rapturous applause. He also sang on the Jah Love sound system around this time, reaffirming his Dancehall credentials in thrilling fashion. Garnet’s success also strengthened Luciano, who was now concentrating on Roots material and Capleton and Buju Banton, who had both recently embraced Rastafari. However, within the months following Garnet’s jubilant Sunsplash performance, erratic behaviour and sporadic releases were accompanied by persistent rumours of ill health. Then on December 10th came the shocking news of his death, consigning the future of Roots music to uncertainty and reducing Kingston studios to silence in the days after his passing. Here in England on the following Monday a new Penthouse release, “A Man Is Just A Man”, arrived on 12inch single. Producer Donovan Germain would have stopped it had he known, except the record was already at the pressing plant. The lyrics were eerily prophetic, with one line stating that, “In the twinkling of an eye, you might just fall and die…”

“Lord Watch Over Our Shoulders”, produced by King Jammy’s, topped the UK Reggae charts soon afterwards, and an album of the same name duly followed.

Posthumous albums from Roof, Steely & Clevie, Penthouse, Kariang (in conjunction with Delroy Music to him was a spiritual mission and since his songs Collins), Bunny Lee and Derrick Morgan would surwere intended to uplift and educate others, it was only face over the next few years, together with a collecnatural they should act as a catalyst for positive change. tion of Killamanjaro dub plates and two live albums, one of them recorded during his triumphant Reggae bum for Big Beat was now finished, and that Bobby DigiSunsplash appearance. His Big Beat material wasn’t available until Atlantic istal, Sly Dunbar, Delroy Collins and Star Trail’s Richard Bell sued the aptly named “Definite Collection” in January 2000. This double CD had all contributed tracks. When asked which of his curset offered the best illustration yet of Garnet’s growth from singing on do-over rent singles would be on it he laughed, saying “None of rhythms to utilizing original music and confirmed his quest for a more internathem, cah the tracks are all new and it just a Rasta vibrational sound. As well as a selection of well-known songs it contained nine prevition because right now I man just build riddim offa our ously unreleased tracks, including a reworked “Hello Mama Africa”. Clive Hunt, own right. Anything my song a say and the feeling that we guitarist Mikey Chung, Dean Fraser’s Rass Brass and members of Sly & Roba carry fi God, we haffi pay heed to that cah it a spiritual bie’s Taxi Gang all played on it, as well as various Wailers. Hearing some of the vibe so me nah want fi stray; me nah want fi get such a tracks six years after the fact only served to strengthen the opinion that Garnet whole heap mixed moods and attitudes. We want to stick had been about to go global, especially with songs like “Your Time Has Expired” all the way to what I an’ I a deal with, y’know?” with its Reggae/Disco sound; former Kariang single “Wrong Is Wrong”, a Hopes of Big Beat doing justice to his talents were raised storming hybrid of Reggae and dance grooves, and “Too Frightened To Be even higher when Sly Dunbar confirmed that Garnet was Scared” with its visionary, testifying lyrics. Another track, “Slave”, featuring now intent on using original rhythms and had the internaWailers’ bassist Aston “Family Man” Barrett and organist Earl “Wire” Lindo tional market firmly in his sights. This material, recorded wouldn’t have sounded out of place on any latter-day Marley album, whilst for the most part at Kariang studios in Ocho Rios, would Steely & Clevie contribute the surprisingly funky “Beyond A Dark Cloud” which later surface on his posthumous “Journey” album, and adds a biting Rock guitar to the mix. featured for the first time studio contributions from his This album, together with Bobby Digital’s superb “Give I Strength” set from stage band Jah Apostles. Garnet was pioneering a return 1999 confirmed what long-term fans had known all along; that Garnet Silk wrote to live Reggae music, although some claimed Big Beat songs we could live by which ultimately shaped the face of modern Reggae. In (who would have an international hit with Dawn Penn’s addition to recording so many classics, Garnet’s vocal style was to prove highly “No, No, No”, produced by Steely & Clevie) wanted him influential with Peter Morgan of Morgan Heritage, Ras Shiloh, Jah Mali, Satellite, to re-record certain tracks, and weren’t happy with his Terry Linen and Garnet’s younger brother Aaron all adopting his sound to varying strictly cultural stance. Worse rumours were soon to foleffect. Whilst paving the way for them Garnet represented a bright, positive fulow. His appearances at the 1993 Reggae Sumfest and JA ture for the music, a truly remarkable legacy considering that he was in the spotReggae Sunsplash were cancelled due to recurrent low light for just three years. ★ blood pressure, and talk of him having a mystery illness refused to go away.

“Reggae Anthology Garnet Silk – Music Is The Rod” has been released on VP Records.

74 ★ FEATURE

FEATURE ★ 75

Augustus Pablo I

Augustus Pablo was one of the few innovative musicians whose creativity brought indelible changes to Jamaican music and the repercussions of his ingenuity have echoed far beyond his native land. Best known for his mastery of the melodica, he remains the world’s premier exponent of the instrument, but his skills were not limited to merely conquering this hand-held child’s toy; Pablo was also a renowned session keyboardist and pioneering record producer. His uniquely spirited instrumentals took Reggae to a higher plateau and the mournful quality of Pablo’s “far east” style resulted in some of the most striking moments of Reggae’s roots period.

SPIRITUAL MELODICA MASTER

n addition to helping solidify the his ambition by familiarising himself emerging Reggae form in the with different keyboard instruments, his early 1970s, Pablo was also a musical aptitude asserting itself strongkey figure in exploring the unknown ly in this phase, particularly after physitapestries of dub; his early collaboracal difficulties removed him from tions with King Tubby are exemplary school. The trouble began when anothDub works and his experimentation er youngster seriously injured Swaby’s with Lee “Scratch” Perry raised the ineye, forcing him to miss weeks of strumental to another level. He was alschooling; after the eye healed, he conso an early champion of drum matracted a serious case of pneumonia. chines and often experimented with The lasting disease saw Swaby lose incomputer rhythms in later works, terest in school, resulting in a further somehow managing to still infuse unimmersion in music. dercurrents of organic synergy inThough he continued to live at home, formed by the rhythms of Africa. the young Horace was now expected Words: David Katz /// Photography: Lee Abel Though Pablo had a spiritual strength to support himself and one of his earlithat always shone through in his muest ways of earning came by holding sic, he was plagued by a series of detrimental ailments that physically neighbourhood dances with a small sound system he established with weakened him for much of his life. Those who encountered the man his brother in the late 1960s. “I had that sound from I was a little boy,” in his last few years were confronted with a suffering figure growing he remembered, “me and my brother Douglas. The sound was called gaunter and more jaundiced; his eventual passing in May 1999 was Rockers because we created that word – the word might be in the dicthus not completely surprising to those who knew him well, but the tionary, but we created that Rockers sound.” loss has been no less deeply felt by friends and admirers.

The Swaby brothers often bought records at Herman Chin-Loy’s AquarI was fortunate to interview Pablo on his final trip to the UK. Racked by ius record shop, located in the busy commercial junction of Half Way bouts of painful coughing and disruptive indigestion, his health was Tree. Herman was already producing individualized 45s, and when Hoclearly deteriorating, but Pablo had the presence of mind to reflect on race Swaby came into the shop one fateful day in 1971 with a melodimany aspects of his particular life journey. ca, the producer was curious enough about the instrument to bring Born Horace Swaby in Kingston on June 21, 1952, he was raised in the Swaby into the studio. He thus launched the career of a highly talented lower middleclass Havendale district; located on the outskirts of upindividual with a unique take on instrumental sound whose work town, it lies at the foot of the semi-rural Forest Hills, just above the Salbrought great changes to Reggae, resulting in the music’s broader intervation Army Children’s Home. His family had a mixed ethnic backnational exposure. ground: though he identified most strongly with Africa, from which his “It all started when someone leant me a melodica – a sister, I can’t realmother’s ancestors were forcibly taken, his father was descended from ly remember her name. She went to a girls’ school and they used the indentured labourers brought to Jamaica from India after the abolishinstrument in the school and I didn’t have any so she leant me her inment of slavery. strument and I used to practice it every day. I went down to Herman Young Horace’s father was a struggling accountant who employed his Chin-Loy to buy some records for my sound, Rockers. He asked me if I wife as a secretary before she started having children; she also kept a could play that instrument and carried me to the studio.” piano in the family home on which she learned to play easy pieces with This first session yielded “Iggy Iggy”, an oblique, chord-strewn instrumusic books, and Horace followed suit by teaching himself to play as a mental loosely based on the Heptones’ broken-hearted “Why Did You teenager. His classmates at Kingston College included noted musicians Leave”. More successful was the original “East Of The River Nile”, on such as drummer Trevor “Sparrow” Thompson, keyboardist and trumwhich Swaby blew an inspired melody over the song’s jazzy beat, relypeter Ralph Holding and a trombonist called Poco, with whom Horace ing mostly on the black keys and hinting at the ”far east” sound he was began jamming at school; his greatest inspiration came from Jackie to develop. “East Of The River Nile” brought the melodica into the Mittoo, the resident keyboardist at Studio One. spotlight as a viable lead instrument in Reggae; Peter Tosh tried his In 1968, as the slow and spacious sounds of Rocksteady were being hand with it on “Memphis” and simply sounded ham-fisted, but “East usurped by a charged new beat, Horace Swaby was anxious to gain Of The River Nile” was an emotive reverie. recording experience as a keyboardist, and a link with The Wailers saw Swaby revealed that session organist Glen Adams was the first musiBob Marley bringing Swaby and his younger classmate Tyrone Downey cian to bear this cryptic moniker; he spoke of its unlikely origin and notto Randy’s studio for unsuccessful auditions. Swaby continued to nurture ed the confusion it has caused. “Glen Adams did ‘Aquarius One’ for

76 ★ FEATURE Herman as Augustus Pablo; a lot of people think it’s me but Herman is the one that created that name. Anyone could name Augustus Pablo – it’s a Mexican name, he just take it out to use gimmicks to rule the people. Glen played that organ on ‘River Nile’ with me too, but he left and went to America the next day.”

Adams’ migration to Brooklyn had direct consequences on the Kingston music scene: The Wailers had no regular keyboardist and both Lee Perry’s Upsetters and the Treasure Isle house band were also out of an organist. Horace Swaby temporarily filled these gaps by assuming the mantle of Augustus Pablo, working as a session keyboardist after Herman Chin-Loy went abroad. “I used to play studio musician for Treasure Isle, Bunny Lee and a few other producers. I play back up music because they didn’t have an organist any more, and (bassist) Family Man used to help me a lot. I passed through Now Generation – wasn’t really in the band, but I played studio musician with them through Herman. We always play in different bands, like The RHT Invincibles.”

It was another old school friend from Kingston College that gave Pablo his next big break: Clive Chin, the first-born son of Vincent Chin at the famed Randy’s Record Mart and Recording Studio. Chin had built a rhythm with Family Man for a singer named Dennis Wright, but when Wright was unable to deliver what Clive felt appropriate, the singer insisted his friend Augustus Pablo be allowed to tackle the tune on melodica. Vocal group The Chosen Few happened to be passing and added spoken interjections about a legendary strain of coffee; the resultant “Java” was a smash hit in late 1971, voted “Top Instrumental” in Jamaica in 1972. Its success spawned numerous alternate versions and ultimately resulted in “Java Java Java Java”, one of the very first Dub albums.

“Java” also paved the way for Pablo’s debut album, “This Is Augustus Pablo”, a stunning instrumental collection unlike anything that preceded it. “This Is…” showed instrumental Reggae heading for a different direction: on augmented cover versions of hits like Dillinger’s “Dub Or-

ganiser” or David Isaacs’ “Since You’re Gone” Pablo used the melodica to create a different melody instead of merely aping the initial version; on original numbers like “Arabian Rock” and “Lover’s Mood” Pablo offset his melodica with a parallel clavinet melody. Some moments are decidedly dubby, like the freeze-frame cut of Alton Ellis’ “Too Late”; others are closely aligned to Jazz. Pablo made special mention of drummer Lloyd “Tin Legs” Adams’ contributions: “Tin Legs was my drummer then because he knew how to tune the drum set for live music. He play the drum different to everyone else because he had the secret.”

In late 1972, Pablo made his first forays into self-production, beginning with interpretations of Studio One rhythms on the Hot Stuff and Rockers labels. The 1973 single “Cassava Piece” had the minor key emphasis of his “far east” originals, meditative pieces that recalled the pentatonic cadences of Asia. Besides instrumental creations, Pablo began producing vocalists towards the end of that year. His first attempt was Paul Whiteman’s moving “Say So”, is still in demand today; further credited him as Paul Blackman in salutation of the singer’s African heritage, but Pablo revealed him as a friend from a prominent family.

“Whiteman is his real name, me and him grow up together in Havendale. His uncle is the Minister of Education in Jamaica.”

Pablo financed his initial productions through continued session work, mostly by providing melodica versions of current hits. Derrick Harriott thus gleaned cuts of Dennis Brown’s “Silhouettes” and Harriott’s own “The Loser”; the young Gussie Clarke gained versions of Gregory Issacs’ “Loving Pauper” and KC White’s “No No No”, while Errol Dunkley scored a version of his ever-popular “Movie Star”. For Leonard “Santic” Chin, Pablo blew melodica on cuts of Horace Andy’s much loved “Problems” and “Children Of Israel”, eventually arranging the noted “Harder Shade Of Black” LP in 1974. He started to work with Lee “Scratch” Perry in this period, while Scratch was an in-house producer for Dynamics: Lloyd and the Groovers’ “Our Man Flint”, The Gatherers’ “Words Of My Mouth”, and a cut of the Jazz-standard “Fever” as “Hot And Cold” were the first of many successful collaborations with Scratch, of whom Pablo voiced considerable appreciation.

“That’s when he was producing certain songs and we were helping him experiment; me and Lee Perry is friends.”

Pablo spoke of the mysterious appearance of Rastafari, a faith he adhered to devoutly from an early age. With faith a continually motivating factor, Pablo would later credit The Almighty as producer of his albums, giving himself a secondary role as executive producer. As his religious conviction deepened in the mid-1970s, Pablo shifted focus with solid singles by Jacob Miller: “Keep On Knocking”, “Who Say Jah No Dread” and “False Rasta” are easily the most socially relevant songs Miller ever recorded, and part of what gave the singles such a great sound was the situation of their voicing at King Tubby’s studio.

Though Miller’s 1975 effort “Baby I Love You So” was a fairly ordinary vocal, its heavily reverberating dub version “King Tubby Meets The Rockers Uptown” caught the ear of Chris Blackwell, who issued the dub as the A-side of an Island single with Miller’s uncredited vocal on the flip; its success saw the emergence of an album of the same name the following year, a virtual landmark in its restructured presentation of fragmented, echoing rhythms. Dub has seldom been bettered and Pablo put the disc’s success down to his creative interaction with Tubby, who had previously mixed a collection of instrumentals Pablo cut for Tommy Cowan as “Ital Dub”.

After Jacob Miller left his stable to achieve greater fame with Inner Circle, Augustus Pablo turned his attentions to another young protégé named Hugh Mundell, with whom he recorded the excellent debut “Africa Must Be Free By 1983”. Though recorded largely in 1976, health problems saw Pablo retreat to the hills for a period after an ailment left him unable to walk. When finally issued on Pablo’s Message label in 1978, the album drew widespread acclaim; its Dub companion, mixed by Prince Jammy at Tubby’s studio, marked another high point in the realm of Dub. Pablo detailed elements of his connection with the singer and their resultant work: “I met Hugh Mundell one time through Earl Sixteen, he live near Sixteen’s yard. I saw him at Joe Gibbs’ studio

FEATURE ★ 77 one day and they were saying, ‘Youth, don’t trouble the instruments,’ itative instrumental set placed Nyahbinghi drumming atop a thoughtfulso I just carry him outside and give him a little interview. He was ly constructed electronic base. Pablo described the work as a reaction singing songs to me, so I just took him to Lee Perry’s studio to record to computerisation: “When we went to the studio they were saying two songs the next day, ‘Let’s All Unite’ and ‘Why Do Black Man Fuss that they’re not doing no live recording again. Everybody gone crazy; afAnd Fight’. The rest of the album was done in Joe Gibbs and Harry J, ter the world make it through live music, they just bring in computers, but Lee Perry’s sound is a different sound than everything else – a difso I’m against them who invented it. When I went to the studio they ferent kind of vibes.” say ‘Can’t do live music, strictly computers,’ so I put out Binghi music.”

