production which is quite rare in the current state of affairs. Therapist actually mixes the material so that it’s not monotonous or predictable and the approach is well thought out as it even comes with a booklet. Lethal surely is a refreshing listen for everybody looking for fresh Jamaican material especially hip hop fans.
be the basis of the entertainment scene for poor people in urban environments such as West Kingston neighbourhoods. People (yes, mostly ghetto people) danced in the streets or in carefully chosen spaces that would later be referred to as ‘dance halls’.
‘No Mercy - King Biggs
This project is guaranteed nothing you’ve ever heard before. Ever. It seems to be directed toward 90s and 80s babies especially for all the Nintendo heads and Toonami lovers as some of the remixes have themes of some of your favourite shows from back in the day. It certainly looks like creativity in Jamaica is still alive. *children rejoice* To see the feedback other people have about these projects check #NoMercy and #Lethal out on twitter.
Jamaica & Hip Hop In the 1940s there were far less entertainment options in Jamaica than there are today primarily because of the different technological landscape at the time. The distinction between social classes was more pronounced and their lifestyle choices were as different as day and night. *cricket chirp* The upper class would go to Jazz concerts and plays that were too expensive for the lower class which turned out to be the majority of the population. This led to the development of an alternative thus sound system culture was born and the world would never be the same again. Big speakers playing the latest records, low entry fees, great vibes all night long would
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NOVEMBER 2012 | JAE Magazine
Over time, various sound systems emerged with their own special records to play to excite their audiences and competition grew fiercely. Duke Reid, Sir Coxsone’s Downbeat and Tom The Great Sebastian are just a few of the sound systems from the time which eventually started churning out music of their own after the R&B records started to get stale and the Jamaican recording industry was born in the 1950s!! *children rejoice*. In competing for the title of the ‘Baddest Sound System’ at the dances there would be toasters (rhymers or microphone men) freestyling and coming up with the cleverest lyrics in order to win the clash. The song would be on one side of the record and on the other side there would be the ‘version’ or the instrumental/riddim which the toasters would rhyme over to wow the crowd at the dance. A good example of original toasting is sampled at the beginning and the bridge of Kanye West’s ‘Mercy’. U-Roy, King Stit and Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry are some of the original toasters from those days that set the foundation for what would now be called ‘rapping’ in America and ‘deejaying’ in