Black Uhuru: Ultimate Collection 2000

For over 50 years Black Uhuru has remained one of the most popular recognized prolific reggae band from Jamaica. The living legends have earned several achievements in the music industry including winning the first ever Grammy Award for reggae music. They’re long success along with having the highest reggae record sales after Bob Marley & the most songs sampled by other artist over the years has allowed them to become Ambassadors of reggae.

The roots of Black Uhuru formed in Kingston’s “Waterhouse” District in the late 60’s. It is the home of founder & leader Derrick “Duckie” Simpson along with all the rest of the singers from the

group. The original Uhuru’s Swahili for “freedom” were Duckie, Don Carlos & Garth Dennis. The first song was a Curtis Mayfield cover of “Folk Song”. They made only a couple more songs before Don left to pursue a solo career & Garth joined Wailing Souls. The two were replaced by Michael Rose & Errol Nelson both from Waterhouse. They recorded the debut album “Love Crises” in 1977 for Prince Jammy later re-released as “Black Sounds of Freedom”. Errol later left the group to join the Jays & was replaced by female singer Puma Jones.

By the late 1970s Black Uhuru referred to three vocalists who constituted the “golden age” of Black Uhuru’s popularity: Michael Rose, Derrick “Duckie” Simpson, and Sandra “Puma” Jones.

This new line-up is when the band began to collaborate with Sly & Robbie & developed the “classic Uhuru” sound of the 80’s. A unique style full of heavy drum &  bass, sharp keys, loud guitar riffs & long instrumentals filled with whirly background effects & the signature “wow oh-oh oh’s” echo. It was during this period they signed with Island Records. They began touring internationally & started receiving worldwide attention. They recorded some of their most popular albums like “Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner” “Sensimelia” & “Chill Out”. The album “Red” was voted #23 for Rolling Stone Magazine list of 100 greatest albums of the 80’s. And history was made when they won reggae’s first grammy award in 1984 for the album “Anthem”. Shortly after the grammy Michael left the group to go solo.

Another Waterhouse resident named Junior Reid became the new lead singer. Two albums were

released “Brutal” nominated for grammy & “Positive” with Ras Records. These albums included popular hits like “Dreadlocks on the Mountain” “Fit You Haffi Fit” & one of the groups first music videos “Great Train Robbery”. Sadly due to ill health Puma passed away in 1990. Around this time Jr. Reid was having visa issues unable to tour.

During the mid 90’s the original members reunited. Four albums were released “Now”,  “Iron”, Storm”, “Mystical Truth” &“Strongg” all nominated for grammy. They made an award-winning music video for “Tip of the Iceberg” that featured rap star Ice-T & another video for “One Love” featuring Louie Rankin. They performed live on television for VH1 a cover version of Jimmy Hendrix “Hey Joe”. In 1994 they won the Diamonds Awards for Excellence. Unfortunately, the group began to dispute over band legal rights & went to court in the late 90’s. Duckie won the rights to the name.

As the new millennium approached Duckie found Andrew Bee’s once again from Waterhouse. Bee’s first tour with the band was in 1996 in Brazil. They released two albums “Unification” in 1998 & “Dynasty” in 2001. In 2002 they reunited with Sly & Robbie for an international world tour & released a live album/dvd “Dubbin it Live”. The group resurfaced in 2010 & has been touring extensively throughout Europe, South America & the United States. In 2012 they performed in a Broadway musical in Los Angeles called “Loving the Silent Tears”. In 2013 Duckie was awarded a lifetime achievement award from the IRWMA. In 2017 they released a new single & music video “Jah Guide” a Peter Tosh tribute that featured Bugle.

In 2018 the longly awaited new album "As The World Turns" was finally releaesd. The first album in over 15 years was nominated for "Best Reggae Album" for the 61st Grammy Awards. The album was produced by Duckie Simpson & Horace Campbell & mixed by Jermiaine Forde. The album has

15 tracks with Duckie on lead & features collaborations with Agent Sasco & Prezident Brown. Two music videos for "Chalice" & "War Crime" were released from the new album. In 2018 Black Uhuru played the One Love Festival in New Zealand in January, headlined the Austin Reggae Festival in April, played at Rotterdam in Amsterdam &  No Logo Festival in France over the summer & toured the East Coast in September. In 2019 Black Uhuru toured the West Coast, Hawaii & the East Coast where they appeared on NPR's "Tiny Desk" concert series. The video was released on Black Friday November 29th. A new single was just released "I See You" from the new "Tropical House Cruises to Jamaica Reloaded" album by Contractor Music.

Black Uhuru is currently working on a new album & planning a world tour for 2020...