Pablo revealed that Perry allowed him to use his studio for the Mundell Pablo’s popularity reigned supreme in Japan and a 1991 Tokyo performmaterial in return for contributions to Scratch’s works in progress. He al- ance was released as a live album. He also contributed to Patrick Anso mentioned a legendary album of Black Ark material recorded for Isdrade’s “Fire This Time” project, which fused Native American, Africanland records that has yet to see the light of day; the delirious “Vibrate American and African-Caribbean elements. As the decade continued, On” and thickly reverberating “Lama Lava” are the only tracks to surAugustus Pablo’s studio output slowed and some of his creations beface so far. “Lee Perry give me some studio time ‘cause I always stick gan to miss the mark. While Lloyd Hemmings’ “The Healer Has by him and help him out on a lot of tracks. I was supposed to do an alCome” had competent vocals, the rhythms were occasionally lacklusbum for him later with Chris Blackwell; Blackwell was supposed to take tre and Earl Sixteen’s “Them A Raiders” was recorded too hastily to be this LP, but he didn’t get it and I don’t know where that tape is. It was memorable. “I came to London and when I saw Earl Sixteen he was finished, but that’s the same time Scratch started going on a way… down and I started to uplift him and give him spiritual strength. I invite people was fighting him and he decided just to throw all different card; him to Jamaica and did that album in two weeks – I never really did that you have spiritual wickedness in high and low places, but spiritual before in my life, normally it takes years.” wickedness can be invisible.” Other Pablo/Perry collaborations appear Pablo’s work suffered a few weak moments in the ‘90s and it is hardly on Pablo’s excellent “East Of The River Nile” album, with Perry’s wall surprising that several of his subsequent releases collected the classic of delay transporting the spiritual sounds to an even higher plane. singles of earlier years. A more successful collection was a final outing, In the early 1980s, Pablo produced strong works with singers Junior the double “King Selassie-I Calling”, which retained Jazz leanings on its Delgado, Norris Reid, Delroy Williams and the group Tetrack. “Rockers most creative numbers. Pablo noted the criticism he received from forMeets King Tubby In A Firehouse” was his follow up to “King Tubby eign companies, who refused to handle the disc: “Them try to fight Meets The Rockers Uptown”; though some felt the album did not capme, try to break down me spirit and two times Jah just make me win ture the majesty of its predecessor, the disc stands as a forceful collecthem all. The latest album I have is ‘King Selassie-I Calling’, we released tion of Pablo and Tubby collaborations. it from Jamaica but nobody didn’t take a deal on it. Maybe they don’t Bob Marley’s death in 1981 saw Reggae music thrown into catharsis; love King Selassie-I or they just feel like fighting that album, because it’s the Roots period drew to a hasty close as more mechanised sounds 21 tracks with about four Nyahbinghi songs.” began to emanate from Kingston studios. As Jamaican music began to Despite worsening health, Pablo continued to record, produce and tour, shift again, Pablo reached a crossIt all started when someone leant me a melodica – a sister, I can’t realroads with his 1983 release “King ly remember her name. She went to a girls’ school and they used the David’s Melody”: half the disc feainstrument in the school and I didn’t have any so she leant me her intured the classical rhythms for strument and I used to practice it every day. I went down to Herman which he was so revered, while Chin-Loy to buy some records for my sound, Rockers. He asked me if I the latter had mechanical material could play that instrument and carried me to the studio. that pointed towards future works.

Though Pablo had long experimented with drum machines in his rehearsal space, he would never fully initiating albums with UK-based female vocalists at one of Mad Profesembrace computerisation and often grumbled about the demise of live sor’s facilities. Unfortunately, these projects would never be fully rerecording in Jamaica. He also noted that his approach to rhythm was alised as Pablo ultimately succumbed to the nerve disease Myasthenia the same, whether creating a digital rhythm or using live drums: “I just Gravis. Augustus Pablo long eschewed Western medicine, preferring play the beat and try to create the sound with that beat; I only use it to the alternate treatments prescribed by his personal herbalist, Dr. Owen hold artists in time, so the artist can know what to do in timing.”

S. “Bagga” Forrester of the Hawah Herbal Research Company. SomePablo issued sparse material in 1984-5, again partly due to health conthing of a legend in Jamaica, Bagga uses herbal preparations to treat cerns, but sprang back with a vengeance in 1986. He spent some lymphatic disorders, and Pablo spoke of Bagga with great reverence, weeks in America, performing to capacity audiences and recording diginoting that his treatments eased his suffering and improved his condital rhythms in New York. Some of the tracks would surface on the “Ristion. It was clear that Pablo had serious health problems when he faling Sun” album, but most of that disc was composed of organic spatered during a 1998 performance at the Brixton Academy; a subseciousness. In Jamaica, Pablo cut an exceptionally strong “Raggamuffin quent French date was cancelled after Pablo was violently ill backstage.

Year” with Junior Delgado, fusing melodic wizardry with a digital toughThough he then retreated to the rural sanctity of Lawrence Tavern and ness that proved highly successful on its Island release. 1987 saw continued taking Bagga’s medicine, he was unable to reverse the flow Pablo on tour with Delgado and protégés Yami Bolo and White Mice; of disease and eventually died in hospital. performances at London’s Astoria theatre are particularly memorable.

When I asked what light he could shed on the method of his creations, “That year I got ‘Tour of the Year’, got some heavy, sweet reviews. I Pablo sought to emphasise the spontaneous and organic process that took it to Japan and all around and I split up my money, share with my always shaped his work: “Music is there and I just take my instrument brethren. I’m not thinking of myself like some people, because I don’t and play; it’s no miracle thing or nothing like that, just natural vibes and need to get rich.” heart. Everybody look ‘pon the past and wonder how we plan this out, The 1988 Delgado follow-up “One Step More” was not quite as sucbut it wasn’t no planning, it was just Jah vibes. Now that everybody get cessful as its predecessor, but still contained well-crafted material such big off that, everybody acting like they’re professional, but it was just as the Botha-indicting “Hanging Tree”. Pablo continued to work with natural vibes – anybody tell you anything else is a lie they’re telling.” ★ Delgado and Yami Bolo to the end of the decade, seriously solidifying Bolo’s reputation with “Jah Made Them All” in 1989. Pablo began the The best guide to his voluminous catalogue is Lol Bell-Brown’s indispensable “Original Rocker: The Pablo Discography”, 1990s in fine form, going against the grain of the rising digital slackness published by Trax on Wax (www.traxonwax.net). and gun talk then predominant on “Blowing With The Wind”; this med-

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78 ★ REVIEWS

LUKIE D

LP OF THE ISSUE#1 SIZZLA Soul Deep (Greensleeves/Rough Trade)

Polarizing, difficult, sporadically involved in dubious affairs, sojourns in jail...

Sizzla has revolutionized modern Roots and served as a blueprint for countless singers and singjays. Stretching the tonal spectrum of his voice to the max, he succeeds in pitching his tent on even the most awkward beats. Sizzla is non-conformist, insubordinate, unyielding and a man of his word – no compromises. Which doesn’t mean I share his opinion, but I do respect the courage of his convictions.

Just as I respect the symbiotic relationship between beat and voice, producer and singer, Corleon and Sizzla, who – though on a completely different level – make similarly ideal sparring partners as Bobby Digital and Kalonji, whereby the latter mentioned stands for tradition and the former for state-of-the-art. However, that isn’t to say state-of-the-art doesn’t look to the past, but without being traditionalistic about it, if you know what I mean. While the first album-length Corleon production, “Rise To The Occasion”, had distinct Jazz overtones, harnessed by a tight urban beat, the Don drew his inspiration from the black Billboard charts for “Soul Deep”. In doing so, he has given something back to contemporary R&B (a victim of reduplication) and HipHop (sitting pretty on its laurels wherever it can) that both genres sorely lack: warmth, depth, flow and vibes. Call it soul.

And Sizzla lets his unbridled (and sometimes libidinous) passion flow – “Take her to my room, that’s where my cradle is, Baby, let’s push my finger where your navel is”, “Love Me” – and meanders between unrequited love and victorious macho talk.

Once through with R&B and HipHop, Corleon dug deeper in the history of black music for “Mount Zion” and cleverly based it on a popular Disco melody (of which I infuriatingly can’t remember the original!). The singer and producer finally reach their creative peak on “Nothing Bothers Me”, a fusion of Salsa, Soul and Disco, complete with strings and a eunuch-like falsetto.

Now you might be wondering whether “Soul Deep” has any Reggae/Dancehall at all. It does. But in true Corleon style, not without managing to blur even this rather narrowly defined genre boundary and letting one drop sound as if it had just been invented. This gift is what sets him apart from most other producers, just like Sizzla still largely manages to outdo the rest, despite his many imitators. “Soul Deep” has great depth and should provide a further reason for Def Jam to do more work with Sizzla.

Ellen Koehlings

Be Strong (Stingray) Eyes On The Prize (Top Klass) You may want to shout “at last!” when you get your hands on the two new LPs by Michael Kennedy, aka Lukie D, called “Be Strong” and “Eyes On The Prize”. As a recording artist, Lukie D has spent the last 12 years gracing more than 100 selections with his exceptional voice. The unique contrast between Dancehall riddims and his golden vocals has injected a great deal of musical variety into a multitude of selections (just listen to “Back Up Back Up” on the “Liquid” riddim as an example). Thanks to his musician parents, Lukie D was born with a musical spoon in his mouth, a talent that was later professionally trained when he sang in various children’s and church choirs.

While the two studio albums presented here markedly differ in quality and musical content, they do provide a very good overview of Lukie D’s singing ability. Clearly the better album is “Be Strong” which offers 15 tracks of one drop madness, produced by the legendary McLeod brothers at Bobby Digital’s Kingston studio and their own Stingray complex in London. The album is full of excellent Roots and Lovers songs, half of which were previously released as singles. His Stingray hits “Stand By You Forever” and “Everlasting Love” are naturally included as is the brilliant “False Promise” on Bobby Digital’s resurrection of the old “Cuss Cuss” riddim (re-popularized by Sizzla’s “Solid As A Rock”). The duet partners Tony Curtis and Anthony B did a commendable job on their two combinations. Moreover, the impressive a cappella gospel tune “Praise Him” provides proof of Lukie D’s church-based musical

training and his astounding skills as a vocalist. In contrast, “Eyes On The Prize” was released on the Top Klass label, based in Philadelphia/USA, and is not nearly as well produced as “Be Strong”. Many of the far too popinspired jiggy and mid-tempo Reggae tracks give the album a certain bubblegum flavor that may have you thinking the producers couldn’t have meant it seriously. Although Lukie D’s dynamic voice has the power to mask many sins, the excessively weird and off-key (!) sounds as well as the somewhat dusty production style are rather off-putting. The discerning Reggae lover would therefore be well advised to “Be Strong” rather than to keep his “Eyes On The Prize”.

Uli Nefzer

ANTHONY B Black Star (Greensleeves/Rough Trade)

Never change a winning team!

After last summer’s fabulous “Powers Of Creation”, Anthony B and Frenchie have now presented the follow up album for Greensleeves and Maximum Sound Productions. “Welcome to the future with echoes of the past, welcome to Black Star“: this 13-tune collection kicks off with a short Nyahbinghi intro complete with African harmonies, then gives us a blast from the past in the shape of the original refrain from Ini Kamoze’s “World-A-Reggae” – the megakiller reactivated by Damian Marley – plus some fresh lyrics for the verses. The old Viceroy’s “Ya Ho” riddim is rejuvenated for a tough Lovers tune, while Aswad’s “Warrior Charge” serves to back the solemn promise: “Never sell out my roots and

REVIEWS ★ 79

culture”. And reminiscent of the time when Reggae was still Ska, the programmed beat on “Black History” takes us the farthest back in time, although the lyrics look to the future. In contrast to “Powers Of Creation”, “Black Star” is much earthier, largely synthesizer-free and fully captures Jamaica’s current retrosound, with guest appearances

by Jah Cure and Ras Shiloh.

Though very different from its predecessor, “Black Star” will grab you just as much after only the second listen.

Helmut Philipps

MICHAEL ROSE African Roots (M-Records)

“Very heavy vintage Roots production that sounds like classic Black Uhuru”, “like King Tubby in 1977”... “the best Michael Rose album in years”. Well, anyone who is familiar with the sound of Ryan Moore’s Twighlight Studio will realize these quotes are more than promotional hype while the line-up of guest musicians (Style Scott, Skully, Chinna Smith, Bobby Ellis, Dean Fraser) lends greater weight to the advance publicity. After the somewhat anemic Heartbeat albums of recent years, one could only have hoped that Michael Rose would be given an opportunity to provide proof of his powerful vocal prowess over some heavy, analogue Roots riddims.

Moore certainly did a good job of working with the master vocalist and delivers a variety of musical gems: the foundations of the songs “Stepping Out Of Babylon” and “Days Of History” sound like they were heavily influenced by the Sly & Robbie / Black Uhuru classics “Happi-

ness” and “Shine Eye Gal”. The driving riddims of “Wicked Run” (due for release as a 7inch) or “Better Mus’ Come” seem as though they’re rolling out a red carpet for the old and new Black Uhuru front man, a carpet he honors by turning out predominantly good songs yet they don’t always sound as fresh, energetic and “100% inna it” as they perhaps could particularly when measured against some of Rose’s previous work and hypnotic vocal capabilities. This may be the result of his vocals tracks having been too deeply embedded into the music rather than, as with Jamaican productions, being undisputedly in the driver’s seat and ruling the riddim. A more generous helping of backing vocals would also have assisted in making these songs catchier and more clearly structured. But these are things you only really notice when the liner notes conjure up memories of his Black Uhuru heyday and magic musical moments. Although it is of somewhat uneven quality “African Roots” remains the “best Michael Rose album in years”!

Oliver Galbierz

LYRICSON Born 2 Go High (Special Delivery Music)

What an opener! Once over the entire organ keyboard, guitar amp on max, fuzz tone, flanger and everyone to the attack! Four crashing bars, then taken over by a reedy, monophone Dr. Dre synthesizer over a thin guitar and it slowly becomes clear that this attack targets all those with agile hips who know how to do a riddim justice on the dance floor. An unknown singer/singjay that goes

LP OF THE ISSUE#2

FREDDIE MCGREGOR Comin’ In Tough (VP Rec./Groove Attack)

Freddie McGregor began his career on an orange crate. He was still too short to reach the mic when at the age of seven he added his extraordinary talent to the backing vocals of The Clarendonians. It was the start of an unbroken career with albums to the max und a trailerload of hits. Now at the start of his golden fifties, he draws on the wisdom that comes with age and very elegantly documents well-known issues between the sexes and generations. At the same time he raises his age-defying voice in a reprimand: “Clean up your lyrics and spread love around. Niceness we want in Kingston Town.” Those are the words that Jamaica needs today and as a result the Jah Ruby production is enjoying heavy rotation on the radio stations of Jamaica and Miami. This anti-slackness anthem on the “Love Me Forever” riddim is the first tune on the album. The other 16 songs of “Comin’ In Tough” were produced by Bobby Digital in a premiere collaboration with Freddie. They have succeeded in giving us a grand album. Freddie is an oldschool singer that makes even weak songs sound good, not one of those newbies sent to test our ability to bear tonal abuse. And there’s only one thing to say about Mr. Dixon’s work: respect! Tastefully crafted playbacks and voluminous choruses permit Freddie’s clear voice to shine in all its beauty. Thanks to Bobby’s imaginative arrangements – sometimes in grand style, sometimes sparse with just a piano offbeat and a harmonica – it’s impossible to tell the difference between real instruments and programming. Even the nastiest synthie sounds (like the computer vocoder massacred by Cher) manage to sound warm and human. In choosing the old riddims, the two maestros further displayed great historical awareness: “Bangarang”, “Love & Affection” and also “Ball Room Floor”, a combination with Anthony B. Morgan Heritage provide brilliant backing vocals on “Pick Yourself Up”, but the tune also features a rather persistent rock guitar all the way through.

