21 April 2023

"Music is a Universal Language"...Jah Shaka

Friend of NSS kostas.p tipped me to this one that I had missed. So many greats passing on that it is hard to keep up, let alone process. 

 



Jah Shaka, the Dub/reggae pioneer of London Sound System culture passed away April 12th at the age of 75. Shaka moved to London from Jamaica as a child in the late 1950s as part of the Windrush generation.

The singer, producer, & label owner also known as Zulu Warrior released some of the scene's most seminal records on his Jah Shaka Music label. He also manned the influential Jah Shaka Sound System since the 1970s. He influenced everyone from the next generation of Dubheads such as Iration Steppas, Zion Train, Dougie Wardrop's Conscious Sounds, & Jah Warrior to post-punk musicians including the Slits & Public Image Ltd. (Don Letts has frequently referenced the influence of Jah Shaka on John Lydon & the British punk scene as a whole).

I've featured Jah Shaka several times before, check the Labels list or the top-left search. Here's one to celebrate this Shining Star. Jah Shaka & the Fire House Crew with vocals by Max Romeo. 

 

Jah Shaka - Far-I Ship Dub, Jah Shaka Music SHAKACD989, 1992.
decryption code in comments

Perfect Dub
Smiling Dub
Far-I Ship Dub
Dub of Praise
One Dub
Don't Stop Dub
Peoples' Dub
Kumbia Dub
Dub Away
Suffer Dub
Roman Dub

Jah Shaka Zulu R.I.P.
NØ
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9 comments:

  1. NØ4/21/23, 5:15 PM

    x07CUmFnNMshO8By7lhqSkWVgSU8sc8OffgxMd5Zvgk

    ReplyDelete
  2. jonder4/21/23, 10:03 PM

    Only recently learned that distorted tapes of Jah Shaka's Sound System had inspired Mark Stewart's Maffia, and now both men are gone ...

    ReplyDelete
  3. NØ4/21/23, 11:24 PM

    You & kostas, man. You're killing me here. I'll truly miss Warrior Sound, but you broke my heart with the MS announcement. (Well, I've tried to write this next sentence five or six times now...I just can't find words)

    So anyhoo, skipping forward to a near (imagined) future post, starts somethin' like...

    In a comment to a recent Jah Shaka tribute, Brother jonder sez: "Only recently learned that distorted tapes of Jah Shaka's Sound System had inspired Mark Stewart's Maffia, and now both men are gone ...". Man, what a way to slide that gutpunch in there. Caught me totatly off guard. This post is the result.

    You can imagine.

    Thank you brother for the prompt information. Things like this always send me off in crazy(er) musical directions, always to good results. That is the healing power & the longevity of that power through the music every artist makes.

    Mark Stewart from the beginning was groundbreaking for me. Pop Group & beyond, he opened so many avenues of possibility in my fertile mind. But I'll save this for a later day.

    Thanks, jonder.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. jonder4/22/23, 11:13 PM

      I'm sorry, that was not a good way to share that sad news. Maybe there is no good way to say it. I was shocked too when I read the news. As you say, it was a gut punch.

      Delete
    2. NØ4/23/23, 2:09 PM

      No problem, brother. As you say, there was no good way of saying. I am glad I learned the news from you. Tried to make up for my shock in the next post.

      Delete
  4. kostas.p4/22/23, 2:45 AM

    Mark Stewart too? Ohhh come on... this April.....
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCPPbxcR7-A

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous4/27/23, 3:09 PM

    Cheers.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous1/28/24, 6:37 AM

    THANK YOU for this. The man was a titan. I went to his wake/dubfest at Goldsmiths. completely packed with reverent revellers. Ironically the sound system was not the best, sound overcranked and bass very distorted. You gotta laugh eh?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. NØ1/28/24, 1:43 PM

      Of course the Sound System wasn't great That day. Jah Shaka had left the building. Thanks for the rememberance.

      Delete