Jamaica in the 80s and early 90s was a tough place. OK, I wasn’t there, but the country was certainly facing a lot of challenges. By 1982, the spiritual godfather of reggae, Bob Marley was dead. Peter Tosh would be brutally murdered in 1987. In 1980, after years of left-leaning governments, the Reagan-allied Edward Seaga took over as prime minister and the political violence would continue for much of the next 30 years. Meanwhile Jamaica’s economy was decimated by cocaine-related violence, high inflation and IMF-mandated austerity measures.
But despite all that misery, Jamaica, the tiny little island, truly grew into a world superpower when it came to music. Here are some tracks from the first post-Bob generation of Jamaican dancehall performers. This isn’t a canon, just a small selection of songs I like. So turn up your subwoofer…
“Diseases” by Michigan and Smiley – 1982
“Zungguzungguguzungguzeng” by Yellowman – 1983
“Police in Helicopter” by John Holt – 1983
“Under Mi Sensi” by Barrington Levy – 1984
“Herbman Smuggling” by Yellowman and Fathead – 1984
“Here I Come” by Barrington Levy – 1984
“Under Mi Sleng Teng” by Wayne Smith – 1985
“Agony” by Red Dragon – 1988
“Murder Dem” by Ninjaman – 1989
“The Herb” by Tony Rebel – 1990
Nicodemus and Super Cat perform live in New York – 1990
“Dem No Worry We” by Super Cat – 1992
“You Don’t Love Me (No, no, no)” by Dawn Penn – 1992