“Mr. Mojo” isn’t too hot, either, and the remakes of “Red Rose” and “United We Stand” with Marcia Griffiths are close to syrupy. The weaknesses of this album are few, though, and it remains a very grown up, sophisticated piece of work that calls for change: “Di people dem tired of skanking by themself, run come rub-a-dub come ya, make man come dance with woman again.” Helmut Philipps

by the tuneful name of Lyricson comes to us like a bolt out of the blue, yet so naturally as if we had been waiting for him. The opener immediately propels you onto the

dance floor and then keeps you there, even if the next tune in combination with Natty King and Singing Melody – on one of those 80s riddims whose name you

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LP OF THE ISSUE#3 BITTY MCLEAN On Bond Street (Peckings) General opinion has it that Studio One was the “home of good music” and that anything of value originated from Brentford Road. However during the Rocksteady era, the better productions were clearly crafted on Bond Street, home of Duke Reid’s Treaure Isle studios. It wasn’t until about 1973, after having launched U Roy’s career, that Duke Reid cleared the field for his rival Coxsone Dodd primarily due to the fact that the Rastafarian influence upon the music’s development at the time was getting ever stronger and Reid refused to have Rastas in his studio! The Duke had never received any formal musical training; the former policeman was simply an obsessively meticulous worker with an extraordinary feel for music. In his ongoing quest for the perfect sound, he would send his musicians running around the studio trying out various mic distances and would adamantly issue fresh instructions until the recording sounded just like he wanted it. Then he would go to King Tubby’s and have dub plates cut from his tunes in preparation for their sound system acid test. Tubby shared Reid’s musical mindset and always sought to use his technical bag of tricks to further improve the sound while transferring the music from tape to vinyl. The unshakeable will of these two men some 30 years ago geared their work towards achieving the best possible results and brought forth music with a timeless quality, which brings us to this CD. Peckings was George Price and an old pal of Coxsone’s; Price’s wife was a friend of Mrs. Reid. The Price family settled in London early on and began distributing Jamaican music in the UK in 1960. To this day, Peckings’ son, Chris, has retained a license to compile Studio One and Treasure Isle albums. Bitty McLean, currently 33 years old, is a Britishborn Jamaican; his successful Lovers Rock style has always been shaped by Treasure Isle and he has already released an impressive catalogue of albums. For this new CD, Peckings granted him access to the original Duke Reid tapes, from which he chose twelve songs to rerecord including “Queen Majesty”, “Moonlight Lover”, “Those Guys” and the Tommy McCook instrumentals “I Nez” and “Moods”. These songs penned some thirty years ago sound as if they had been waiting for this treatment: crisp Rocksteady in state-of-the-art quality, love songs that – given the right support – could sell millions worldwide. The only problem is that there is hardly a sound system left anywhere that feels responsible for this type of music. Things were definitely easier years ago when the Reggae world worked according to it’s own rules: no more than a few hours after the studio work had been completed and just a small detour via Waterhouse later, Reid was in a position to play such tunes on his Trojan sound system and with that inform the world, which back then was no more than an island. Helmut Philipps

can’t recall when you need it most – delivers slightly less of a punch. Not Three The Hard Way, but The Smart Way which brings us smartly to the third track.

Ladies! A riddim that rolls like the “Fiesta”, this one is clearly for you! Let’s share the secret: the 23-year old Lyricson comes from Guinea, is French and has brought out a surprisingly good, modern debut album that inspires associations with Kingston’s Fifth Element. The varied musical backings were produced in France, while various studios in Jamaica were responsible for putting the final touches and mixing the tracks, presided over by Steven Stanley. The CD was then mastered in Paris and it is only in this respect that experts will notice tiny differences to Jamaican-controlled products. Stylistically, Lyricson falls into the category of current young artists from Richie Spice to Turbulence and even bears comparison with Capleton at times. He sings in English but there are two bilingual combinations with French guest deejays using their native language, including the title track which presents itself as a groove sensation in bashment design, complete with Algerian sample.

What a t’ing! Elephant Man, T.O.K. and Bounty are all represented and the album is going global. In addition to several original riddims and imaginative lyrical images like “Sign no contract in the night, if you know the time’s not right” as a warning against wicked dealings, Lyricson also includes the (by now somewhat jaded) “One2One” riddim towards the end. However, it blends unobtrusively into this collection, which remains completely convincing despite some noticeable Pop and R&B influences.

Through its joyous interplay between man and machine “Born 2 Go High” provides an excellent mix of modern Roots songs, Nyahbinghi tunes and moderate Dancehall riddims.

Helmut Philipps

LUTAN FYAH Time And Place (Lustre Kings)

Lustre Kings, the small Roots & Culture label in Oakland, California, has erroneously claimed that the new “Time And Place” album is Lutan Fyah’s debut offering.

Fyah’s real debut album “Dem No Know Demself” came out on the German Minor7Flat5 label and another album “Underground To Overground” – originally recorded for Buju Banton who then changed his mind about releasing it – came out on the American PGM label. Lutan Fyah (born Anthony Martin) hails from the parish of St. Catherine and began a promising football career as a midfield player in the clubs of the Jamaican national premiere league. However, when the Roots music revival took place some years ago he abandoned the football league and joined the Bobo sect of Rastafari. He also changed his name to Lutan Fyah and released his first hit single “Giddeon War” on Buju’s label.

“Time And Place” therefore is actually his third release and it is a pleasant, aggression-free, complex album that even sounds rootsy when it tries to be Dancehall.

Lutan Fyah already comes across as a versatile, modern singer with a great deal of vocal control in the opening combination with Yami Bolo. The musical backings, recorded live with only few exceptions, differ greatly and yet still sound like they come from a single mold. One moment you’re reminded of Augustus Pablo, the next there’s a D6 clavinet clattering over a slow ‘n’ heavy swing beat or subtle acoustic guitar riffs like those coloring “She’s Like A Rainbow” while the riddim of “Fire In The Barn” has the over-

REVIEWS ★ 81

tones of Sly and Robbie’s classic “Baltimore”. Lutan Fyah even declares himself to be an attorney of young people with lines like “Babylon never look thru di eyes of the youths” and if the rhyme and the message demand, new words are simply invented and suddenly “microchipstick” rhymes with “statistic”. Incredibly, not a single Jamaican label has released an album by this skilled, agile vocalist.

Dean Fraser give the music extra warmth and an unobtrusive Rock guitar ensure the success of “Dem Gone” and “I Swear”. This no doubt expensive production is extremely pleasing to the ear. We could hardly have expected to be treated to such a good new Luciano album so soon.

Shining Time

nette Brissette from New York.

Sounding slightly too modern, the uninspired combination with Shaggy is the only disappointing tune. Apart from the duets there are a number of already released singles (e.g. the album opener “My Heartbeat”) and well-crafted remakes of existing classics like “A House Is Not A Home” or “Crazy Baldheads”. Finally, “Back In The Days” on The Techniques’ “You Don’t Care” riddim provides a truly fascinating insight into Marcia’s youth in the Jamaican dancehalls of the 1960s. Other than that, the thematic focus of the album is on grand love stories. To sum up: a wonderful album, as expected, by the greatest female Reggae star.

(VP Records)

Uli Nefzer

Helmut Philipps

Helmut Philipps

MARCIA GRIFFITHS

LUCIANO Hail The Comforter (Crystal Ball)

Barely back from his world tour, Luciano has already presented us with a new album and there’s no sign of jet lag or tour stress; instead he gives us 13 fresh solo tunes and a strong combination with Anthony B. Recorded and mixed at Bobby Digital’s, Steven Stanley’s and Anchor Studios, with the Firehouse Crew, a number of guest musicians and a few machines, the whole project was coordinated by Chris “Coxsone” Hunt for Crystal Ball. The result is an extremely accomplished, homogeneous album: Roots music in the vanguard of our times with many reworkings from the past.

Half of the songs are based on remakes of vintage mostly 1960s Studio One riddims; this context makes the inclusion of a “Rumours” version (from the late 80s) somewhat unexpected.

While the tune is not entirely out of place, it was placed right at the end – just to be sure; the title track on the stellar 2005 “Hand Cart Boy” riddim, featuring Luciano in superb vocal form is sure to provide us with a lot of fun in the coming months. The saxophone sounds of the omnipresent

Currently celebrating her 40th anniversary as a singer Marcia Griffiths – the grande dame of Reggae – presents her new album “Shining Time” on VP Records.

Marcia achieved mega-star status on the back of countless hit singles and albums on the Studio One label and toured the world as one of Bob Marley’s I-Threes. Her “Electric Boogie” hit single at the beginning of the 1990s also served to breathe fresh life into her career. The fact that she has remained of interest for the Reggae listener in 2005 is in no small part down to her having looked after her voice so well during the course of her long career; she almost sounds like she did during her Studio One days! The 18 tracks on the new album were produced by Syl “Cell Block” Gordon as well as Hopeton and Willie Lindo between Miami and Kingston, with a technical leaning towards Beres Hammond’s Harmony House high-gloss Roots sound; Beres is one of the duet partners on the album and along with Marcia delivers a thoroughly wonderful tune with “Focusing Time” on Alton Ellis’ “Can I Change My Mind” riddim. Further duet partners are Shaggy, Cutty Ranks, Hopeton Lindo and the former Wackies great An-

MORGAN HERITAGE

was the first movement and “Don’t Haffi Dread” the intermezzo, then the aptly titled “Full Circle” brings the band back to the world of Pop. A trend emerges more clearly when viewing the overall complexity of an album than when merely reviewing individual songs. Some of the good ones on this CD have already been around for a while, like “Jah Comes First”, “Mek Wi Try” with Bushman or “Best Friend” on the “Drop Leaf” riddim while “Uncomfortable” on the “Stop That Train” riddim ensures a warm welcome at any bar or club. Having successfully taken over from Third World, yet with a much stronger Roots flavor, Morgan Heritage are now ready to fill the vacant seat among the evangelizing emissaries of the United Reggae Nations and they regularly impress critics with their brilliant compositions and come up trumps with an impressive line-up of guest artists: Bounty, Sizzla, Junior Gong, Cobra and LMS. The stadiums of the world will be waiting with open arms.

Helmut Philipps

Full Circle (VP Records)

It has almost become a truism to say that Morgan Heritage numbers among the crème de la crème of what Reggae has to offer right now. Vocally, musically, and technically they are no less spectacular in the studio than they are live and their new album is set to catapult them further into the lead, even if it will do so with various musical means that not everyone will appreciate. The arrangements of the small big band are ever more often fleshed out with sounds, synthies, vocals, breaks and changes that propel the music in the direction of Superbowl Reggae. The merciless Rock guitar on “Soldiers”, “Revolution” and “Armagiddeon Forces” sees Morgan Heritage muscle their way into the mainstream arena like Arnold Schwarzenegger at a bodybuilding show. If “Protect Us Jah”

T.O.K. Unknown Language (VP Records)

“Yuh cyann spell Kingston without di T an’ di O an’ di K!” The logic of this battle cry is not immediately apparent as the situation was quite the opposite until the beginning of the year. While Japanese and European sound systems, among these particularly the German ones, would find it difficult to survive without their T.O.K. plates, the foursome had only been a minor player in Kingston’s sound system league before now. Thus shunned in their native Jamaica and dismissed as

82 ★ REVIEWS

one riddim sampler “Bionic Ras” is the first of the new “Riddim Riddin” series brought into being by the Florida-based South Rakkas Crew with the aim of marketing their own selections. The fact that the Crew stands for experimental productions has been no secret ever since they gave us the “Clappas” and especially the “Red Alert” riddims. No surprise, then, that this current selection packs an even greater punch. The “Bionic Ras” is wild, unbridled and above all unpredictable. As a result, it’s difficult to make any common label stick since the riddim manages to meld Techno, Electronic, Dancehall and Soca elements to produce a new and indefinably explosive whole. This to date apparently unique riddim once again bears witness to the innovative production style of the South Rakkas Crew. In terms of tempo, the riddim moves along at a hectic 125 bpm. Capleton’s “Long Time”, harking back to the days when people still danced with each other and single-man dances were unknown, easily qualifies as a lead-off tune. Bounty’s “Mad Love” gets up a fat head of steam and is killer club material, while Kartel, Beenie, Sizzla, Cobra and Gabriel add some similarly good tunes and superbly round the album off.

Greensleeves have also brought out two fresh samplers, the first of which is “Sunblock”, produced by Irie FM’s DJ Sunshine with the help of Christopher Birch. An unusual number of female artists have gathered here to breathe life into the riddim, among whom you will naturally find Macka Diamond, just as Ce’Cile, Lady G and newcomer Alaine. All of it is perfectly acceptable and even quite amusing at times, but lacks the necessary substance to go the distance. Among the male artists, Vybz Kartel, Beenie Man, Alozade and Bling Dawg were sent to cause a stir, but there’s barely a tune that does more than fizzle. Only Busy Signal’s novel style makes a bit of a change from the rest. In the end, the riddim isn’t quite as hot as the name might suggest. A couple of hits and a more significant production would have helped. The UK-based Damian Hall and Nigel Whitfield (Dem Yute Deh) give us the “Grimey” riddim as the successor to the “Spanish Fly” selection. The riddim comes along with a keyboard-based structure and its 118 bpm make it seem fairly suitable party material at first glance. But, unspectacular and lacking any real highlights despite the usual suspects having done the honors in the studio, the riddim again has boredom taking hold fairly soon. While Sizzla’s busy scoping the “Pretty Girls” around the world, Capleton gets a bit short of breath on parts of “Hot Suh”, lapsing into uninspired interjections at times, and Bounty’s “Mek Gal” is kind of tame for Killer standards. However, Craigy T delivers an immediately catchy solo tune, even if you do end up missing his T.O.K. partners after a while. All in all, another lack-luster riddim that you won’t miss if you never hear it. VP Records

has come up with some new releases as well and revived King Jammy’s “Sleng Teng” on no less than two albums. The first of these is the definitive “Sleng Teng Extravaganza” – fondly remembered from the 80s – that contains all the famous classics we’ve grown to love over the years. To the certain delight of foundation fans, the party gets going with Wayne Smith’s “Under Mi Sleng Teng”, Johnny Osbourne’s “Buddy Bye” and John Wayne’s “Call Di Police”. Generally accepted as the first digital riddim, “Sleng Teng” still sounds as monumental today as it did when it was first released in 1985. The production is simple, earthy, dirty, but all the same catchy enough to make it stick forever. The line-up naturally just as much includes Tenor Saw, Sugar Minott, Eccleton Jarrett, Tonto Irie and Nicodemus.

Exactly 20 years on, the King has returned to his early royal roots, revitalized his masterpiece and now gives us the “Sleng Teng Resurrection”.

While the production only bears signs of minor changes, the hits are far from plentiful anymore. However, the incredible Bounty Killer/Wayne Smith combo just as Ninja’s “Mad Again” and Luciano’s “Dancehall Style” stand out head and shoulders above the rest. Still, you don’t need to be Einstein to realize that you need more than three tunes to make an album. On the other hand, this special anniversary might be a reason to turn a bit of a blind eye. The most important riddim sampler of this issue comes courtesy of Jah Snowcone, whose “Applause” selection admirably picks up from old “Rice N Peas” times. At a lively 125 bpm, this riddim comes to us with a bunch of finger-lickin’ hits. Newcomer ShaneO’s “Lightning Flash” has secured his breakthrough and kept him in the charts for over 15 weeks. Sizzla’s been keeping him company with “Run Out Pan Dem” and Assassin has become a firm fixture in the past few months as well. His tune “Don’t Like You” has also stormed the relevant charts and become a current staple at every dance from Kingston to Tokyo. But as though the pickings weren’t rich enough already, the sampler goes on to give us T.O.K., Sean Paul and Elephant Man with equally explosive material. There are no real glitches to lament and it really is very rare to find a selection with such consistently good vocal performances. It’s just a bit of a shame that Spragga’s “Run Tings” is missing, a tune that no less characterized the selection. All in all, this is already a highlight of the year. Finally, there’s the “My Baby” Lovers selection from Big Yard. A rather catchy, albeit slightly marshmallowy production with some nice sax parts. While Kiprich is already comfortably seated in his chart position with “Telephone Ting” and enjoying masses of airplay, the album equally includes Rik Rok, Voicemail, Richie Spice and Morgan Heritage. Uzz

a boy group, they meanwhile rocked the rest of the world and had the international bashment massive waiting for their next album with bated breath.

We will never know why the new CD has taken four long years to reach us, but suddenly time was

prints” is the result of Alex’s grief.

A line from this incredibly chilling lament – a tune of which no one thought the group was capable – runs: “Hurry up and come back was the last thing she said to her son the day his life was taken / She didn’t know he wouldn’t

of the essence owing to the dramatic way the situation had changed in the weeks before.

The murder rate in Jamaica is likely to top the official fatality figures of the Iraq war this year and the brother of T.O.K.’s Alex also became one such statistic. “Foot-

come back / He died from a bullet of a gun and now her little boy is gone.” This song, which tries to come to terms with a fate that has become all too common in Jamaican society, has occupied the top positions in the charts for months, thus forcing the record

REVIEWS ★ 83

company to react. The proposed CD that was already to have been released last year was therefore quickly padded out with “Footprints” and its successor “Hey Ladies”, giving us 18 tracks from the last three years as the followup to the 2001 offering “My Crew, My Dawgs”. In an attempt to appeal to the worldwide mainstream, all this is spiced with a dash of Reggaeton, several remixes and an appearance by Shaggy.

One can only hope the strategy pays off for T.O.K. and most likely it will because the non-7inch-buying public that isn’t quite sure about what came out where and when will be delighted with this album. Helmut Philipps

JAH CURE Freedom Blues (VP Records)

Good music doesn’t come with an expiration date and VP Records underscores this fact with “Freedom Blues”. Included are 10 tunes taken from his 2000 album “Free Jah’s Cure” alongside the all-time classic “King In This Jungle” (feat. Sizzla), which was already included on the “Ghetto Life” album, plus three additional singles recorded before Jah Cure was imprisoned in 1999. This makes a total of 14 tunes that are all at least six years old! The track list is rounded off by two current songs, “Good Morning Jah Jah” and “Hi Hi”.

The old tunes have lost nothing of their beauty or expressiveness and can still safely be filed under the “good music” label. Those individuals who are interested in Jah Cure’s new material will have to continue buying singles but for those of you who neither have the old singles nor the consummate “Free Jah’s Cure”, the new

“Freedom Blues” is sure to provide an interesting overview of his earlier work. Florian Schlottner

VARIOUS ARTISTS Reggae Gold 2005 (VP Rec./Groove Attack)

The mother of all Reggae compilations has gone forth and multiplied again this year. The extremely successful “Reggae Gold” series has been on the market for over ten years now and is certainly one of the biggest sellers in VP’s catalog. The 2005 edition sees Sizzla and Assassin on Birch’s “Military” riddim, Assassin and Buju on “Sleepy Dog” as well as Sean Paul and Baby Cham with Nina Skyy on Black Chiney’s “Kopa”. Capleton’s punchline drama “Or Wha” and Beenie’s burner “King Of The Dancehall” make a perfect wrap for the bashment segment. The fact that such hit material makes for a scorching compilation is hardly surprising anymore. All the more pleasing, therefore, to see the fine selection of conscious and Lovers tunes. Jah Cure’s heart-rending “Longin For” on Vendetta’s “Drop Leaf” milestone is naturally a must and the UK Lovers artist, Bitty McLean, has made it across the Atlantic with his Treasure Isleinspired “Walk Away From Love”, which has by now taken on epidemic proportions in parts of Europe. Veteran singer Beres Hammond gives us “Love Mood”, I Wayne’s “Lava Ground” will whet your appetite for his pending debut album and Kiprich’s “Telephone Ting” is already at the top of the charts. The hapless bonus mix on the second CD, however, is a complete waste of time and wholly superfluous. All in all, though, “Reggae Gold 2005” is the usual good investment. Uzz

VARIOUS ARTIST

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Reggae Hits Vol. 34

Ragga Ragga Ragga 2005

(Jet Star)

(Greensleeves Rec.)

The Jet Star people have been busy again and “Reggae Hits 34” comes to us with a body of tunes that actually does the title of the series justice. To kick off, you’ll find two of last year’s musthaves: Jah Cure’s Don Corleonproduced smash hit “Longin’ For” and Perfect’s “Hand Cart Bwoy”, which has finally made it onto disc and Turbulence’s first number one tune “Notorious”, the unrivaled front-runner in the Jamaican charts all throughout April, which could herald his big breakthrough. On to Fantan Mojah, who is probably the hottest talent on the circuit right now. His gritty “Hungry” anthem on the “Invasion” riddim has finally landed in the UK and has since been earning bucks aplenty. For months now, the monster hit has been – and still is – getting airplay on all radio stations. With “Princess Gone”, Jah Mason now has an iron back in the fire that could spell the end of his recent lean period and also earn him late fame. Gentleman, who already seems to have become an international household name in the Reggae world, is also represented with the Pow Pow production “Unconditional Love”.

Unfortunately, Sanchez’ “Finally” – not a hit on 7inch, either – is clearly just a filler in this collection. There’s also a bonus CD with a motley crew of tunes taken from the first 15 editions of the “Reggae Hits” series including The Mighty Diamonds, Nitty Gritty, Sugar Minott, Tenor Saw and many more. While this compilation isn’t a musical milestone it is nonetheless enjoyable and entertaining. Uzz

Pull up, rewind and prepare for the return of the chart stormers!

This year’s edition of the Greensleeves Ragga series once again comes with all the trappings. The head buyers of Europe’s island nation yet again pulled out all the stops and managed to magic a number of bunnies out of the hat, bunnies such as the “Military” riddim, which is given pristine treatment by Sizzla, Bounty and Macka Diamond.

Nothing to moan about here: you can safely turn the volume up to the nth degree, at present there’s no better hype selection around.

Unfortunately, Fire Links’ “Chaka Chaka” dross also made it into the selection and you end up having to suffer Beenie’s “Dance To The Chacka”. The riddim is awful enough to make your skin crawl, but anyone into C&W or square dancing is likely to feel right at home. As the hit combo made up of Voicemail, Delly Ranks and the late Bogle made it right to the top of the charts with “Weh Di Time”, the sleek dance anthem is a must in this selection, too. While the lyrics are mainly about giving dance instructions, the production is luscious. As an aside, it remains to be said that Vybz Kartel is up to his usual mischief on a total of four tunes and provides the two main incentives to buy this album.

On the one hand, there’s his counteraction against Spragga Benz’ “Spragga Correction”, a lyrical one-man crusade that also settles the score with Vegas and Assassin. On the other, there’s the previously unreleased “Too F**ky F**ky”, a track produced by Don Corleon. In a nutshell: nuff tunes for the money! Uzz

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DANCEHALL

RIDDIMS OF THE ISSUE

Don Corleon’s suburban, Kingston studio has been a hotbed of activity since he first made his reputation with “Mad Ants” back in 2002.

Three years later, he’s now the most in-demand producer in Jamaica due to the diversity of his productions. Both “Jonkanoo” and “Judgment” are infectious Dancehall beats. The hottest tracks on the “Jonkanoo” include Voicemail and Ding Dong’s “Wacky Dip”, Voicemail’s solo “Do What You Feel It” and two cuts by Beenie Man, who takes the gossipmongers to task on “A Nuh Me” and then delivers a certified party hit in the shape of “Chakka Dance”. Sean Paul and T.O.K. are in irresistible form too, while others may prefer the slacker approach taken by Bounty Killer, Vybz Kartel (“I Neva” and “Too F**ky F**ky”) and Macka Diamond, whose “Dat Size Nuh Ready Yet” is a mocking putdown worthy of Lady Saw at her best! “Judgment” has a tougher veneer than the happy-go-lucky “Jonkanoo”, and is sculpted from cutting-edge beats by Nigel Staff. Elephant Man’s “Do The Dance” and “Turn It Up” are bursting with multi-layered melodies and nimble mic skills. Bounty Killer and Predator team up on the amusing “Dat We Mad Fa”; Sizzla declares himself “the baddest motherf**ker you’ve ever seen” on “Den Why” and Vybz Kartel gets three cuts, as befits his role of Don Corleon’s most prized protégé. “Fi Yu Pu**y” is again slack; “Inna Di War” a burial tune and “Look Big” a combination with Macka Diamond, whose debut album will be released on Greensleeves.

DANCEHALL You’d have to be dead or paralysed not to rock to Germaican’s “Messer Banzani” rhythm and Capleton gives the kind of vocal display only champions can muster on “Step 2 Fire” whilst borrowing the melody from Anita Ward’s 70s Disco hit, “Ring My Bell”! It’s a magnificent performance from the Prophet, who burns fire with unbridled relish from start to finish. Sizzla too, is in wicked form on “It’s Appropriate”; Vybz Kartel busts more clever wordplay on “If U Man Nah Sow Seed”; Cobra’s consistent as ever on “Gangster Role” and there are strong vocal cuts from Gregory Isaacs and Admiral Tibbet to please listeners preferring more traditional fare.

Beenie Man & Devonte’s “Imagination” was produced by Free

Willy, who revives the rhythm from the Uniques’ hit, “Everybody Needs Love” then coaxes a brilliant, arm-waving performance from the Doctor, who rails against corrupt politicians and makes an impassioned stand for our rights to individual expression and a brighter future. It’s Moses’ best tune in ages – the chorus (and also the message) ring out loud and clear, and his lyrics are meaningful. Devonte, who normally partners with Tanto Metro, sings well on it too, reinforcing this record’s widespread appeal.

Jamaican Dancehall music is going through a period of transition, and experimentation rules right now. Black Shadow’s Troyton produced Sean Paul’s “Gimme The Light” but now heads for the commercial jugular with a folksy rhythm (“Chat”) complete with accordion and bouncing Dancehall beats, creating the kind of sound we normally associate with Mad

House’s Dave Kelly, who clearly influenced another previous Black Shadow rhythm, the “Surprise”.

Kevin Lyttle’s poppy “Jimmy Johnny”; a triumphant threesome from Beenie Man, two pieces from Spragga Benz and the cantankerous “Switch” by Cobra are among the best cuts, whilst Elephant Man’s “Speak Up” is the most controversial with its cry of, “Who needs a f**king green card? What’s the deal?”

King Jammy’s ground-breaking “Sleng Teng” rhythm celebrates its 20th anniversary this summer and what better way to mark the occasion than to mix down Jammy’s biggest artist of the Dancehall era on top of the original cut, featuring singer Wayne Smith? Bounty Killer hails up the King and Mama Iris as well as the herb on “Sleng Teng Resurrection” which features overdubs by Teetimus. The result is pure excitement and Ninjaman sounds good too, as he announces his latest comeback with candid humour on “Mad Again”.

Expect further mayhem from Ward 21 and Hollow Point. Vocal cuts by Ras Shiloh, Bobby Crystal, Bushman and Junior Reid then serve to cool down the pace; Sizzla (“Someone Loves You”), Junior Kelly and Anthony B add a Rasta perspective whilst Shocking Blue, new duo Upsurge and Taz and Marvellous represent the Jammy’s camp of 2005.

Sultex & Guzalez’s “Stop” on the “Pain Killa” rhythm is little more than a dance instruction record, and continues a tradition that’s been existent in Jamaican music since the Ska era. Released on the Unusual Suspect label, it features the pair shouting out for us to wave this or that, then stop dead, as if we’re playing musical statues. You can listen out for it at your nearest keep-fit class…

Other cuts on the same whirring, Dancehall beat include a battling “Gunshot” from the ever-lyrical Vybz Kartel; Bounty Killer’s clev-

erly constructed “Walk In”, fresh chat by Mr. Lex and a party-style duet between Taz and Chico called “Shake”.

Black Chiney won his spurs making mix tapes and the remixed version of this rhythm’s now a winner with its irrepressible, body-shaking beats and stop/start tempos. VP rounds up seventeen cuts on their “Kopa” one-rhythm album, but we’ve seen hit 45s on Black Chiney’s own label from a host of big-name Jamaican stars, including Sizzla (“Hot Like Fire”) and Sean Paul, whose “Straight Up” is another infectious track from the deejay who led Dancehall’s latest assault on the mainstream.

Whether he’ll repeat the same level of success in the future is now open to question, and Bounty Killer’s “Free Up The Atmosphere”, which again disrespects gays, is a bitter reminder as to why that might be the case. On a happier note, Elephant Man’s “Ele Melody” is a medley of former hits and full of bashment vibes, whilst new Jamaican artists Tami Chin (“Hot!”) and Nicky B (“If You Wanna Ride”) stir a little R&B into the mix, and like deejay Busy Signal, hint at good things to come.

Steely & Clevie aren’t called the Dancehall Godfathers for nothing and this latest rhythm, the “Sleepy Dog”, is a Dancehall thriller with its stabbing keyboard phrases and percussive, hardcore beats. Like the equally dangerous “44 Flat” it’s as Jamaican as they come, and devoid of the Soca and Techno influences that have infiltrated elsewhere. Among the cuts released on 45 so far are songs by Elephant Man, Mr. Vegas, Kiprich, Buju Banton, Famous Face and Assassin, whose up-and-coming status is confirmed on “As A Man”, despite his similarity to Baby Cham. Buju’s return to throatscraping Dancehall action on

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“Ride This” is a standout and so too Elephant Man’s “Girls’ Anthem”, which is already a party favourite with its catchy hook lines and comical backing vocals.

ROOTS Damian is the son of Bob Marley and former Miss World Cindy Breakspeare. He won a Grammy for his last album, “Halfway Tree”, and is equally talented as a singer, singjay and rapper. “Welcome To Jamrock” appears on the Marley siblings’ Ghetto Youths United label, rides a cut of Ini Kamoze’s “World A Music” and even samples the original as Damian unleashes the most powerful reality song of his career thus far. Although he was raised in an affluent area of Kingston, his lyrics about life in Jamaica’s ghettos couldn’t hit much harder or more truthfully yet there’s plenty of melody in this modern-day Reggae classic. On the flipside, “Hey Girl” offers quite a contrast with its breezy, Bollywood style Dancehall beats, vocoder FX and tales of a girl who calls him a genius because he “thinks with his brain and not his penis.”

I-Wayne’s shot to prominence just as Jamaica’s record producers are busy searching for new stars, and the engaging “Can’t Satisfy Her” – voiced over a cut of Junior Delgado’s “Father Jungle Rock” – was a No. 1 hit on the island. His vocal style is like a sweeter version of Pinchers’, whilst the lyrics of “Can’t Satisfy Her” speak of relationship problems (with a prostitute) with such charm, wit and honesty, it was guaranteed to be hit. Look out for I-Wayne’s other breakthrough hits: “Lava Ground” released on the Loyal Soldiers’ label and“Living In Love”, which documents everyday life in Jamaica to truthful thought-provoking effect over

Gibbo’s “Hard Times” rhythm.

Fantan Mojah is another new Jamaican Roots star with a No. 1 hit to his credit, and like I-Wayne, he’s achieved his success by seeing what’s happening around him, and then expressing it to perfection within the framework of a threeminute song. Released on the Downsound label, “Hungry” is simplistic in some ways but also very catchy in it’s lyrical accusations: “do something for the poor, open up the door,” he chants on the chorus, whilst the rhythm, an update of Sugar Minott’s “Oh Mr D.C.” renamed “Invasion”, has spawned an entire album’s worth of cuts led by Capleton.

Reggae selectors preparing for a sound clash should watch out for a remix of Garnet Silk’s “Splashing Dashing” released on the Foreign Remix label and co-starring Capleton. It’s not the first time we’ve heard the Prophet alongside Garnet, thanks to Dr. Marshall, and he doesn’t even feature all that much in truth. Just long enough to give another variation of his fire speech on the intro, and then throw down lyrics about Haile Selassie I for the remainder of the painfully short tune. The rhythm’s changed too you’ll notice, as it’s now a cut of the “Answer” (or “Never Let Go” if you’re a Slim Smith fan), and mixed in a thrilling dub plate style.

Two time Grammy winner Shabba Ranks has been relatively quiet since relocating to New York several decades ago, but makes his commanding mic style count on a good-time cover of Bob Marley’s “Lively Up Yourself” produced by Tan Yah’s Philip Smart at his HCF studio in Long Island. Accompanied by a female singer called Danni, Shabba affirms everything that’s good about Reggae music with his exhortations to, “keep it lively,” “dip away from sickness” and raise our “happy flags”.

Frenchie’s Maximum Sound la-

bel has been host to some notable Roots and Dancehall material over the past twelve years and the reality ballad from Jah Cure on the “Poor People” rhythm is no exception. Recorded in Spanish Town prison, “Poor Man’s Cry” is a typically haunting affair as Jah Cure sings of tribulation, and Anthony B bobs and weaves around him with lyrics pleading for an end to violence. The latter’s “Powers Of Creation” album also appeared on Maximum Sound and watch out for a set with Luciano in the near future .

Stephen Gibbs (a.k.a. “Gibbo”) is the son of veteran Reggae producer Joe Gibbs. He’s made quite a splash with his own Gibbo label in recent months and Chuck Fender, Richie Spice (“Uptown Girl”), Bushman, Lutan Fyah and Junior Reid all feature on his “State Of Emergency” rhythm, which is slow and rootsy in the classic tradition. It’s a title long-time enthusiasts will recognise from an album his father released back in 1976, when Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley declared a state of emergency on the island. This revived model drags in places, making some of these cuts sound lethargic. Richie’s tale of an “irie roots daughter living in an uptown world” is bright enough and Junior Reid’s title track has a Black Uhuru feel thanks to some counterpart female vocals, but it’s disappointing to hear Bushman sublimating his talents on “Scent Of A Man” by imitating Peter Tosh when he’s such a strong singer in his own right.

Speaking of Black Uhuru, original (and current) lead singer Michael Rose has a song called “Never Surrender” on the Heartical label featuring an explosive, European style Roots mix of Junior Byles’ “Fade Away” rhythm courtesy of the Basque Dub Foundation. Lyrically,

it’s a mighty affirmation of M’s belief in Rastafari and the one-time Waterhouse singer’s performance reverberates with self-confidence as a result, plus there’s a charming melodica cut on the flipside, which is again mixed by Conscious Sounds’ Dougie Wardrop.

Bobby Konders of Massive B is a soundman, as well as influential New York radio DJ, and regularly updates classic Reggae rhythms from the past. His latest is a cut of Johnny Osbourne’s Studio One hit, “Truth And Rights” and it makes an inspired choice with its authentic, old school mix and wheezy organ licks. Apart from Johnny himself (heard in combination with Burro Banton), Sizzla (with “Give Jah Thanks”), King Kong, Richie Spice, Chuck Fender and Spanner Banner have all voiced it. A soulful “Dem A Fight We” from Chezidek is outstanding, and so too Richie’s moving reality tale, “Youths A So Cold”. An angry defence of herb by Chuck Fender on “All About Da Weed” is another highlight, whilst Khari Kill sounds like Sizzla on “Picture Of Selassie”.

Rootdown producer Teka again confirms the class and calibre of many German productions with several cuts to the “Crystal Woman” rhythm – a danceable rub-a-dub that no Roots or Reggae selector could resist with its blazing horns and plunging bass line.

