You are currently browsing the category archive for the 'rasta' category.
by Cousin Geoff
I’m rolling out a new feature here on Cousins Vinyl. It’s called “Guess That Sample”.
It’s really a shame that sampling is pretty much outlawed now in hip-hop; it’s killing the genre. Sampling is what the art is based on - not only is it a tribute to the funk and jazz that came before it, but it’s how it was born in the first place. It’s probably why I gravitate towards the old school stuff, yeah - I grew up on it - but I really have no interest in listening to most of today’s rap: some bullshit negative lyrics backed by a generic, synthetic beat made by the same two or three guys that sell ‘em to all the top rappers. It’s garbage - give me the old stuff with heavy samples any day.
A lot of times I’ll be listening to a 70s funk or jazz album and I’ll have one of those - ”hey! that’s the sample off the so and so record!” - moments. Justin and I just drafted a bunch of 70s jazz/funk records off a collection we bought recently. I was listening to this Rasta Afro-funk group called Cymande tonight, their self-titled debut album, and I heard a sample I recognized right away. It’s from their song, Dove.
Listen to it and see if you can guess who sampled it. Then click “read the rest…” below to get the answer and hear the track that it’s featured on.
by Cousin Geoff
Wendy Miller & Mike Lilly recorded this album, Country Old Country New on Brighton, Michigan’s Old Homestead record label in 1975. A really strong album throughout, it features a great original spiritual roots song, My God’s Not Dead. The song was written by Mike and his mother, Betty Lilly.
I’m drawn to this type of music because of it’s honesty. I’ve been increasingly into bluegrass music the past few years, and it’s roots music at it’s finest. My dad and I drove up north this past weekend and we listened to XM’s bluegrass junction station the entire way. So in my quest to dig deeper into the genre, I’ve naturally found some wonderful local records, as this overlaps with my love of long-lost Michigan recordings.
I’ve always found a similar connection to bluegrass and reggae. Both are music of the people with similar themes thoughout, including their own sources of spiritual strength: Jesus with bluegrass and Jah with reggae. My God’s Not Dead reminded me of the Bob Marley song Jah Live, written in response to the negativity towards Rastas after the death of their profit, Etheopean Emporer Haile Salassie I. Bob put out this song a day or two after his death, with an incredible response by Jamaican Rastafarians.
Fellow Wailer and devout Rastafarian Peter Tosh’s first solo album (although he was backed in the studio by many members of the Wailers-but not Marley) was the epic Legalize It. The track Igziabher (Let Jah Be Praised) remains a Rastafarian classic, and displays Tosh’s amazing songwriting abilities.
by Cousin Geoff
I’ve had this record for a while now and it’s easily one of my favorite dub albums. If you’re just learning about dub, you could start with King Tubby or Lee Perry, or just prepare for a totally different listening experience - the deconstruction of reggae music.
Jamaican born Jah Bunny was the drummer for Dennis Bovell, perhaps the UK’s most influencial reggae artist of the 70s and 80s as a band leader for his group Matumbi, as well as a producer and solo artist. Although Mutumbi was at it’s core a roots band, Dennis Bovell was also very involved in the dub art form, and no doubt his influence rubbed off on Jah Bunny.
This 1980 private label LP is an adventurous but laid back dub effort, and one I’d highly recommend as a hidden gem for reggae/dub collectors. It flows pleasantly and coherently through guitar and bass manipulations to compliment Jah Bunny’s rhythmic creations, with no worries and no hurry. If you want to listen to modern dub that you can just put on, walk away, and fully relax, then look for this one or something similar. It’s as good a Sunday afternoon listen as it is a late Saturday night one.
Jah Bunny currently plays drums and percussion, and sings backup vocals for the UK ska/punk band Freetown, a band I would definitely go see if they played in Ypsilanti!
Listen to the lead off track off the Dubs International album, although unless you can turn this way up or put on headphones for the bass, you might not fully appreciate it:
I’m going to dedicate this to President Bush:
Bunny Wailer, quiet Rastarfari spiritual leader of the Wailers, knew the battle of Good versus Evil. On his Tribute LP on his own Solomonic label, he sings, Time Will Tell.
Listen:
