Today’s installment in our series on abandoned places takes us to macabre sites and the sociopaths who once inhabited them. Find a puppy to hug. Continue reading
jamaica
In 1985, Wayne Smith and King Jammy teamed up to create what is quite possibly the greatest dancehall riddim of all time. They called it Sleng Teng. They released a song with it, called “Under Mi Sleng Teng.” The rest is history. Continue reading
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