RhoDeo 1207 Roots

Hello, we're still on that island with a huge place in the global music catalogue, Jamaica. A production hothouse and they say the Weed makes you slow and lazy-go figure. Without the ganja driven reggae music Jamaica would have remained a Caribbean backwater and dare i say would never have given us Bolt, the fastest man in the world.


Can't get enough of that dub music ? Well here's some more by the Prince that became King

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Lloyd James, (born in 1947, Montego Bay, Jamaica), is better known as Prince Jammy or King Jammy the dub mixer and record producer. After earning money from building amplifiers and repairing electrical equipment from his mother's house in Waterhouse in the late 1960s, he started his own sound system. He also built equipment for other local systems. After leaving Jamaica to work in Canada for a few years in the early 1970s, he returned to Kingston in 1976 and set up his own studio at his in-laws' home in Waterhouse, and released a couple of Yabby You productions. When Phillip Smart left King Tubby's team to work in New York, Jammy replaced him, getting to work with the likes of Bunny Lee and Yabby You. For the first few years of his career, Jammy almost exclusively made Dub.

In 1977, Jammy was enlisted to mix the dub counterpart to "In the Light," Everton DaSilva's classic production for Horace Andy. The versions Jammy concocted simultaneously proved that he was well versed in the techniques acquired from Tubby and that he had developed a distinct mixing voice of his own. That same year, he made his first notable venture into production work, recording the debut of Black Uhuru, a young vocal trio from Kingston. The resulting Love Crisis (and its remixed incarnation, Black Sounds of Freedom) represented a breakthrough for both parties. In the late 1970s he began to release his own productions, including the debut album from Black Uhuru in 1977.

Before he set out to rule modern dancehall as King Jammy, Lloyd James earned the lesser, but still regal title Prince Jammy, In the 1980s, he became one of the most influential producers of dancehall music. During the 1980s’ and 1990s’, Prince Jammy’s music became the sound of Jamaica. Both his productions, and sound-systems, were at the forefront of Jamaican music during this period. His biggest hit was 1985's "Under Me Sleng Teng" by Wayne Smith, with an entirely-digital rhythm hook. Many credit this song as being the first "Digital rhythm" in reggae, leading to the modern dancehall era. Jammy's productions and sound system dominated reggae music for the remainder of the 1980s.

Jammy continued to produce and record into the '90s, a decade that would see his own son, John John, emerging as a successful record-maker. Perhaps more importantly, the '90s also witnessed a number of reissues of Jammy's classic mixing work. London's Blood and Fire produced Dub Gone Crazy and Dub Gone 2 Crazy, compiling versions the Waterhouse team (Tubby, Jammy, Scientist, and Smart) mixed for Bunny Lee during the late '70s, while Pressure Sounds' The Crowning of Prince Jammy drew from the same period. And so he continues to work as a producer, working with some of today's top Jamaican artists.



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From the vaults, the long lost Prince Jammy dub album swept aside by the '80's digital revolution. Previously unreleased dubs from the mighty Prince Jammy – much sought after dubs from a crucial period for Prince Jammy and the dub sound all around! Wonderful stuff toasted with heavy riddims, indelible bass grooves and tasty bits of guitar and keys. Crucial, indeed! Includes "President Dub", "Sunny Side Dub", "Vincent In Dub", "Nuff Corn Dub", "Anything A Dub", "One Million Dub", "Yah We Deh Dub", "Higgler Move Dub" and more.

Prince Jammy - Crucial In Dub (flac 228mb)

01 President Dub 3:36
02 Sunny Side Dub 3:28
03 Mr Joe Is Dubbing 2:13
04 Vincent In Dub 3:16
05 Dub Conscience 3:31
06 Nuff Corn Dub 3:36
07 Anything A Dub 3:31
08 Chatty Mouth Dub 3:39
09 One Million Dub 3:10
10 Higgler Move Dub 3:30
11 Get Ready For Dub 3:21
12 Yah We Deh Dub 3:15

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Unlike Scientist, Prince Jammy espoused the minimal school of dub that their mentor King Tubby favored. In lieu of prevalent space-battle effects and flanger-riddled mixes, Jammy just stuck to warping the drum, bass and guitar tracks, with the occasional echo-treated horn or organ thrown in. On Kamikazi Dub's "Shaolin Temple" and "Kamikazi," Jammy creates that sense of boundless dub space simply by soaking the drum and bass in reverb, while organ and guitar additions are kept fleeting to maintain the eerily isolated atmosphere. For "Downtown Shanghai Rock" and "Waterfront Gang War," Jammy does include some of the "found" sound effects Scientist favored by using layered keyboard and percussion tracks, but this is kept to a minimum. Both Jammy and Scientist created masterful dub recordings, so it just comes down to a question of preference; for more psychedelic dub cuts, pick up a Scientist release, but for a more roots-informed yet sophisticated dub style, you will definitely want a copy of Kamikazi Dub.

Prince Jammy - Kamikazi Dub (flac 208mb)

01 Throne Of Blood 3:16
02 Brothers Of The Blade 3:29
03 Shoalin Temple 2:50
04 Kamikazi 2:47
05 Oragami Black Belt 3:51
06 Fist Of Fury 3:08
07 Opium Den 3:35
08 Swords Of Vengeance 3:46
09 Downtown Shanghai Rock 4:15
10 Waterfront Gang War 3:47

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UHURU IN DUB is the DUB counterpart of Black Uhuru's album "Black Sounds Of Freedom". It wasn't the first Black Uhuru release, but pretty close. And -as far as we can check- the only Prince Jammy production of the vocal harmony group. "Black Sounds Of Freedom" is in itself highly recommended, that's why the Dubroom already reviewed that album. UHURU IN DUB takes the vibe of the album, and significantly adds to it. Long, long echo's and skillful use of the Spring Reverb are only two elements of Prince Jammy's great work on this one. Really, Prince Jammy at his finest.

Prince Jammy - Uhuru In Dub (flac 202mb)

01 Eden Dub 4:12
02 Mystic Mix 3:38
03 His Imperial Majesty 3:45
04 Weeping Willow 4:10
05 Bad Girls Dub 3:26
06 Tonight Is The Night 3:56
07 Firehouse Special 3:04
08 African Culture 3:46
09 Crisis Dub 3:47
10 Sound Man Style 3:27

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Osbourne In Dub's sound is mainly drums and keyboard, other instruments join the fray, providing the backdrop for Prince Jammy’s drums and keyboards to shine. Here, the keyboard plays well, the tempo upbeat, the sound bright. Like many other tracks on the album, the drums sit right at the front of the mix, their sound dominating the soundscape. The album features some highly talented musicians including Robbie Shakespear on bass and Sly Dunbar on drums. There are a couple of fine tunes, and even the brilliant "Jah Is With You" should at least be heard once by every serious collector of DUB music. But overall, there's not much heavy mixing going on and the tunes itself are in need for that heavy mixing when they do not come with full vocals.

Prince Jammy - Osbourne In Dub (flac 166mb)

01 Loving Tonight 3:13
02 Reggae Stylee 3:10
03 Dance Dub 3:13
04 Jah Is With You 3:18
05 Chopping Dub 3:16
06 Pumping Dub 3:16
07 Double Trouble 3:16
08 See No Evil 3:05
09 Pure Is The Soul 3:27
10 Rise Up 3:32

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