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
Not all rap is just endless metaphors and wordplay. The “story rap” packs its narrative into a 3 minute single. Here are some of my favorite story raps. I even tried to pull from different regions and styles. NYC is heavily represented of course. That’s mainly because of Nas, Mos Def and Gang Starr, who all seem to love doing story raps. But don’t forget the Dirty South and West coast. They’re representin’ too.
“Crime Story” by DMX
An armed robbery goes wrong, so the scofflaw is forced to hide from the police. While in hiding, the protagonist reflects on his life and decides his only option is a suicide mission against the precinct house. Note the cameo by a young Ja Rule.
“I Gave You Power” by Nas
Nas is probably one of the rappers most closely associated with story raps. This one is written from the POV of a gun. It’s a risky narrative strategy but I think it works. And unlike an actual gunshot wound, the song’s nice jazzy 90s beat doesn’t hurt.
“It Was a Good Day” by Ice Cube
A day in the life of Ice Cube, rapped over top of a thick Isley Brothers sample. Sometimes everything really is alright. As Mr. Cube would say, sometimes you just need to “put that ass to sleep.”
“Betrayal” by Gang Starr feat. Scarface
Between Gang Starr’s Guru and Scarface, these are two of the greatest rap voices ever. On this track Scarface tells a story about an athletically-gifted kid who tries to live a clean life until “a group of knuckleheads came through jumpin.”
“The Heist” by Big L
Big L teaches us how to set someone up for a robbery/mugging. Maybe if OJ listened to this he wouldn’t be in prison now. Oh well.
“Crosstown Beef” by Medina Green feat. Mos Def
This track was on the classic “Soundbombing 2” album. No one remembers who Medina Green even was, but he and Mos came up with a great one here. This is pretty much exactly how I imagine it feels to be caught up in gang drama.
“Memory Lane” by Nas
From the classic Illmatic album, Nas takes us back to his childhood. He was only like 18 when he wrote this, though, so I suspect he’s really just an excellent storyteller.
“Back in the Day” by Ahmad
I couldn’t name one other song by Ahmad, but this song is pure win. He even makes references to Gazelles and Turkish links. A perfect ode to 80s rap innocence.
“Once Upon A Time” by T.I.
From T.I.’s “Fuck a Mixtape” mixtape, this is a story rap where someone is heard asking T.I. why doesn’t do story raps no more. Awesome, I know. Also, T.I.’s story about an encounter with a strange visitor to your stash house is damn interesting.
“I’ve Committed Murder” by Gang Starr feat. Mos Def and Macy Gray
Do you hate your job? Is your boss a raging asshole? If so, listen to this slice of revenge fantasy. Macy Gray is practically perfect in this song.
“How to Break Up With Your Girlfriend” by Jean Grae
Instead of killing people, how about we just cut them loose? Jean Grae teaches you how to end a bad relationship. I feel like Chuck Finley could have used this one.
“Me and Jesus the Pimp in a 79 Granada Last Night” by The Coup
One of the greatest song titles ever created, this one is an absolutely epic story about the evils of prostitution. Human misery has never sounded quite this good.
“Int’l Players Anthem (I Choose You)” by UGK feat. Outkast
Andre3000 steals the show on this one. His verse is just incredible. Going back through his various hook-ups and girlfriends, he walks us through his new Grown Ass Man shit. Then Pimp C (RIP!), wearing enough fur to destroy PETA singlehandedly, takes us through his random sexual conquests and disregard for traffic safety. This is sure to be a hit at your next wedding reception!
So maybe you have a new morning workout routine. Great! Except it’s hard as fuck to get motivated to exert energy first thing in the morning. That’s where your workout music comes in.
I make no bones about loving club music. I know most people consider it vapid and cheesy. And, well, it is. Most of it is made by the absolute worst sorts of trashy perverts.
None of that matters. All that matters is that it makes you want to (in the immortal words of Big Daddy Drew) run through a brick wall.
So on that tip, here’s some music for your next workout. For each track below, I’ll list the artist (or “artist”), title of the song and the superpower that each particular song will give you.
“Get Down” by Groove Armada This song is makes you feel like you can now: Proclaim yourself King/Queen of All Bunnies.
“Superdelight” by Heikki L This song is makes you feel like you can now: Punch a giraffe in the nose.
“Bodymotion” by Way Out West This song is makes you feel like you can now: Slide across a frozen lake with rockets tied to your shoes.
“Return to Life” by Adam Rickfors This song is makes you feel like you can now: Die and then come back to Earth as Patrick Swayze so that you can make pottery with that funny-nose girl.
“Unleash My Love” by John de Sohn and Nick Wall ft Christina Skaar This song is makes you feel like you can now: Use electric eels as weapons.
“Dancing On My Own” (Fred Falke Remix) by Robyn This song is makes you feel like you can now: Burn people with your laser vision.
“Feel the Hard Rock” (Heiko and Maiko electro mix) by Hardrox This song is makes you feel like you can now: Use actual ROFLcopters to kill leprechauns.
“Alive” by Mondotek This song is makes you feel like you can now: Drink 18 cans of 4LOKO without making a fool of yourself.
“Push Up” by Freestylers This song is makes you feel like you can now: Do those pushups that only insane Marine drill sergeants can do, where you clap in between each pushup.
“My, My, My” by Armand Van Helden This song is makes you feel like you can now: Throw sharks at the bad people.
“What I Want” by Bob Sinclar Ft. Fireball This song is makes you feel like you can now: Win a staring contest against Clint Eastwood.
