ROOF TOP SKANKING

VARIOUS ARTISTS

  1. Yasus Afari : Have Up In A Yull
  2. Captain Barkey : Baby Dear
  3. Apache Scratchy : Minutt Powder Nutten
  4. Double Ugley : Seven Hero Dance
  5. Garnett Silk : King Moses
  6. Professor Frisky & Passion : My Man
  7. Mikey Spice : You Caught Me
  8. Jigsy King : Rail Up
  9. Cutty Ranks : A Yuh Figuar
  10. Anthony Blackwood : Ghetto
  11. John Junior ; How Can I Forget
  12. Muma C ; Ya Nuh Fi Do It
  13. Singing Brady : Farmer Man
  14. Junior Demus : Love 

Release info :

This compilation set partly consists of the red hot “Bam” riddim. This riddim was given birth on Cutty Ranks’ hit “Who Seh Mi Done”. They were using a riddim track called “Murder She Wrote” and while Cutty was recording the engineer slipped in parts of Jimmy Cliff’s “Wonderful World, Beautiful People” and Cutty wasn’t aware of this, because all he heard was the first backing track. The result was a big number one hit, both in Jamaica and the UK. (Actually the “Murder She Wrote” riddim became more popular known than the “Bam” riddim because of Chaka Demus & Pliers huge hit of the same name).

The “Bam” riddim featured on this CD is consisting of the two riddims mentioned before, interchanged with a hip-hop/ragga track. The great Apache Scratchy tells us it’s not good to use processed instant food, while Double Ugley explains us there are seven more heroes to think about to name a dance as opposed to the (Paul) Boggle dance. Also present on this hard-hitting compilation is the great Cutty Ranks on a killer, hip-hop inspired ragga riddim. Nice is a reworking by Mikey Spice of an old Heptones Studio One riddim, John Junior takes care of the “Moving Away” track originally made popular by the great Ken Boothe. This set of music features the dub poet Yasus Afari. His difference with Mutabaruka and Oku Onuora is that he performs his poems over dancehall music and when you’re in Jamaica there’s a good chance you might hear him perform on a sound system.

 

All in all a very good selection of creative riddims and… conscious lyrics.

Text : Robert “Jah Robbie” Kuijpers