Chuck Fender’s “Perfect Love” is both heartfelt and inspirational, and Richie Spice’s “Gideon Soldier” is another rousing dedication to the ghetto youth, whom he likens to warriors. Lutan Fyah’s “When Mi Rise It” and cuts by Anthony B and Jah Mali shouldn’t be overlooked either. Elijah Prophet’s “Got To Be Conscious” is a song deserving of hit status, whilst Nosliw (whose name is “Wilson” spelt backwards) singjays in German on “Wie Weit”, and easily wins his place among such exalted company. ★ John Masouri

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One of the last relevant clashes of 2004 was Winner Takes It All in Nottingham, UK. Scheduled for November 27, 2004, this bloodbath aimed at finding the UK contender for the UK Cup Clash 2005 and the winner of 6,000 pounds sterling. The line-up was made up of King Tubby’s, Ghetto Genius, Immortal, Will Power, Jah Man as well as Classique, the UK champion at the time. Ghetto Genius and Classique were eliminated after the second round. In what followed, only Tubby’s and Immortal made it to the dub-fi-dub. It was hardly what you’d call exciting towards the end, a bit beige, actually, and full of old faithfuls. But Immortal secured their ticket to the UK Cup Clash 2005. Soon after, two further interesting clashes were staged on the other side of the pond, whereby the run up to both events already ensured plenty of controversy. Both clashes were held at The Rock Club in Brooklyn. On December 4, 2004, LP International, Young Hawk, Stainless and Earthruler battled it out for the title of King Of New York. Earthruler didn’t stand a chance, Young Hawk and Stainless made a visible effort, but LP took the lead and the trophy that night. For LP this was definitely the first step towards a comeback. The second of the Rock Club clashes was staged for the purpose of clearing up each and every misconception and inconsistency of the last World Clash. A one-fi-one to determine the Real Champion between Italy’s One

Love and Black Kat was therefore held on December 11. The Italians, who were on top form and fully represented despite being defeated at the World and RIDDIM Clashes, were up against their first really serious test in the USA, while Panther again proved ready to risk reputation and with that the silver. Unfortunately, this three-round clash left many fans outraged as the evening ended without a final winner, despite a lengthy dub-fi-dub. As a result, Panther still proudly holds the scepter. One Love’s custommades shouldn’t remain unmentioned, though, especially their counteraction to Bounty’s “Everything A Panther”. All in all, quite entertaining and the final stroke of the 2004 clash year, in which everything definitely was a Panther.

As always, the new clash year was late to begin, with the first event Just Respect! held on March 5, 2005 to be exact. The first sounds to slowly fill the arena – again in New York – were Mighty Crown and LP. As the Japanese sound had failed to cut much of a swathe during the last couple of years, they were in dire need of victory to win back a bit of respect and trust from their fans. For LP, a win was equally critical to their comeback series and to looking good in front of their home audience. There were no rules and LP clearly made the better impression in the course of the evening, but Mighty Crown was able to make up quite a bit of lost ground during the dub-fi-dub.

An official result is still outstanding to this very day. Only just over two weeks later, Mighty Crown fetched up in Florida, a place that hadn’t seen a relevant clash in the last decade. Two events saw Japan’s finest flex their musical muscle against Black Kat, the winner of four World Clashes.

The fact that a victory over Panther at this time would have been pretty major requires no further explanation. In each case, Mighty Crown proved to be well-armed in both Miami and a day later in Orlando and took two of the cat’s nine lives. And with that, to the surprise of the clash community, things suddenly really didn’t look too bad for Mighty Crown, a sound that nobody seemed to have put much faith in anymore.

For now, Panther had been toppled from his throne.

The first highlight of every clash year is the annual Death Before Dishonour, held over the Easter weekend. The winner of the Jamaican World Clash spin-off gets to enter the New York main event in October. Six sounds had gathered at Pier One in Montego Bay to compete for the first of the coveted Irish & Chin cups. The warring factions were Black Kat (JA) as the reigning champ, Tony Matterhorn (JA), Mighty Crown (JP), Bass Odyssey (JA), One Love (IT) and Freddy Krueger (JA).

With a line-up like that, it was clear that the kid gloves would be well and truly off.

It was to be the night of Bass Odyssey’s return to the clash are-

na. Squingy already scored a lot of points during the first round with “Notorious” and “Nah Apologize” and managed to keep the massive on his side during the further course of the evening.

Bass Odyssey was crowned the winner after three rounds. It remains to be said that Freddy didn’t cut it that night, Black Kat simply went under without a fight and even Matterhorn failed to reach his full potential. The St. Ann-based Bass Odyssey, on the other hand, are currently mashing up the clash world again and their return was long overdue.

On April 9, it was time for the annual Gulf War, an event that is staged in Texas. The line-up featured local hero Mikey Faith as well as Shashamane (Africa), Matsimela (T&T) and Madd Squad (JA), the latter of which are better known for their juggling skills. The event took place at the Reception Hall in Houston. Last year, Matsimela had succeeded in taking the trophy back to Trinidad, but not this time.

Shashamane and Mikey Faith fired up the fans and eliminated the other two from the race. Matsimela fizzled out after two weak rounds, blaming their poor performance on sound sabotage.

Then, towards the end of the evening, some scorching plates started coming out. Shashamane turned out to have a much fatter box than most had expected and trail-blazed the way with Dennis Brown, Eek A Mouse, Yellowman and several other delicacies that

not every sound has nowadays.

Mikey Faith also came off well, but had the advantage of a home game. But when it came to the crunch, Faith’s dub box failed to deliver the goods. However, this didn’t seem to worry the rather young massive, which was happy with CNN and Wayne Wonder and treated Dennis Brown dubs with contempt. Although Mikey Faith won the clash, Shashamane is likely to have been the winner of people’s hearts. What is far more important is the fact that sound clashes are possible and even attended in Texas, too!

On April 16, a total of two clashes took place, both with top line-ups.

The War Of The Worlds, promoted by Skawalla and Skye, was held at Club A in Queens, New York. There was work for LP to do again, this time up against Blunt Posse and Shashamane. Blunt Posse from the Bronx are one of those sounds that have a killer box, but can’t win any battles and have never managed to establish trademark tunes. Despite endless advance promotion work, a mere 300 guests ventured to Queens to witness the three-pronged contest. So much for the facts. The rest is somewhat murky as the opinions about round winners and trophy winner differ strongly from start to finish. What we do know is that LP and Shashamane dominated the clash, but that Blunt Posse for some obscure reason managed to claim the cup. While Blunt Posse clearly won the first round, they put in a weak performance during the further course of the evening.

Shashamane remained a constant force throughout the clash, impressed the massive with various gems (just like in Texas) and took the second round. LP seemed to rest up during the first two rounds and then came back with a vengeance. The third and probably also the fourth rounds went to them. At the end of this fourth round, LP had definitely been given the most forwards. To the surprise of many, LP then played a fi-

nal Garnet Silk plate and rather abruptly left the scene. As the clash wasn’t officially over, Blunt and Shasha proceeded to the dubfi-dub and Blunt won the cup. All in all, a somewhat chaotic event that will hopefully herald the end of clashes without any rules; to avoid misunderstandings in future, there should at least be a clear voting procedure at the end of each round.

On the same day, the UK Cup Clash 2005 was held at the Stratford Rex (an old cinema) in London’s east end. This was a drama of a different kind: no less than seven sounds ensured the venue was ram. Young Hawk, the reigning US Rumble champ, never really got off the ground and didn’t seem particularly well prepared for the UK audience. The two rounds in which One Love tried their fruitless luck were equally unspectacular. Both sounds were sent home after the second round, which was the first eliminator; the first hurdle had thus been cleared and the wheat sorted from the chaff. Then it was Matterhorn’s turn to run into problems and he failed to last beyond the singers-only round. However, this fate could just as easily have been Black Kat’s. The Kat landed on its feet one more time, but was ground to a pulp between Immortal, Bass Odyssey and Mighty Crown throughout the subsequent round. That left three sounds in the race, at which point the passa passa began. Squingy kicked off the fifth round with a mild expletive and was thus disqualified because this was the “no profanity” round. This was grist to Crown’s and Immortal’s respective mills as until then Bass Odyssey had received the most forwards and won the most rounds but in the end, Mighty Crown took the lead over Immortal. In concluding, it can be said that both Mighty Crown and Bass Odyssey are very much back on the clash map and that Immortal might well be a new European sound to watch out for. ★ Uzz

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RIDDIM SOUNDCLASH 2004 THE BIG SHOWDOWN (RIDDIM/Groove Attack) As a rule, blowing your own trumpet sucks. But it is particularly enjoyable when you’ve got something truly cool to shout about. With last year’s “RIDDIM CLASH Two Thousand And Bomboclaat Four” (T.O.K. plate of the German Supersonic sound system), we certainly pushed the boat out and now have the entire evening captured on an official DVD, which includes a several-page booklet: RIDDIM SOUNDCLASH 2004 - THE BIG SHOWDOWN (RIDDIM/Groove Attack) “Four Sounds – Four Rounds – Four Hours – Four Cameras – One Winner”. Supersonic (Germany) already piled on the pressure during the introduction round, while the 2003 winner, Freddy Krueger, bombed with his first dub and never recovered. Munich’s Muffathalle proved to be his nemesis for his un-cool behavior at the 45 Clash at the U Club in Germany’s Wuppertal (a club that has already been voted Germany’s best club on two occasions by the readers of a renowned Reggae magazine) and he earned a volley of boos. Nobody can squeal “bloodclaat” quite like Ricky Trooper and he enjoyed a great first round. However, this was another night he made the fatal error of dropping his “Super Trouper” anthem and Supersonic were ready to pounce! The expression on loser Trooper’s face when Supersonic’s Spider rubs his nose in this regular rubbish is a highlight of the DVD. Both Jamaicans attempted to soft-soap the audience with Gentleman plates – in vain! Not a ruse One Love needed to resort to with a dub box jam-packed with their impressive specials. But strangely enough, the Italians seemed to lack that trademark gift of the gab common to both pizza cooks and Italian lovers, namely the ability to make you believe that you are about to get the greatest thing EVER. One Love did not cut it on the mic at all and when they (disrespectfully) tried to score points with custom-made World Clash plates in the dub-fi-dub, Spider went for the kill and rendered Supersonic the deserved winners. It was a highly entertaining evening and so is our first digital baby, which we are proud to present at a very nice price.

Time-travel – back to 1989, the night before New Year’s Eve. The Denbigh Show Ground was ram, Freddie McGregor and the Big Ship camp had exerted their magnetic pull at the SUPERSTARS

EXTRAVAGANZA (Big Ship/VP Records). With a sensational opening vocal performance, the slightly over-ambitious Tamlins set the standard for the rest of the stupendous line-up of singers.

Gregory Isaacs, Frankie Paul, Cocoa Tea and Carlene Davis can each be seen performing 2 to 4 songs and in quite acceptable sound quality. But no matter which of the two Simmons superstructures on stage is manned (or by whom), the drums and especially the kick are too loud throughout and the electronic tom breaks constitute assault and battery of the eardrums with singers and songs like these. The little big man, Barrington Levy, caused a mighty stir in May Pen and the Simmons drums only really made sense with him.

The host of the evening, Dennis Brown, actually began his set when the sun rose on the last day of the year, finally emerging from the crowd to take to the stage. Despite a fabulous performance, he shared the fate of so many headliners at major Jamaican events.

They first allow the place to empty out and then leave the artists to entertain the sad remains of an audience so fired up they’ll give anyone a forward. But none of that seemed to bother Dennis Brown. Along with the We The People Band he gave the reveling, shrinking-massive “Here I Come”, “Revolution”, “Cassandra”, “Westbound Train” and “Stay At Home”. In the end, we see Cocoa Tea, Junior Reid and Freddie McGregor on stage with Dennis for two exclusive encore versions of the mammoth Gussie Clarke produced tunes “Big All Around” and “Raggamuffin”. But the only ones left to witness that were those who didn’t have any plans for New Year’s Eve anyway – and of course the proud owners of this thoroughly worthwhile twohour live recording, which is now available on DVD for the first time.

Another concert that was already available on video and is now pre-

sented on DVD is U ROY’s SHOW TIME (Mélodie). In its video incarnation, the Rome concert was marketed under the title “European Tour ‘97” and now comes to us as a CD + DVD package in double CD format. It might have been more appropriate to call it “Wear You To The Ball”; in his sartorial Caribbean evening wear complete with snakeskin shoes, crease in his trousers and shirt hanging loosely over his belt – attire that the average middle-class Joe might scorn as “leisure wear” – the godfather of deejay (55 at the time!) skanked his way through an innumerable string of hits. Accompanied by The Robotics’, buoyant Rocksteady beats.

You can’t touch U Roy in terms of class, style and elegance and because of this, not even the poorly sung choruses and an embarrassingly plastic-sounding horn section were able to pall his performance. Highly recommended, especially as the audio-visual quality is good.

The grapevine has it that the business man Winston Rodney has bought up Burning Spear’s entire catalogue, with the exception of the Island albums. LPs, singles, 12inches, dubs, photos, videos, interviews, even the tiniest acoustic and optical Spear snippets are currently being sighted, sorted, repackaged and (re)released in no particular order on the Burning Spear label. Good for the fan, while the collector pays for the knowledge that “Reggae music is a business, generating a lot of income”. The 1993 album THE WORLD SHOULD KNOW (Burning Music), however, is free of any rip-off suspicion. Presented in a high-class eight-panel foldout DigiPack plus a new cover, it includes all the lyrics and even runs to a 30-minute bonus DVD. While the album itself does-

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n’t necessarily qualify as one of Spear’s key productions, the DVD manages to hit the spot thanks to “African Postman”, “Columbus”, “Door Peep” and “Rocking Time”, all filmed at a major openair festival held sometime, somewhere in Europe. Even if there are only four tunes, the Burning Band is as noteworthy throughout their playing time. In addition to this, the DVD includes the video to the album track “Mi Gi Dem”, complete with that homemade Caribbean charm we know so well and strewn with diverse short Spear interviews, from which the earlier quote on the Reggae business was also taken.

Another one of Rodney’s own releases is the DVD BURNING SPEAR HOME TO MY ROOTS (Burning Music), which is now officially on sale. For a long time the DVD was only available via Spear’s website, as a pre-release so to speak and for a whole heap of dollars. My notes keep telling me “Incredible band!!!!”. Part one gives us a handful of great-sounding songs from a concert in South Africa that are repeatedly interrupted to air short statements by Winston Rodney, whom you see lounging on a lawn somewhere. Part two delivers the images to nine tracks of the double CD, “Live In Paris, Zenith 88”. Back then, the band had a female horn section. The girls’ well-rehearsed moves clearly show they came from a different world and “Home To My Roots” is just as good as it is annoying! The more recent recordings from South Africa thrill us with the most amazing musical and audio quality, but lack individual song selection. Furthermore, the constant Rodney clips attempt to conceal the fact that the music and images are out of

sync. The first bit is in 16:9, after which the DVD continues in a psychologically imprudent 4:3.

The screen seems to shrink, the sound deteriorates, the picture gets darker. With just a little more technical effort, all of this could have been avoided and we would have had a premium product. The Paris concert also has a decided “Babylon-By-Bus” Rock flavor.

Just compare the recently re-released original of “Door Peep” on the first Studio One album with this heavy-handed version.

Back to the here and now.

Rumors and stories of crazy stage shows and outrageous stage outfits, the brief snatches of him on “Sting” DVDs and other publications – the hype surrounding ELEPHANT MAN has had us keeping our eyes peeled for a DVD for some time now. Unfortunately, DIRECT FROM JAMAICA (2B1) is not what we had in mind. All we get to see are the images “Reggae Trail tv” lifted from a 30minute interview Ele gave Suzie Q in her TV program “Video Alley” for the purpose of promoting his album “Higher Level”. This is souped up with two short sets, performed on the small studio stage (featuring a sofa in the background) to an audience of about 100 hand-picked girlies and about 10 guys, all of ‘em naturally having a ball. The Energy God as a people’s pop star! Ele seemed to be in fine fettle and even put out proper lyrics instead of just giving it a bit of the old “show mi di twin tower an’ wave supm”.

With plenty of freestyle and hits like “Replacement Killer” or “The Truth Hurts” he kept a relatively civil tongue, while being no less funny or slack and naturally remembering to laud the anaconda.

He was evidently well prepared

for the situation, cut a very likeable figure and had the girls in a vociferous lather. But this was not real life, this was merely TV. Elephant Man is a completely different experience on a big stage and we will therefore have to bide our time until a “proper” Ele DVD turns up.

Being able to think on his feet seems to be the strength of our goldilocksed pachyderm of Dancehall. While the Alliance was mashing the place up towards the end of FULLY LOADED (Keeling), the huge annual beach juggling bash in Oracabessa, Ele was the first to react when Vybz Kartel fell off the stage. Together with Bling Dawg, Predator, Wayne Marshall, Bounty Killer and Elephant Man, Kartel was just in the process of turning the place upside down and lost his balance in so doing. Ele ruled the confusion and turned the menacing mayhem back into civilized chaos. By this time, there was almost as large a crowd jostling behind him as there was in front. The camera shows us all this from the furthest corner of the stage in extremely dubious technical quality. But the DVD has a few other interesting moments in addition to the frames showing the above-mentioned debacle.