Before I say anything else, I just want to include this disclaimer: No matter how open-minded a person is and no matter how great the music is…. some people just will NOT EVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES EVER be able to tolerate disco. I accept that. Those people are lost causes. For the rest of you, read on…
I know that when you hear the word “disco” you instantly think of the Village People and Abba and maybe Donna Summers and definitely polyester suits. There is an undeniably cheesy side to disco that never seems to die off. So fine, I’ll concede that some aspects of disco are absolutely awful. That said, most people don’t realize that disco also had a grittier, deeper side that didn’t get the radio airplay. Instead, it got played in legendary clubs like the Paradise Garage, where Larry Levan held court and more or less all modern dance music was first truly conceptualized.
So Levan and others like Francois Kevorkian were mixing these crazy, long-form funk records into a nonstop dance workout… and they were YEARS ahead of their time. They were doing things like mixing synthesizers with Afro-Caribbean rhythms 20 years before M.I.A. ever picked up a mic.
I once heard disco described as “blue collar party music,” which is just about perfect. So let’s give credit where credit is due and check out some choons….
“Give Me Love” by Cerrone.
Marc Cerrone is a French drummer and producer who had a serious knack for coming up with catchy songs that still had that hard beat. This song has been remixed about a billion times by house producers in the last few decades.
“I Don’t Want to be a Freak” by Dynasty
I am in love with these girls. They don’t want to be freaks… but they just can’t help themselves. Sad really.
“I Don’t Wanna Lose It” by Bambu
Ok, here is some intense club disco that was clearly made for people consuming massive amounts of cocaine. The tempo is just ridiculously fast… at least 10 or 15 bpm faster than almost any other tracks you’ll find. The cocaine… there’s no other explanation. It’s downright disorienting, but then the vocals come in and everything settles down nicely.
“We’re On Our Way Home” by Brainstorm
Not a lot of people realize this, but ANY song that starts with a slap bass intro is required to be a KICK ASS SONG. It’s a rule. Look it up. In a way, you truly hear the first 80s pop coming through, but then it goes back into full 1970s string orchestra mode. I love it.
“Jingo” by Candido
That evil organ sound at the beginning was sampled by DMX. This song came from Salsoul Records, a hugely influential New York label that was known for using a lot of latin percussion in their tracks. To this day people love scouring old record shops for Salsoul vinyl because it’s such versatile deejay music.
“Deputy of Love” by Don Armando’s 2nd Avenue Rumba Band
If you ever walked into a club and saw that tonight’s act was “Don Armando’s 2nd Avenue Rumba Band,” is there any way you’d be anything less than excited?
“Do It Again” by Easy Going
Here’s an example of what’s called Italo-disco… disco from Italy. We guineas just love our disco. Not even living on different continents can change that. It’s our bond that unites the guido diaspora. Also… nothing homoerotic about that cover art. Nothing. At. All.
“Hot to Trot” by Alfredo de la Fe
Disco was really the first music that mashed up genres in exciting new ways. This tune starts off with a HEAVY samba beat straight off the streets of Rio, then breaks into a jazz violin explosion and then levels out into a straightforward funk jam. The drumming is incredible.
“Time Warp” by the Coach House Rhythm Section
This was a b-side on Eddy Grant’s Electric Avenue record. Eddy Grant is the man. If you put this song on Beatport today, no one would bat an eye. It’s computer music made with synthesizers and drum machines yet it sounds so human.
“Flight to Jamaica” by The Crashers
I’ve never been able to find out ANYTHING about The Crashers other than that they made this song. I don’t know how the hell it’s never been used in a movie soundtrack. Maybe it has, but it’s still got to be one of the all time great long lost disco songs. Reggae and disco… two great tastes that taste great together.
“I Hear Music in the Streets” by Unlimited Touch
That crunchy funk beat. The great vocals. That thumping bass. The handclaps. The fantastic guitar playing. If you’re ever in a bad mood, treat yourself to this song. It’s pure joy in sonic form.
Peter Christopherson died today. He was a founding member of several seminal industrial / avant-garde groups of the 70’s and 80’s, including Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV and Coil.
If I were to choose just one band that I would be forced to listen to for all eternity, to the exclusion of all else, I would choose Coil. They started out making very harsh industrial music in the mid-80’s, influenced as they were by the AIDS epidemic that was killing so many of the band’s friends. Into the 90’s and ’00s the band started experimenting with acid house and neo-folk, and were heavily invested in a stark sort of dark ambience by the time of Jhonn Balance’s death and the dissolution of the band. I keep my set of Ape of Naples vinyl away from everything else on my mantle because it is something approaching a sacred object to me.
Everything that Sleazy participated in, from TG all the way up to Threshold Houseboys Choir (his de facto solo project), was brilliant, and his music was changing and evolving throughout his career. I was looking forward to more decades of beautiful music from Sleazy, but sadly he has been taken from us too soon. I haven’t been this devastated over the death of an artist since Jhonn Balance, the other half of Coil, fell from his balcony to his death in 2004.
I was meaning to send Sleazy an email — he apparently would respond in full to every fan email he receieved and have extended conversations with writers – but somehow I slept on that and now I’m obviously kicking myself pretty hard. RIP.
The Quietus has a brief remembrance from Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti here. No word as yet from Genesis P. Orridge, who left the reconstituted TG a few weeks ago.
I don’t just surf the internet, I travel it. One second I’m looking up Jude Law’s IMDB profile and the next I find myself reserving a book at the library on religious asceticism in the Middle Ages.
My travels have a soundtrack that is just as hyperkinetic in its apparent lack of theme. I make lousy mix-tapes because of this.
This was my most recent collision of internet searching and music:
I can’t upload the video by any method, so go to the link at Buzzfeed and watch it. It’s worth it. I promise. (Edit: FIXED! ~BMCFC)
