Wednesday, February 20, 2008

good peeps: Jacob Miller

"The Time Has Come For Us All To Praise Unto Jah"

Like 10CC, "we don't like reggae, we love it!", and we really fucking love Jacob Miller. While we rarely post on reggae, there are some artists who just don't get enough love and Jacob Miller is one of those artists.

Jacob Miller is undeniably one of the greatest reggae singers of all time. His soulful take on Irie poli-tricks and natty dread culture was not just Rastafarian rhetoric, but true gospel for the spiritual movement. I was introduced to his two most enlightened records, Who Say Jah No Dread? and ...with the Inner Circle Band & Augustus Pablo, by two reggae connoisseur friends in college who each had a chronic collection of classic roots and culture records. To give credit where credit is due, without Guy and Dewy, I wouldn't know jack shit about reggae.

Unfortunately for the world, Miller died in a car crash at the young age of 27, but his spirit lives on in his music and his role in the legendary roots rock reggae film Rockers (aka the definitive documentation of roots reggae culture, aka the "street" version of The Harder They Come), both of which showcased Miller's ultra righteous Rastaman attitude, natty dread spirituality, and his soulful staccato phrasing, epitomized in utter classics like "Forward Jah-Jah Children" and "Curly Locks." If you consider yourself even a modest fan of reggae and you don't own these records & haven't seen Rockers, you're doing yourself a great disservice.

Jacob Miller- Forward Jah Jah Children
Jacob Miller- Who Say Jah No Dread?

"I'm a Rastaman, not a dreadlock"

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

anyone post that references "dreadlock holiday" is okay by me.