One of these moments is the inimitable performance of Mr. Fully Loaded-Mentally Ill Matterhorn who took to the stage, politely said, “Good morning, ladies” and rendered the auditorium a madhouse of female frenzy along with his custom-made Ward 21 plate and a few clever picks from his CD case. Sadly, sound and vision are out of sync on the DVD and after a while, you get tired of seeing no more than rear views of artists and soundmen screaming at the audience. Helmut Philipps

In January 2005 France’s Makasound label released the first in their INNA DE YARD series highlighting the work of acclaimed guitarist EARL “CHINNA” SMITH who has toured the world with Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff and Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers and played on most albums coming out of Jamaica. This entirely acoustic CD recorded live in Chinna’s Kingston yard highlights his virtuosity, embodying Soul, Blues and other influences that are wholly savored in an acoustic setting. In March Makasound enhanced this unique product by releasing it with an accompanying DVD of Chinna and his idrens’ recording sessions supplemented by an interview with Chinna who discusses his childhood fascination with the guitar, his years with the legendary Soul Syndicate and his approach to music making. “There are many great musicians and several kinds of sound, commercial sound, celestial sound and so many others; I man represent the celestial, the spiritual sound.” Chinna’s much sought after celestial sound has sometimes obscured his pliant vocal capabilities, which he uses to remarkable effect performing his compositions “Poverty” and the famed “Homegrown”. Other featured artists include veteran singer Ken Bob (formerly of the African Brothers) alongside younger talents Emanuel I, Israel Voice, Ras Michael Jr., Jah Youth, and The Maestro all of whom sing and accompany themselves on guitar.

The communal passing of the chalice as well as the supportive Nyahbinghi style drumming heighten the organic, relaxed quality of this CD/DVD package, a must for all Reggae fans because it captures power of the music’s acoustic roots, both aurally and visually, as played inna de yard. ★ Patricia Meschino

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re

ISSUE #1

VARIOUS ARTISTS Safe Travel – The Rare Side Of Rock Steady With Phil Pratt And Friends 1966 - 1968

WINSTON JARRETT & THE RIGHTEOUS FLAMES

(Pressure Sounds)

Rise Up! Resurrection Classics From The 60s

Although producer Phil Pratt had the stuff to be named alongside the likes of all-time greats Lee Perry, Niney or Joe Gibbs, after just a brief period of success, he faded into the jungle of oblivion by the mid 1970s. Something had clearly gone awry. Emigration to London and work in the catering sector followed. Pratt, it seems, has never been what you might call easy-going, either, as Reggae author David Katz found out when he visited him at his London café, imprudently asked his age and nearly copped a good hiding! The Pressure Sounds people are evidently on better terms with the erratic producer or this completely unexpected collection of hellishly rare Rocksteady gems might never have come about. Prior to his relatively well-known Sunshot work, Pratt had already begun cutting tunes for the Caltone and John Tom labels about 1966, bringing forth some of the earliest recordings by Larry Marshall, Horace Hinds (whose surname only changed to “Andy” years later at the behest of Coxsone Dodd) and Charlie Ace. Ken Boothe and The Clarendonians worked for Pratt as freelance artists and opportunity knocked for one-hit wonders like Helmsley Morris, Milton Boothe and Peter Austin. The backings were delivered by Lynn Taitt and The Jets, whose services were much in demand at the time. The music on “Safe Travel” is exciting because it has almost never been heard in our climes but not every track deserves to be called “outstanding”; the recording studio time constraints and lack of funds

(Sankofa)

Even progress can’t change some things: great Reggae records are still being pressed in tiny numbers on even tinier labels. As often as not, music lovers only get to see such specimens when presented with one by a smart-aleck collector in one-upmanship mode. If we didn’t have all those resourceful retailers and intrepid importers who manage to unearth such precious finds in their search for saleable rarities, the most sublime cuts would often remain undiscovered. It is via one such circuitous route that the CD “Rise Up!” made it from France to the rest of the world. This is a sensational 19-track, all-scorcher collection from a superb singer whose history is anything but clear-cut. Winston Jarrett was born in 1944 and originally sang harmonies with Alton Ellis. As Alton & The Flames, they first recorded shedloads of hits for Duke Reid, (including “Girl, I’ve Got A Date”) then defected to Studio One where they churned out hits like “I’m Still In Love With You”. Ellis moved to the UK in 1969, while Jarrett remained in Jamaic and founded the vocal trio “The Righteous Flames”. He was highly respected as a singer and lent his voice to a slew of recordings in the 60s. Sadly, though, he regularly fell prey to producers who typically renamed artists when releasing their tunes. As a result, “The Righteous Flames” involuntarily took on a variety of aliases, including: “The Righteous Holmes”, “The Flames”, “The Hurricanes”, “The Crashers”, “The Intruders”, “T-Man”, “TBone” as well as “Adam And Eve”. Things became less confused with time as Jarrett’s later releases were almost entirely under his own name. For some time now, he has been trying to sort out the chaos of these early years and “Rise Up!” is the first sign of this new order.

While the title of the CD may lead you to expect Roots & Culture, there is actually very little of that save, for instance, the song that would later serve Cocoa Tea as a template for “Riker’s Island” and a few Lee Perry produced tunes. By the bye, the latter-mentioned tracks were clearly not crafted at the Black Ark – as the liner notes suggest – because that was no more than a twinkle in its creator’s eye back then. The CD mostly contains divine Rocksteady plus Lovers Rock galore. Witness the grand feelings of a man’s lonely heart calling “I Need To Be Loved

By Someone” into the night and fervently hoping he’ll get some response to “Gimme Some Kind Of Sign Girl”. Apart from plunging to melancholic depths, the singer also voices simple requests like “Put on your mini dress, I want you to look the very best”. These songs feature driving organ shuffles and catchy melodies, minus the rotating Lesley sound because this had yet to be invented. You also get a typical Rocksteady piano feel (that conjures up visions of a western saloon) which fell by the wayside with the emergence of computer programming in the 1980s. “Rise Up!” is a delightful archive of rediscovered tunes telling timeless tales of lovelorn sorrows and amorous pleasures, each garnished with the sweetest of melodies. ★ Helmut Philipps

are clearly audible on some of the productions; at times, the instruments sound out of tune and the studio crew somewhat tired.

Moreover, as the master tapes were unavailable for most tracks, the songs had to be taken from original vinyl singles. Sadly, the two Ken Boothe tracks “You Left The Water Running” and “The One I Love” were lifted from vinyl of such poor quality that it would have been better to omit them from the CD. Still, “Safe Travel” gets a big thumbs up as it serves to put previously uncharted territory firmly on the Rocksteady map.

Andreas Mueller

WINSTON FRANCIS Mr. Fix It / California Dreaming Two Classic Albums On One CD (Winston Francis/Jet Star)

When the wonderful album “Stand Firm” by the Francis & Franklin duo came to us like manna from heaven last year, there were murmurs of surprise from those who still remembered Winston Francis. His last Jamaican hit was in 1969 with “Mr. Fix It”, a chart stormer that was to give him his nickname for ever more.

Francis had recorded two very special albums for Studio One at the end of the 1960s, both of which have now been re-released on a single CD: “Mr. Fix It” and the extremely rare “California Dreaming”. Back then, the Brentford Road studio had just been treated to a fresh lick of paint, the studio band had a new line up and production had reached fever pitch. That very special Studio One sound was created in just a few months and gradually developed a certain pop appeal that was ideal for a voluble singer like Francis. Around this time Studio One was not only

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producing obligatory soul covers like “Chain Gang”, “Yester Me Yester You” and “Turn Back The Hands Of Time” but was also turning out Pop covers like “California Dreaming” or “Games People Play”. While “Mr. Fix It” suffers with a few riddims that were created just a bit too quickly, “California Dreaming” is far more relaxed and would have had the stuff to become a Reggae classic if the album had not been released on the poorly managed Bamboo label. The CD is a real find! As a bonus there are two tracks of “Let’s Go To Zion”, the only certified Studio One Roots cut by Winston Francis.

Andreas Mueller

VARIOUS ARTISTS The Hudson Affair Keith Hudson And Friends (Trojan/Sanctuary)

The first three tracks of this selection unveil the exceptional genius of producer Keith Hudson. In the Jamaica of 1968, Ken Boothe’s “Old Fashioned Way” and the versions “Dynamic Fashion Way”

by U Roy and “Spanish Omega”

by Dennis Alcapone were without equal; the alternating major-to-minor structure of “Old Fashioned Way” was nothing short of visionary. Moreover, the snappy ProtoReggae tune is a perfectly produced work of the highest musicianship, not always the norm during this era of quick-fire productions. Apart from that, Hudson was the first to see the potential of intelligent riddim recycling and his deejay cuts were produced before Duke Reid took U Roy into the studio and let him pimp his old Rocksteady tunes. Hudson went even further, investing more money and actually reworking the riddim: “Spanish Omega” was mas-

tered at a slightly slower tempo and “Dynamic Fashion Way” was given a new bass line. In both cases what came out was far more than merely a re-voiced track.

Each tune is different, sounds fresh. The work was rewarded and “Old Fashioned Way” became Keith Hudson’s first hit.

Time and again Hudson pushed the genre to its limits, showing the music’s infinite possibilities.

When he brought a moped into the studio and revved up the engine to give the intro to “S 90 Skank” more drive, the musicians laughed at him. Yet the track went on to be Hudson’s and a then little known deejay named Big Youth’s biggest hit. Hudson, who was already fairly well off when he came into the music business, proved to have a clever head for the money he made and always retained his artistic independence.

His flair for experimentation was nearly incomparable. Many tracks, especially those he voiced himself, are full of foreboding gloom.

“Darkest Night On A Wet Looking Road” is one such mystic-sounding cut; nobody wanted to hear it in Jamaica but the song was responsible for founding Hudson’s legend in Europe. Trojan gave the producer his own short-lived label in the early 70s and Hudson delivered the unheard of: “Melody Maker” seems to come directly from the depths of a scary, monster-ridden jungle, “Don’t Think About Me” turns the cheerfully youthful Horace Andy into The Prince Of Darkness and the surreal lyrics of “Class And Subject” sound like the lovelorn lament of a suicidal maniac. Almost every track on this anthology would be worth writing reams about, in each case concluding that it was something truly special. “The Hudson Affair” is the first chapter of a unique book that tells the producer’s story up to 1975. He continued to make exciting music in the following nine years up to his death in 1984 but that story is told elsewhere. Andreas Mueller

VARIOUS ARTISTS Wackies Sampler Vol. 2 (Wackies)

When the people at Basic Channel started re-releasing 80s Wackies’ albums on CD a while back, they should have started with this sampler. Although it never existed as an album as such and was only put together as a teaser – similar to the Blood & Fire compilations – I have yet to hear a better overview of and introduction to the sound philosophy of the New York label. All the key studios and every Reggae decade had their special sound and this is equally true of Lloyd Barnes’ 8channel studio in the Bronx, which incidentally gave us the first relevant outta yard sound.

Played by Wackies own musicians as well as visiting Jamaicans, the music repeatedly bears the subtle mark of underground New York psychedelic funk influences. Wackies’ sound is often compared to the similarly spacey Black Ark sound; however, Perry created his world with echoes and phasers, whereas Wackies took 70s Dub Stateside and extended it through intensive use of reverb. Apart from the albums the label produced, Wackies also put out several 12inch singles that this compilation introduces in CD format. Sugar Minott, a great friend of Mr. Bullwackie’s, is represented with three 12inch tunes and opens the album with “International Herb”, the refrain of which turns up again in his 1985 hit “Herbman Hustling”. There’s a wonderful instrumental version of Wayne Jarrett’s “Bubble Up”, complete with flute, on the “Rockfort Rock” riddim taken from one of the best Wackies’ albums (original title “Bubble Up”, re-release

name “Showcase Vol. 1”) and Horace Andy is also included with a non-album track. All in all there are nine 12inch tracks and just as many songs that have made their way onto the CD as appetizers for already re-released albums.

While you’ll need a magnifying glass and the detective skill of Sherlock Holmes to decipher the information on the cover, once you have, there’s no doubt which CD you should check out next.

This compilation is sure to make you want more.

Helmut Philipps

VARIOUS ARTISTS Tapper Zukie Presents Proud To Be Black Rare Roots & Culture From Tapper Zukie’s Star Label 1976 – 1988 (Trojan/Sanctuary)

With the early-70s release “Man Ah Warrior”, Tapper Zukie secured his place in the annals of Reggae history. Despite considerable success in the time post“Warrior”, he was loath to restrict himself to the fast-paced existence of a deejay. Tapper (or Tappa) began his second life as a producer with a handful of riddims borrowed from Bunny Lee and founded the Star label. Bearing the self-confident name of “Proud To Be Black”, this showcase gives us 18 in part truly rare, but always fabulous picks taken from 13 years of work in various studios. A trademark of Tapper Zukie’s best productions was an extremely deep, almost destructive bass sound that still has the power to wreck some modern speakers. “We A Feel It”, one of Alton Ellis’ most moving singles, is one such burner and Cornell Campbell’s “Press Along Natty” still provides an enormous thrust

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The Bunny Lee Rocksteady Years

tance to selecting truly rare tracks and ensuring high-quality re-mastering. Lovers of vinyl have now come to the end of this review.

Unfortunately the CD only really gets going towards the end with eight top-notch bonus tracks by Gregory Isaacs, Roman Stewart and Glen Brown himself, both in singing and melodica mode. The productions were all recorded from 1972 to 1976 and sound great, particularly the vocal tracks.

(Moll-Selekta)

Helmut Philipps

re

ISSUE #2 VARIOUS ARTISTS

Andreas Mueller

Most Reggae fans are likely to remember the trademark flying cymbals sound of the mid-70s and sufferer anthems by Johnny Clarke when they hear the name Bunny “Striker” Lee. However, the fact that Striker had already entered into production mode by the 1960s and gave us several immortal Rocksteady songs will perhaps only be known to collectors of obscure Trojan Records compilations or those who were around during the brief spell that Steve Barrow spent at that label, ensuring that halfway decent compilations were distilled from the label’s fat archives.

But for those recently bitten by the Reggae bug, it was pretty difficult to amass a comprehensive collection of Lee’s half-forgotten Rocksteady tunes. Moll-Selekta has now provided a collectors’ aid: “The Bunny Lee Rocksteady Years” is simply the best sampler on the topic.

These 25 select tracks bear all the hallmarks of an expert compilation; the collection is neither a parade of obvious hits, nor a set of dusty obscurities for nerds with a taste for comparing matrix numbers. The Sensations’ “Lonely Lover” takes the swinging lead in Bunny Lee’s Rocksteady world. The monster hit “My Conversation” by The Uniques, Slim Smith’s “Let Me Go Girl” and the eternal “Born To Love You” by The Sensations, all material that had previously only made its fragmented way onto a variety of poorly made and rarely legal compilations, are now here in compact disc format. There are also rarities by Dawn Penn with “Long Day, Short Night” and a 7inch of “To Sir With Love” which was recently auctioned for more than US$ 100. And then there are the prime cuts by Alva Lewis, Cynthia Richards and The Webber Sisters.

Glen Adams actually manages to score a hattrick in terms of late justice, treating us to a version of The Uniques’ “Gypsy Woman”, “I Can´t Help It” and the everlasting “Hold Down Miss Winey”. The CD sounds great almost from start to finish and only an extremely captious critic would note that Pat Kelly’s “The Dark End Of The Street” doesn’t strictly qualify as Rocksteady anymore but is instead an early Reggae tune. Whatever! This wonderful compilation has certainly set the minor label Moll-Selekta on a course from the midfield to the top of the re-isAndreas Mueller sue label league.

25 years after its creation. The fact that the producer could also be a captivating deejay on occasion can be heard on the extremely scarce 12inch version of The Mighty Diamond’s “Morgan The Pirate” featuring the master toaster. Furthermore, Dennis

mond during this time. Also missing are monster hits like Horace Andy’s “Natty Dread A Weh She Wants”, Prince Alla’s “Bosrah” and from the group Knowledge (who have now largely been forgotten) “Hail Dread”. But because the CD is among the most concentrated of the Trojan compilations, “Proud To Be Black” is also one of the label’s best.

