'Well I don't want no white guy look pon me and call me nigga'...from start to finish on this track, Tippa tells it straight.
Rebel on the Roots Corner comes from the 1994 album of the same name, where Tippa teamed up with the Mad Professor at Ariwa Studios.
Tippa Irie rose to prominence as a deejay on Saxon Sound, who for the past 25 years have been one of the major sounds on the UK scene. Following on from other Saxon deejay's, such as Papa Levi, Maxi Priest and Smiley Culture, his work on the sound provided the basis for a very successful solo career.
Slightly different and slower then the fast chat style that Tippa helped make famous, here he delivers a conscious message that summed up how a lot of people were feeling at that time. It is under-pinned by a heavy and easy-paced riddim with a lovely splattering of horns, all laid down by the Mad Professor. It is a tune that always hits the spot when dropped.
Emmanuel Joseph is highly talented and versatile singer, song writer, and musician whose credits are as diverse as the West-end ska musical The Big Life, to peforming on tracks by Cornershop, to his current works as a member of the Shanti-ites on the Falasha Recordings label, the label of the mighty Aba Shanti-i.
Falasha Recordings have been releasing heavy and conscious tunes since their first release, Tear Down Babylon, in the early nineties. Following on from his excellent single Road to Zion, Youth-Man is a ruff and tuff slice of UK roots, where Emmanuel Joseph is in combination style with Blood Shanti on vocal duties.
More positive and conscious lyrics, although the reference to Iraq may not be so poignant in a few years, the message to youth, black or white to lay down their guns, lay down their knives and humble themselves will ring true for a long time to come.
As with most releases on Falasha Recordings this tune is heavy, well produced and just has something slightly different from the run-of-the mill UK roots that makes it stand out from the rest.
When you finish playing the vocal you get a thunderous dub that will shake the foundations anywhere - hearing it rinsed first hand by Aba Shanti-i last month was both moving and awe inspiring. The single is available now, be on the look out for an album coming soon.
Conviction Roots
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