Black Uhuru was founded by Don Carlos and Duckie Simpson in the mid Seventies and became the premier reggae band of the post-Marley era.
From 1980 through 1984 Black Uhuru recorded nine albums that redefined modern roots reggae. Since 1980, drummer Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakepeare have supplied the turbo-charged drum and bass to the Black Uhuru riddim. Sly and Robbie remain charter members of both the recording and touring unit of Black Uhuru. The frontline of Black Uhuru has changed over the years, but Sly and Robbie were element of Uhuru's sound that remained unchanged for almost 30 years.
The most productive edition of the Black Uhuru was the unit that featured singing trio of Duckie Simpson, Puma Jones and Michael Rose.
The crown jewel of their musical output was 1983's Anthem which won a Grammy and acheived crossover success in the USA and the UK. In early 1985 at the peak of their success, lead vocalist Michael Rose left Black Uhuru over creative differences.
Rose was replaced by Junior Reid but Junior's visa problems kept him from touring with the band outside of Jamaica. Puma Jones left the band in 1987 to fight a struggle against cancer and she died in 1990. In 2001 Black Uhuru returned to the studio with Michael Rose sound-alike Andrew Beckford and Puma Jones sound-alike Pam Hall and recorded Dynasty which recalled Uhuru's glory days but has been silent since then. The group has been touring Europe over the past couple years and is in the studio preparing an album for release in 2009 or 2010.
Choosing just three songs that reflect the glory of Black Uhuru is like trying to summarize Bob Marley's legacy with three songs. I decided to pick one track from each from their three most crucial albums Red (1981), Chill-Out (1982) and Anthem (1984).
The Youth of Englington- Black Uhuru This is a live performance of the anchor song on the album Red and it gives you a pretty good idea of the power of their live performances. The performance was in Grugahalle Essen, Germany on October 17th 1981.
Right Stuff- Black Uhuru This song is from 1982's Chill Out an album which saw Uhuru using more state of art electronica techniques including the innovative use of the vocoder to process the background vocals. But despite the innovation, the sledgehammer one drop riddim of Sly and Robbie's drum n' bass keep Uhuru's sound firmly rooted in roots reggae.
Black Uhuru Anthem - Black Uhuru Black Uhuru Anthem was a dubwise declaration of faith in rasta in these times of sufferation. The song's power is underscored by Michael Rose's melancholy incantation of the stark lyrics.
__________________
There are two types of music: the first type is the blues and the second type is all the other stuff.
Townes Van Zandt
|