Brown’s 1988 recording “Death Before Dishonour”, one of the best tracks from the singer’s later career, proves that Tapper was just as capable of turning out digital excellence. Unfortunately, the CD contains none of the masterpieces crafted for Beres Ham-

VARIOUS ARTISTS Glen Brown & Friends – Rhythm Master Volume One

RANKING JOE

(Hot Pot)

Dub It In A Dance

A regular at every dance in the 70s, “Dirty Harry” has remained the most successful and bestknown of Glen Brown’s riddims since its release in 1972. An unyielding one drop beat complete with chacka-chacka double chops and a catchy organ theme it also features a horn riff (not included in all versions) by Richard “Dirty Harry” Hall and Tommy McCook, who actually jointly created the riddim. Glenmore Lloyd Brown had worked for all the key studios as a vocalist since 1966 and in the early 70s he began his career as a melodica player and producer with his own labels like Dwyer or God Son. Brown would take all of his material to King Tubby and, forced to economize, had him do various (Dub) cuts for later release with new vocals featuring a host of deejays or as instrumental versions. Nine “Dirty Harry” tracks rub shoulders on this CD, from the original featuring I Roy and Prince Jazzbo, right up to Glen Brown’s superb version “Realise”. The album was released

by Hot Pot, the re-release label of Cooking Vinyl; pursuing a similar ideology to that of Blood & Fire, Hot Pot attaches great impor-

(Trojan/Sanctuary)

In his prime, Ranking Joe was one of the hottest deejays ever.

He graduated with honors from Daddy U Roy’s “Stur Gav HiFi” university with many unable to tell the master from his talented apprentice. Night after night, in seemingly endless toasting sessions, Joe used to entertain the audience with his cocky lyrics and Prince Tony Robinson ensured that Joe’s flow was also cut in vinyl. The hits from Dancehall’s early years are difficult to find nowadays and the recent re-issue wave deplorably neglected Ranking Joe. However, the re-release of “Dub It In A Dance”, one of Ranking Joe’s most successful LPs, goes a great distance towards bridging that musical gap.

This 1980 record was released on Trojan and sold like hot cakes, driven by the huge hit “Clark’s Booty Style”. Shortly before that, Errol Dunkley had brought Ranking Joe and Ray Symbolic HiFi to the UK and for the first time the British Isles got a taste of an authentic Jamaican sound system.

The UK massive – having been forced to subsist on a diet of overcopied Stur Gav tapes – went

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wild as Joe told stories about yard life and the British experience.

You can hear the whole gamut of raw Dancehall on “Dub It In A Dance”, fashion guidance on “Clark´s Booty Style”, ghetto politics on “Choice Of Colour” and “Cold Blood”, slackness (what else?) on “Slackness Style” and “Cocks Man” but overall, the record doesn’t sound quite as exciting today, due primarily to several slightly uninspired riddims.

But until Joe’s masterpiece “Saturday Night Jamdown Style” is re-released, “Dub It In A Dance” remains the best document currently available of a great Dancehall deejay. Andreas Mueller

DILLINGER Cocaine In My Brain – The Anthology (Trojan/Sanctuary)

During his 15 minutes of fame, Dillinger was matched in terms of impact only by Big Youth among the old-school deejays. A series of singles that were made at Channel One and still sound fresh today are some of the best deejay cuts ever. So how come they couldn’t come up with anything better to call this anthology than “Cocaine In My Brain”, after that one asinine song whose endless banality even saw ignorant Europeans buying it into the charts? It would have made more sense to call the anthology: “The Rise And Fall Of A Very Talented Deejay”.

Dillinger’s rise began at the magic hands of Lee Perry and the first ten tracks of the CD constitute none other than the “lost” LP “Dillinger According To Lee Perry”. In 1972, that old rascal Scratch had instantaneously recognized the potential of the deejay – who had earned his spurs working for the El Paso set-up –

and after advising a name change from Young Capone to Dillinger proceeded to have him voice these legendary cuts in a marathon all-night recording session. The words simply gushed out of the young artist and each of these tunes sounds like it was recorded at a live dance: “Headquarters”, “Tighten Up Skank”, “Cane River Rock”, “Dub Organizer” – deejay galore! Essential material that had previously only been available on rare 7inch singles and various compilations is now the reason to buy this CD. Arguments about money ended Dillinger’s time at the side of the genius. After a short, but extremely successful phase at Studio One (which is not documented on this CD for legal reasons), he worked with the Hookim brothers; unfortunately, the anthology only glosses over the time spent at Channel One. Key tunes like “Ragnampaiza”, “Eastman Skank” and “CB 200” are mentioned in the liner notes, but are unfortunately not on this collection. Instead, most of the second half of this double CD consists of trivial stuff produced by Bunny “Assembly Line” Lee that documents the fall of a deejay with little left to say. During the 80s, these tragic moments were recycled for a clutch of ever more slipshod LP compilations that not even the intervening period has managed to improve. As with so many of these Trojan anthologies, less would have been more and one CD would have been quite enough. Andreas Mueller

about the pioneers of Jamaican music and names will be dropped like Tommy McCook, Ernest Ranglin, Roland Alphonso, Derrick Morgan and Laurel Aitken. However, two men will generally be forgotten: Phillip “Boasy” James and Lloyd “Lloydie” Campbell. Yet in their guise as The Blues Busters, these two were also among the founding fathers of Jamaican pop music; they provided Coxsone Dodd with his first hits and quite incidentally qualify as one of the earliest soul duos in history. However “Behold – The Anthology” may ensure late justice for this pioneering twosome. This compilation’s 26 tracks treat your ears to a fabulous vocal duo that easily switches between genres. Next to smash hits like “Behold”, “Soon You’ll Be Gone” and “How Sweet It Is”, you’ll also find incredibly rare stuff like the early single “Little Vilma”.

James’ and Campbell’s unmitigated deep soul link them to Jamaican R&B and uptown Ska from Byron Lee’s studio. Jamaican music purists may have a problem with this collection but “Behold” is worth owning for its musical and historical significance enhanced by the excellent liner notes

by Tony Rounce who provides several previously undisclosed anecdotes from the Blues Busters heyday, the stone age of Jamaican show business. Andreas Mueller

TOMMY MCCOOK Real Cool – The Jamaican King Of The Saxophone ´66 –´77 (Trojan/Sanctuary)

THE BLUES BUSTERS Behold – The Anthology (Trojan/Sanctuary)

Seat a group of record collectors around a table, get them talking

Tommy McCook was 71 years old when his heart stopped beating; bearing the scars of various bypass operations, it seemed as if five decades as a professional musician had taken their toll. Mc-

Cook’s formidable musical oeuvre, be it as the musical director of the Skatalites, arranger for Duke Reid, driving force behind The Supersonics as well as saxophonist and flautist extraordinaire, has been well documented on numerous readily available records. But with “Real Cool” we now have a long overdue, all killer, no filler compilation. Under the auspices of McCook and to the delight of Duke Reid, The Supersonics began recycling old Ska crashers into cool ‘n’ bouncy Rocksteady anthems in 1966; “Inez” was such a tune. While structurally still of Ska persuasion, an airy arrangement as well as a weightless flute catapulted the old number into the new era and signposted the musical shape of things to come. On “Persian Cat Ska”, McCook managed to slightly slow down the tempo of the far-east sound borrowed from Don Drummond without losing any of its drive.

Even Bert Kaempfert’s schmaltzy love song “Spanish Eyes” became a must-hear given the McCook treatment, the mark of a truly brilliant arranger and band leader! But Tommy McCook didn’t just make Ska and Rocksteady history: when Reggae was young, he was there with great tunes and even remained in demand during the cloudy Dub ‘n’ Roots period while his horns versions of Johnny Clarke or Cornell Campbell hits became just as famous as the A sides. McCook went on to release whole instrumental Dub albums under his own name. The anthology comes to an abrupt end in 1977, at the zenith of McCook’s career. Soon after, men of his kind ceased to be the flavor of the day in the Kingston studios and lean years followed. It was only the successful Skatalites revival in the eighties that deservedly returned him to the limelight. McCook passed away safe in the knowledge that he was revered by hundreds of thousands of fans and “Real Cool” is a fitting monument to a great man. Andreas Mueller ★

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VARIOUS ARTISTS Rough Guide To Dub (World Music Network)

Anyone who is interested in World Music can’t escape Phil Stanton’s World Music Network label, of which the “Rough Guide” series is particularly well known. The “Rough Guide To Reggae” was already released a few years ago and now the “Rough Guide To Dub” is hot off the press. Both samplers were compiled by Reggae historian and Blood & Fire co-manager Steve Barrow. However, with only one exception the “Rough Guide To Dub” only contains tracks taken from the Blood & Fire catalogue, which also explains why the guide fails to make it past the 1970s. 10 of the 20 tracks alone were engineered by King Tubby. The rest are split between Prince Jammy, Errol Thompson, Lee Perry and Joe Joe Hookim.

The CD thus features the most important Jamaican masters, apart from Scientist, represents Jamaican Dub in the most exemplary fashion and is aesthetically very pleasing. But what good is a guide that doesn’t make it past second base?

VARIOUS ARTISTS Down Santic Way (Pressure Sounds)

Not too far removed from this in terms of style is the Pressure Sounds album “Down Santic Way” with productions by Leonard Chin from 1973 to 1975.

This compilation also contains a number of vocal tracks, e.g. by Freddie McKay, I Roy or by a certain William Shakespeare, who then turns out to be none other than Gregory Isaacs. In line with the style of the times, the productions sound bone-dry, brittle and rough. Even if Tubby occasionally adds a little reverb or Augustus Pablo plays his melodica, the groove refuses to flow. Driven by

a dry snare and spare guitar riffs, these pared-down rhythms stumble along coarse and unpolished.

While the Pressure Sounds people might tout this CD as a true treasure from the troves, permit me the iconoclastic remark that this treasure demands a certain willingness to suffer on the part of the listener.

VARIOUS ARTISTS Run It Red (Blood & Fire)

However, with “Run It Red” Blood & Fire has simultaneously brought out a second Dub compilation that also contains tracks taken only from the Blood & Fire archives. The album was put to-

gether by Simply Red front man Mick Hucknall, a relatively understandable choice considering he is one of the co-founders of Blood & Fire next to Steve Barrow and Bob Harding. Surprisingly enough, though, in compiling this tribute in honor of Blood & Fire’s 10-year anniversary, Hucknall mainly drew on dubs by King Tubby and his protégé Prince Jammy. All of the tracks (naturally) come from the 1970s, most of them from the first half of the decade. A solid selection, but one that is hardly likely to have dyed-in-the-wool Dub fans jumping up and down – dubs of classic Bunny Lee productions are simply too well known. To be perfectly honest, this jubilee album is only of any real interest thanks to the inclusion of several vocal tracks. Tunes by Gregory Isaacs, Big Youth, Prince Alla, The Congos, etc. appear in a gratifyingly regular manner, bang on cue every time and things begin to get a bit boring.

LEROY SMART Smart In Dub (Jamaican Recordings)

Following seamlessly on is the new “Smart In Dub” album. The beats sound even rounder and the bass even warmer on these tracks. Tubby didn’t exactly pull out all the stops with the dubs (hardly surprising in view of the 200 rhythms Bunny Lee averaged per week) and delivered a routine minimal mix. Sly Dunbar also seems more relaxed and along with Santa Davis couples a sparser, but no less driving snare with Robbie’s softly grooving bass lines. Occasionally there’s a wellknown riddim like “My Conversation” or “Zion Gate”, all very laidback and dotted with fragmented Leroy Smart snippets. Not sensational, but very pleasant...

REVOLUTIONARIES Earthquake Dub (Hot Pot)

RANKING DREAD

“Earthquake Dub” by Ossie Hibbert bears witness to just how much the sound changed with the emergence of The Revolutionaries (with Sly & Robbie).

Sly’s unmistakable Rockers style drives well-oiled beats, the rhythms powered by an awesome four-to-the-floor dynamic that will astound you. Hibbert, who mixed the album in record time, may have benefited from this as the dubs themselves are not particularly exciting. However, whatever the tracks may lack in the way of creative dubs is more than made up for by superbly crafted rhythms like “Pick Up The Pieces”, “Declaration Of Rights” or “So Jah Say”.

Ranking Dread In Dub (Silver Kamel)

Finally, there’s the re-release of “Ranking Dread In Dub” that originally came out as the Dub album to “Fattie Boom Boom” in 1982.

Half the tracks were played by Sly & Robbie and mixed by King Tubby, the other half played by The Roots Radics and mixed by Scientist. The quality of the tracks is correspondingly high. It is particularly interesting to compare the sound of the Rhythm Twins to that of the Radics and to analyze Scientist’s style with regard to Tubby’s. All in all a fine piece of work from the golden age of Dub that deserves to be re-released. ★ René Wynands

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SKA CUBANO

tunes are sung in Spanish and English with solos that will melt your heart. If you think Buena Vista Social Club packs too little punch and the thumping Ska beat is too raucous, you simply have to buy this CD. But, then, so does everybody else!

Latin Goes Ska – Again!

(Casino Sounds)

You really do have to wonder at times why perfectly obvious musical marriages are less common than you might expect. Back in the days when Ska was young, it drew on Jazz, R&B and to a lesser extent Latin influences (despite Jamaica’s close proximity to Cuba).

The Skatalites occasionally used compositions by Benny Moré, Mungo Santamaria and Rafael Hernández, successfully giving them a rhythmic sex change but that was about it and that’s the way it remained for a long time as there was barely a band in the following decades that seemed inclined to produce a sophisticated blend of Ska and Latin, with few exceptions like “Jump With Joey” and “Yeska” from the North American west coast. That’s all due to change now because we have “Ska Cubano”! Interestingly enough, this project began in London. Peter Scott from the Casino Sounds label and Natty Bo, member of the London Ska band “Top Cats” (whose passion for Ska is only rivaled by their pronounced weakness for tasty Cuban morsels) went on various trips to Santiago de Cuba and taught them a thing or two about Caribbean sounds. Sounds odd, but that’s the way it is. The result, however, sounds less odd: Ska became established in Cuba, a Ska scene developed and brought forth this super-group. This album contains 16 tracks that succeed in giving you the best of both worlds: beautifully grooving old-school Ska riffs, enhanced by technically demanding horn arrangements. Add to this the much-loved percussive elements common to Salsa ensembles and, naturally, some wonderful chorus arrangements. The

ROTTERDAM SKA-JAZZ FOUNDATION Sunwalk (Grover Records)

DOREEN SCHAFFER Adorable You (Studio One/Imp.)

To follow on from the successful debut single, “Adorable You”, Studio One now gives us the album – a mere 40 years later!!! The single was released in 1964 and Doreen Schaffer was closely linked with the Coxsone camp during the Ska and Rocksteady eras. The Skatalites – to all intents and purposes a Jazz-oriented instrumental combo – hired Doreen to provide some light relief as a vocalist during the band’s live performances. As these often spanned several hours in length, it was impossible for the horn section to both deliver invariably brilliant solos as well as simultaneously honk out the offs.

That’s more than any set of lungs can take! During gig-free periods, she spent time recording at Brentford Road, either under her own name or in combination with other in-house vocalists and released a stack of extremely successful singles, including “The Vow” and “Welcome You Back Home” with Jackie Opel as well as the candycoated “Sugar Sugar I Love You”.

The album features the originals of all of these tracks plus two a likkle extended versions. Other than a few songs that crept into the selection with a computercontrolled drum machine soul, “Adorable You” is a big-hit collection with 13 classics, of which the connoisseur is likely to have had the original singles for a long time, though.

Helmut Philipps

After their slightly somber EP, our favorite Dutchmen have now managed to capture the sun on disc for their new full-length album. With a fresh line up, the eight musicians give us a total of eleven tracks that are positively bristling with fun. The four piece horn section ensures lush arrangements and superb solos; additionally, the two Bijleveld brothers Sybren (sax) and Arjen (trombone) are responsible for the majority of the band’s own compositions here which account for just under half of the track list. The other half consists of successful covers and reprises of Jazz and Ska tunes that are likely to please both aficionados and novices. From Charlie Parker’s “Yardbird Suite” via the Skatalite’s “Chinatown” and “Life Wire” right up to Benny Golson’s “Blues March”, this CD contains demanding and undemanding material with an off-beat that runs the scale from grooving to frenetic then back to relaxed. And thanks to an amazingly tight rhythm section – made up of drums, bass, guitar and a pulsating organ or piano – this off-beat is delivered in swinging perfection. The album was recorded in just three days in January, “live” in the studio with all the musicians recorded together, not in succession, as is usual nowadays. This ensures an incredibly lively sound that certainly leaves room for mistakes (of which you won’t find any, though), but also captures a lot of atmosphere and permits creative flow. Max Bollemann – known for his international releases in the Jazz world – provides the necessary production flair. This is a band you have to see live – and this album gives you the greatest possible live music feel available on your home stereo.

