While flipping through the TV channels late last night, I saw a bitter and weathered old cop from the southern states being interviewed on CNN. What he was being interviewed for is beside the point. What caught my eye was his name: Dennis Brown. If anyone here knows Dennis Brown, this decrepit, battered-looking white dude with a scowl on his face and a snarl to his voice could not be further from the real Dennis Brown's image. For those of you who have no idea what I'm going on about, well, let me enlighten you...
Dennis Brown is, as far as I'm concerned, of royal reggae blood. He is the be all and end all of Jamaican reggae – filling the roles of grandfather and godfather all at once. Dennis was Bob Marley's favourite singer and even honoured him with the name "the Crown Prince of Reggae".
I won't bore you guys with the details, but here's a brief look into Dennis' incredible music and career. Born and raised in Kingston, Dennis began his recording career at a young age. It would span 42 years and end in a devastating drug overdose (RIP Dennis). In those incredibly fruitful years, he would work and record with the best of the best - Sly and Robbie, Coxsone Dodd, Alton Ellis, and so on... the full list reads like a who's who of reggae - ending up with 78 albums to his name. He created his own genre of lover's rock/dancehall reggae that would entrance his entire island nation. His combination of serious, "message" songs and soul-wailing love melodies was irresistible. His stage shows, too, were genuine events, and always packed a punch, drawing massive audiences that he psyched up into borderline-hysteria. Dennis hasn't been kickin' it since 1999, but he'll stay in my record player's collection of classics, well, forever.
If you're interested in his music, I'd suggest looking for (and buying, of course) "Love & Hate: the best of Dennis Brown" which is an excellent and all-encompassing compilation of his lifetime's work... His classics include 'Money in my pocket', 'Revolution', 'The promised land', To the foundation'... If you don't like him, then frankly, your music taste sucks. No holds barred here.
-Gabrielle
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2 comments:
not the biggest reggae guy but i have listened to Bob Marley's greatest hits & the last Damian Marley CD & i was down, so ill check him out... Good Look!
You Never Know & Dance with the Devil by your boy Technique is sick
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