| Pre-recorded
tracks carrying a heavy drum and bassline
serves as the backing of a vocalist who
rhythmically chants his message on top of
the music. Seems kind of normal, in this 21st
century, and so it is.
But where does it come from, in the first
place?
Obviously, this is a thing that started
with U Roy as he cultivated his
"toasting" for King Tubby's HiFi
Sound System back in the 1960's. Things went
on from there and in the 1980's it was time
for Rub a Dub or early Dancehall.
However, Rub a Dub music itself is
underrepresented in the flood of Reggae
re-releases. It's disregarded as completely
uninteresting by "Reggae
Specialists" who think that Reggae
Music died in the 1970's.
How wrong they are...
Rub a Dub actually paved the way for Rap
and House/Techno, to name just two very
popular forms of contemporary music. And the
music itself cannot be denied either, as we
will see in this great Rub-A-Dubumentary.
"Live in Skateland" is a great
video registration from the early 1980's,
when Rub a Dub style was at it's peak. After
the culture is explained a little, the
sights and sounds that follow are pretty
much self-explanatory.
We'll see the meaning of the phrase
"Give Thanks and Praise while Chalice
Blaze". We'll we move and groove along
with the people who are enjoying themselves.
We'll see sensuality that would later become
more and more extreme. the sights in this
video will also not be pleasing to everyone,
in that context...
We'll see and a host of Rub A Dub stars:
Ranking Toyan, Josey Wales, Lee van Kleef,
Louis Lepke, and of course: Yellowman.
Yellowman is usually known for his
slackness: that is more or less pornographic
talk. As the video reaches to it's end, we
will see "The King Of Jamaican DJ"
and hear him livicate his performance to
another DJ, man called Charlie
Chaplin.
As the people and the atmosphere gets
hotter, we'll see Yellowman's skills as he
chants about... women. But this time, he has
a different thing to say. He says, that he
doesn't want a "pretty woman"
because after a while they turn into
"damn green lizards".
Yellowman at his best!
Rub a Dub at it's best!
If you can take it, that is...
|