VARIOUS ARTISTS Trojan Ska Rarities Box Set (Trojan/Sanctuary)

Having spent decades releasing the same old 100 Ska tunes on a 100 or more Ska compilations, Trojan Record’s box-set series is finally set to bring joy to every true Ska fan. Prepare to bask in the warm glow produced by 50 great-sounding, bona fide rarities! Productions

by Byron Lee, Duke Reid, Leslie Kong, Sonia Pottinger and Ronnie Nasralla present a string of artists whose names will be unfamiliar to Ska-newbies and the majority of Ska experts alike: The Delkins, The Virtues and The Ambassadors, The Cherry Pies and Dotty & Bonny, just to name a few. In addition, there is some virtually unknown material by Tommy McCook, Don Drummond and also The Four Aces. A marvelous musical document the compilation also contains a number of jewels by Toots & The Maytals, Alton Ellis and The Upsetters that had unjustly escaped discovery until now. ★ Alexander Birk

96 ★ REVIEWS

BOOK OF MEMORY: A RASTAFARI TESTIMONY Composed by Prince Elijah Williams, edited by Michael Kuelker CaribSound, ISBN 0-9746021-0-8 For the majority of people that live outside of Jamaica, Rastafari is commonly associated with Bob Marley and Reggae music; for a minority of adventurous tourists, it may even conjure images of exotic, dreadlocked beach bums lounging under palm trees in the sun. But behind the clichés of a jolly, virile dread smoking a big spliff are tales of perpetual hardship and injustice, particularly for those that came to the faith before Mr. Marley brought an awareness of it to the outside world.

Based on the oral testimony of one particular follower who accepted Rastafari at the age of thirteen in the early 1950s, “Book of Memory” is a fascinating attempt to delve behind such myths and expose the actuality of Rasta livity, (lifestyle) which offers peaceful determination as a form of resistance in a world seen as hovering on the edge the apocalypse. In contrast to the myriad academic texts that have previously examined Rastafari, this book ventures several steps further by being grounded in the voice of Prince Elijah Williams, a Rasta woodcarver and drummer living in a board shack on the outskirts of one of Jamaica’s most popular tourist areas; Williams is illiterate, therefore the book is composed largely of oral testimony recounted over a ten year period to editor/co-author Michael Kuelker, a human rights activist and teacher from St. Louis, Missouri. As Williams recounts a life of hardship, describing with poetic clarity the senseless beatings, jailing and continual harassment meted out to his community just because of their chosen faith, a broader picture emerges of the rampant poverty, deep-set Eurocentric prejudices and widespread power imbalances that have incessantly blight-

ed post-independence Jamaica.

Williams makes it clear that to be a Rasta in the 1950s and ‘60s meant being jailed or beaten for no apparent reason and being publicly mocked and ostracised for one’s appearance and beliefs; Rasta children were regularly barred from attending schools and adults often had their dreadlocks and beards forcibly shaved off by the police. The book even suggests that police and soldiers killed several Rastas in Jamaica simply because of their chosen lifestyle. Although Prince explains that certain attitudes have improved following Bob Marley’s rise to international stardom, being a Rasta in contemporary Jamaica often means being publicly ridiculed for proclaiming an African identity in a post-colonial society that has largely been shaped by Eurocentric ideals. Prince and his fellow Rastas are literally landless peasants living in conditions that are only marginally improved from those endured by his enslaved ancestors; after decades of lowly toil, working on sugar cane estates for next to nothing or creating charcoal in giant hillside pits, they are presently squatting in shacks that are earmarked for demolition because a new road aimed at stimulating the tourist trade is going to cut directly through their hillside community.

As such, the social victimization and ongoing police harassment they are subjected to seems particularly unwarranted. Despite such senseless oppression, as the voice of Prince and his friends make clear, the Rasta response is a meditative one that proscribes little more than peace, love and unity for all of humanity, a highly inspiring message delivered in the cryptic wordplay that forms the Rastafari vernacular, which is left unaltered here thus capturing a feeling of authenticity. Along the way, Kuelker teases out keen observances about the present state of a bankrupt Jamaica that has sold its soul to the IMF, foreign businesses and exploitative

tourism. Rastafari’s contradictory relationship to Christianity is also touched on: we learn that Rastas may use the Bible to defuse or deny the doctrine of Christianity itself, and although this seeming conundrum may not be harmonized, in Prince’s way of thinking, it makes perfect sense, for there is much wisdom in the sacred text, he posits, even though it was drunken, human fornicators that wrote it.

Though Williams is a member of the obscure Nyahbinghi group Prince Tebah and the Sons of Thunder, the book does not really focus on music. Nevertheless, Prince refers to fallen Rasta singers such as Icho Candy and provides insight into proclamations made by iconic Rasta broadcaster Mutabaruka, while the mirthful non-interview Kuelker attempts to glean from Bunny Wailer also speaks volumes. In summary “Book of Memory” is an eminently thought provoking, highly inspiring read.

David Katz

BROTHER MAN Roger Mais Macmillan Caribbean ISBN 1-4050-6296-7 “Brother Man” was published in the year that the first Rastafarian settlement, Pinnacle in Sligoville, St. Catherine, was destroyed by the police, long before wearing dreadlocks became a universal phenomenon. Fifty years after it was published, “Brother Man” was revived as a 173-page novel by the organisers of the Calabash International Literary Festival. The story of an uncomplicated Rasta man with an exceptionally generous spirit , it is as poignant in resuscitation as when it was first written. Although Rastafarians are no longer at risk for the savage beating that Brother Man endures and triumphs over at the end of the novel, the story is timeless because the book’s central themes of friendship, betrayal, envy, lust and greed are eternal. “Brother Man” is the often unwitting hub of a tale which goes round and

REVIEWS ★ 97

round, the spokes of other persons radiating out from his serene, too-trusting being. Papacita, a trickster, desires Minette, the girl Brother Man had taken in off the streets, and joins with Cordelia, who eventually goes mad and kills her child Tad who Brother Man had tried to heal, in planting the counterfeit coins that he Papacita had been making good money by passing out. He abandons his live-in lover Girlie after coming into money and bails the man he framed in an attempt to win Minette’s favour. The plan backfires as Girlie sinks a knife in his back. The progression of the story is punctuated by a series of “Chorus in the Lane”, where the people of the area speak a babble of their concerns, grouses and interests; in that regard, Jamaica has not changed much in 50 years. Although Sir Coxsone Dodd was just thinking over this music thing when “Brother Man” was conceived, the book could be set to a soundtrack of the music that followed: Lady Saw’s “Stab Out The Meat” could have been written for Girlie, Papacita’s main woman, as she demands “hurt me and love me” when they make up with near brutal lovemaking after one of his escapades.

And when Brother Man is back on his feet after being set upon by the mob, Bob Marley could have been moved to write “Natty Dread rides again…”

Mel Cooke

SOUND CLASH: JAMAICAN DANCEHALL CULTURE AT LARGE Carolyn Cooper Palgrave Macmillan ISBN 1-4039-6424-6 Carolyn Cooper’s collection of essays on Dancehall culture, aimed at both negotiating and defending this social environment, was originally meant to be called “Border Clash” – after Ninjaman’s tune of the same name, a line from which runs, “yu know dem send fi di Don inna di border clash“. Ninja’s “Border Clash” role is well known; he is one of the most experienced warriors in the territorial contests between rivaling deejays or sound systems; the area dons/community leaders, however, play a much more ambivalent role. On the one hand, they occupy a caring, responsible position for their ghetto people, but on the other they are the pawns of politicians seeking to assert their interests. They also wage a continual war against other area dons and their communities.

Carolyn Cooper, Don Dada of the Academy, loyally committed to “borderline guerilla scholarship” doesn’t mince her words in sounding out the cultural war zones in which rivaling political, religious, linguistic, moral or musical systems vie for definitional supremacy: uptown vs. downtown, politicians vs. ghetto youths, Rastafari

vs. Christianity, Roots Reggae vs.

Dancehall, English vs. Jamaican Patois, culture vs. slackness etc.

The fact that “Sound Clash” was finally chosen as the title is a concession to the sales arguments of the publisher. However, it can also be justified because in comparison to her debut “Noises In The Blood – Orality, Gender, And The ‘Vulgar’ Body of Jamaican Popular Culture” (1995), the slightly less demanding “Sound Clash” is more clearly focused on Dancehall. In her position as Professor for Literature and Cultural Studies at the University of the West Indies, she is neither at liberty to nor is it her intent to tell a story based on musical facts and figures; the supplement “Dancehall Culture at Large” in the title means that Dancehall is perceived as an important and valuable expression of Jamaican culture and is rooted in African traditions. The fact that Cooper is permanently cast in the role of defender is due to both local and global resistance, which she is adept at countering. To see the “provocative representation of female sexuality” as a form of “emancipatory body politics” and to understand this as an “acknowledgment of the survival and adaptation of African female fertility rituals” constitutes an important emancipatory step, but one that leaves PC-ites mistaking slackness for misogynistic up in arms. Cooper is similarly opposed to globalization – a “cunning euphemism for the old imperial politics of appropriation and exploitation” – in which the local ceases to matter. She therefore makes it blatantly clear that she is writing from a Jamaican point of view, from a place that has always been on the cultural fringe and that serves as a garbage tip for the waste products of the so-called first world. Cooper equally criticizes postmodernist theories; after all, the celebration of hybrid cultures, this thing about flowing identities and the dissolution of nations make little sense for real-life Jamaica, the place where people have always fought

a hard battle to be able to call an identity their own. Furthermore, this battle is vital as a means of putting up at least some resistance to neo-colonial forces. Yet Cooper does not look upon this local place as being hermetically sealed, instead it is open to all sides. She unifies the local with the global– “Jamaican Dancehall culture is the mega-wattage sound system of this newly globalized national identity” – and clarifies that both are interdependent and cannot be considered separately. The fact that Cooper herself belongs to the upper middle class does not detract from her credibility since she uses rather than misuses her status. For instance, she steps on Prime Minister Patterson’s toes in championing a constitution written in Jamaican Patois that the entire nation would be able to understand.

Carolyn Cooper has truly demolished the ivory tower of academia. Thanks to her efforts, the International Reggae Studies Unit, which provides support for research projects on Reggae / Dancehall, has been up and running for 10 years, a library and audio-library were set up on the topic and famous artists like Capleton and Bounty Killer or important producers such as Jeremy Harding give lectures and put their work up for discussion. She sees herself as a cultural critic, liaising at the frontiers between cultural zones. Not an easy task! In a manner not dissimilar to the legendary Maroon heroine, Nanny, who is said to have used her generously proportioned rear quarters to deflect the bullets of her enemies, Carolyn Cooper is an equally fearless Maroon fighter, but one that employs brains rather than body as her line of defense. With “Sound Clash” she has made a further contribution to tearing down existing barriers; at a time when Jamaican music is generally being vilified as “hate music”, this is nothing short of crucial. ★ Ellen Koehlings

98 ★ CHARTS

RICHIE B`S JAMAICA`S TOP REGGAE SINGLES

SOUTH FLORIDA TOP REGGAE SINGLES

01. Kiprich - Telephone Thing Big Yard 02. Junior Kelly - Receive VP/AL.TA.FA.AN. 03. Vybz Kartel - I Neva Don Corleon 04. Shane O - Lightning Flash Jah Snowcone 05. Wayne Marshall - Mek Dem Cum Don Corleon 06. Elephant Man - Calling Out Birchill 07. Buju Banton & Anthony Cruz - Place Too Bloody Delperies Rec. 08. Mr. Vegas - Last Week Studio 2000 09. Leroy Smart - Girl Yuh Too Worldwide Rec. 10. Beenie Man - A Nuh Mi Don Corleon 11. Sizzla - Run Out Pon Dem Jah Snowcone 12. Norris Man - Home And Away Vertex Prod.

13. Little Hero - Inna Di Ghetto Yellowmoon Rec. 14. Assassin - Don`t Like You Jah Snowcone 15. Derrick Parker - Buss Mi Appeal Mt. Sinai Rec. 16. Macka Diamond - Let Off Di Money Birchill 17. Vybz Kartel - School Bus Adidjahiem 18. Richie Spice - Operation Kingfish Delperies Rec. 19. Yami Bolo & Iley Dread - I Am A Light Kings Of Kings 20. Elephant Man - Willie Bounce Q 45

01. Buju Banton & Anthony Cruz - Place To Bloody Delperies Rec. 02. Assassin - As A Man Steely & Clevie 03. Kiprich - Telephone Thing Big Yard 04. Richie Spice - Operation Kingfish Delperies Rec. 05. Freddie McGregor - Bangarang VP/Big Ship 06. Fantan Mojah - Hail The King Down Sound Rec. 07. Jah Cure - Hi Hi South Block 08. Richie Spice - All Day All Night South Block 09. Damian Marley - Welcome To Jamrock Ghetto Youths United 10. Buju Banton - Ride This Steely & Clevie 11. Peter Tosh & Buju Banton - Must Get A Beaten Rocky Gibbs 12. Richie Spice - The Way You`re Living Pow Pow Prod.

13. Marcia Griffiths & Beres Hammond - Focusing Time VP Rec. 14. Turbulence - Notorious THC Muzik 15. Beenie Man - A Nuh Mi Don Corleon 16. Shabba Ranks & Danni - Lively Up Yourself VP/HC&F 17. Sizzla - Ain`t Gonna See Us Fall Free Willy 18. Chrisinty - Oh Shelia G String 19. Mikey Spice - Buy Me A Rose VP/Joe Frasier 20. Freddie McGregor - Lock It Down Jah Ruby Rec.

(Compilation was done based on information received from

(The New York and South Florida Reggae Charts are compiled by Clinton Lindsay

various Sound Systems, Record Shops and Clubs.)

from sale reports submitted by the areas’ leading retail stores.)

NEW YORK TOP REGGAE SINGLES

CHOICE FM TOP REGGAE SINGLES

01. Damian Marley - Welcome To Jamrock Ghetto Youths United 02. Buju Banton & Anthony Cruz - Place Too Bloody Delperies Rec. 03. Fantan Mojah - Hail The King Down Sound Rec. 04. Turbulence - Notorious THC Muzik 05. Beenie Man - A Nuh Mi Don Corleon 06. Sizzla - Run Out Pon Dem VP/Jah Snowcone 07. Assassin - As A Man Steely & Clevie 08. Abijah - Sun Is Shining Big League 09. Freddie McGregor - Bangarang VP/Big Ship 10. Causion - Breaking Up Jasfar 11. Richie Spice & Chuck Fender - Freedom Big League 12. Richie Spice - Operation Kingfish Delperies Rec. 13. Kiprich - Telephone Thing VP/Big Yard 14. I-Wayne - Lava Ground VP/Loyal Soldiers 15. Junior Kelly - Receive VP/AL.TA.FA.AN. 16. Assassin - Step Pon Dem Birch/Echo 17. Richie Spice - My People Super Power Rec. 18. Little Hero - Inna Di Ghetto Yellowmoon Rec. 19. Khari Kill - Picture Of Selassie Massive B 20. Chezidek - Dem A Fight We Massive B

01. Damian Marley - Welcome To Jamrock Ghetto Youths United 02. L.O.C. - Ring Ding Ding Street Tuff 03. Turbulence - Notorious THC Muzik 04. Capleton - Long Time South Rakkas Crew 05. Capleton - Dem Nuh Know Mi Birchill 06. Assassin - As A Man Steely & Clevie 07. T.O.K. - Footprints Don Corleon 08. Assassin - Some Gal Birchill 09. Bascom X - Love You The Same Way Free Willy 10. Morgan Heritage - Still The Same Birchill 11. Kiprich - Telephone Thing Big Yard 12. Junior Kelly - Receive VP/AL.TA.FA.AN. 13. Buju Banton - Ride This Steelie & Clevie 14. Sizzla - Spring Break South Rakkas Crew 15. Beenie Man & Devonte - Imagination Charm Jamaica 16. Peter Spence - Stir It Up Home Grown 17. Peter Hunnigale - Another Day Rads 18. Singing Melody - Let Me Love You Energy Beat 19. GI Joe - Danger In Love Cabbie Rec. 20. Bitty McLean - Never Let Me Go Peckings (Compiled from data from London`s hottest Reggae music stores)

SOUTH FLORIDA TOP REGGAE ALBUMS

BBC 1XTRA TOP REGGAE SINGLES

01. Various Artists - Reggae Hits Vol. 34 Jet Star 02. Morgan Heritage – Full Circle VP/71 Rec. 03. Marcia Griffiths – Shining Time VP/Cell Block 04. Various Artists - R & B Hits Reggae Style Vol. 3VP/Joe Frasier 05. Jah Cure – Freedom Blues VP Rec. 06. Various Artists – Riddim Driven: Binghi Trod VP/South Block 07. Various Artists - Universal Message Vol. 3 VP Rec. 08. Luciano – Hail The Comforter Jet Star 09. Various Artists - Riddim Driven: Sleepy Dog VP/Steely & Clevie 10. Various Artists – Drop Leaf Rhythm Don Corleon

01. Turbulence - Notorious THC Muzik 02. Damien Marley - Welcome To Jamrock Ghetto Youths United 03. Foxy Brown & Sizzla - Come Fly With Me Def Jam 04. L.O.C. - Ring Ding Ding Street Tuff 05. Buju Banton & Sizzla - All Shall Be Well Abijazz 06. T.O.K. – Journey Birchill 07. Elephant Man - Willie Bounce Q 45 08. Kiprich - Telephone Thing Big Yard 09. Capleton – Gash 13 Tribe 10. Buju Banton & Anthony Cruz - The Place Too Bloody Delperies Rec.

(Compiled by Clinton Lindsay from sale reports submitted by

(Compiled from various record shops nationwide)

the areas’ leading retail stores)