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- Date Released: January 1, 1980
- Genre: International
- Style: Dancehall, Roots Reggae
- Label: Taxi Records / Zojak World Wide
The earliest appearance of the Compass Point sound.
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We Say...
Black Uhuru emerged at the head of a second wave of Jamaican vocal trios, in the wake of dread threesomes like Burning Spear and Culture. Like those earlier groups, Black Uhuru was more or less a platform for singer-songwriter Michael Rose. With drummer Sly Dunbar and the bass of Robbie Shakespeare fully merged within the Uhuru sound, the band became a proper performing unit — a band, distinct from the singers-plus-session-players model predominant in reggae during the ‘70s. Sly’s enthusiasm for synthetic drum sounds surfaced with a vengeance on Sinsemilla (its title track a paean to the superiority of seedless herb). The militant rhythms carved out by Black Uhuru marked the earliest appearance of the Compass Point sound, named for the Bahamian studio run by Island Records boss Chris Blackwell and often home to Sly & Robbie, who in later years played with everyone from Grace Jones to Carly Simon.
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They Say...
Released on the Island Records subsidiary Mango in July 1980, Sinsemilla, named after a type of marijuana, was Black Uhuru's first album to be issued internationally, their third overall. Although the group was nominally a trio at this point -- consisting of Derrick "Duckie" Simpson, Michael Rose, and Sandra "Puma" Jones -- in effect, Sinsemilla was a solo album by Rose, who wrote all the songs and sang lead vocals. In addition to his writing and singing duties, Rose can be credited for bringing in the production team and rhythm section of Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, whose Taxi Gang provides the distinctive musical tracks. Rose's lyrical vision is revolutionary and radical, extolling the primacy of Africa, opposing apartheid, and praising the virtues of marijuana. But his sweet tenor and Simpson's harmonies soothe the message, and the music has a spare, rhythmic appeal that is distinctive and forward-looking, suggesting a hard, stripped-down direction for reggae. Sinsemilla is the sound of performers just finding their voices, and it excited hopes for the development of Jamaican music as Bob Marley's leadership was about to falter due to illness.
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| 01. |  |
Happiness |
4:22 |
|
| 02. | |
World Is Africa |
5:19 |
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| 03. | |
Push Push |
4:13 |
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| 04. | |
There is Fire |
5:04 |
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| 05. | |
No Loafing (Sit and Wonder) |
3:58 |
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| 06. | |
Sinsemilla |
5:11 |
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| 07. | |
Every Dreadlocks |
4:02 |
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| 08. | |
Vampire |
4:34 |
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08 Total Tracks, 36:43 Total Length
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Credits
- Black Uhuru - Main Performer // Black Uhuru - Main Performer // Black Uhuru - Main Performer // Ansel Collins - Organ // Ansel Collins - Piano // Jimmy Becker - Harmonica // Dougie Bryan - Guitar // Radcliffe Bryan - Guitar // Bunny Tom Tom - Remixing // Sly Dunbar - Percussion // Sly Dunbar - Drums // Sly Dunbar - Producer // Sly Dunbar - Executive Producer // Sly Dunbar - Syndrum // Ernest Hoo Kim - Engineer // Ranchie McLean - Guitar // Errol "Ranchie" McLean - Guitar // Robbie Shakespeare - Bass // Robbie Shakespeare - Producer // Robbie Shakespeare - Executive Producer // Uziah "Sticky" Thompson - Percussion // Lister Hewan Lowe - Executive Producer // Johnny Black - Photography // Rad Bryan - Guitar // Tony Wright - Cover Design // Tony Wright - Cover Art // "Colonel" Maxie - Engineer
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