[Black Uhuru can claim big things in reggae history. Winners of the first Grammy Award for best reggae album (for Anthem), Black Uhuru took Bob Marley's punching rhythms and hardened them further, thanks to the duo of bassist Robbie Shakespeare and drummer Sly Dunbar. Singer Michael

Rose also had a raggy voice, which was coarse and impassioned like Marley's--and had a great alter ego in vocalist Sandra "Puma" Jones. This generous 77-minute set of classic Uhuru includes the major points: "I Love King Selassie," "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," "Utterance," "Youth of Eglington." The melodic flow and harmony-vocal crosscut of the lattermost tune stood far and away above so much reggae of the era with an adroit mix of old-school rootsiness and creative expression. Alas, the lineup that cut the tune would break apart gradually, first with the 1984 departure of Rose (replaced by Junior Reed), and then in 1986 with the departure of Jones--who succumbed to cancer in 1990. The vast majority of these 17 tracks, though, come from the Rose/Island Records era, and for that, the collection indeed amounts to "ultimate" as its title claims. Andrew Bartlett]

[ AllMusic Review by Rick Anderson

This generous compilation isn't really a career retrospective, since it focuses almost exclusively on Black Uhuru's years on the Island label. However, it does take several tracks from the group's Greensleeves and RAS catalog and a Joe Gibbs single version of "Rent Man." What it all boils down to is an overview of the trio when it consisted of Michael Rose, Derrick Simpson, and Puma Jones,

which is generally considered to be the classic Black Uhuru lineup (Rose is replaced by Junior Reid on two tracks). Fans will have most of this material already, of course, but for the uninitiated this is a good an overview as one could imagine -- all of the most important songs are here, from the inevitable "I Love King Selassie" to "Youth of Eglington" (paired with its dub version from the Dub Factor collection). "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" is mixed in showcase style, but with a dubwise appendix that differs significantly from the one on Heartbeat's Showcase album. "What Is Life?" and "Try It" are both presented in their original Jamaican mixes. No track is less than worthwhile, and some of them are among the finest reggae ever recorded.]

Black Uhuru ‎– Ultimate Collection

Label: Hip-O Records ‎– 314 542 348-2

Series: Ultimate Collection

Format: CD, Compilation

Country: US

Released: 2000

Genre: Reggae

Style: Roots Reggae

TRACKS

    

01. Sinsemilla   5:10    

02. I Love King Selassie   4:35        

03. Guess Who's Coming To Dinner   4:54    

04. Sponji Reggae   4:56    

05. Love Crisis   3:47        

06. Rent Man   3:18        

07. Endurance   4:00        

08. Whole World Is Africa   5:15        

09. Utterance [Explicit]   3:43        

10. What Is Life? (Original Jamaican Mix)   5:44    

11. Youth Of Eglington [Explicit]   5:02        

12. Youth   3:48        

13. Try It (Original Jamaican Mix)   5:26    

14. Dread In The Mountain   4:05        

15. Brutal   4:07        

16. Darkness   3:59    

17. Chill Out   5:58

MP3 @ 320 Size: 180 MB
FLAC  Size: 505 MB   

Black Uhuru: Chill Out 1982 + The Dub Factor 1983

Formed: 1974 in Kingston, Jamaica
One of the most popular reggae acts ever and the first one to win a Grammy. They were the most successful act from Jamaica besides Bob Marley and had an enormous cross-over success during the early to mid 80s, mainly because of two facts: first: the fantastic rhythm section - consisting of the ever present drum & bass twins Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, who were actually a part of Black Uhuru during their most successful period; second: their sound was different - more accessible to Rock fans with uncompromising lyrics and their militant appearance. Their live shows were especially enigmatic.

They even had a top ten hit with ‘The Great Train Robbery’ in the UK and other European countries, their first song written and sung by Junior Reid. 

Chill Out is an album released in 1982 . That was repackaged and re-mixed for the international market with a different cover in 1984 (for no apparent reason).The album was recorded at Channel One Studios in Jamaica and produced by Sly & Robbie. Featuring The Revolutionaries, an influential session group, Chill Out, together with its dub companion The Dub Factor, is widely considered a classic of reggae music.

Chill Out peaked at #146 on Billboard's (North America) Pop Albums chart.

Released : December 1982
Genre : Reggae
Length : 35:44
Label :    Mango
Producer : Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare


All songs written and composed by Michael Rose. except No 1. ( By : Michael Rose, Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, Derrick "Duckie" Simpson )
No 8 and No 9 were written and composed by "Duckie" Simpson .

TRACKS

1. Chill Out                 5:58
2. Darkness                   4:00
3. Eye Market                3:16
4. Right Stuff               4:34
5. Mondays                   3:20
6. Fleety Foot               4:00
7. Wicked Act                3:26
8. Moya (Queen of I Jungle)  3:29
9. Emotional Slaughter          3:41

Personnel

    Wally Badarou - Synthesizer, Vocoder
    Barry Reynolds - Guitar on "Wicked Act"
    Ansel Collins - Piano, Keyboards
    Radcliff "Dougie" Bryan - Guitar
    Mikey Chung - Guitar
    Sly Dunbar - Drums, Syndrums, Arranger, Producer, Mixer
    Puma Jones - Harmony vocals
    Chris "Sky Juice" Blake - Percussion
    Robert Lyn - Piano
    Bertram "Ranchie" McLean - Rhythm guitar, organ
    Michael Rose - Vocals
    Robbie Shakespeare - Bass guitar, Arranger, Producer, Mixer
    Derrick "Duckie" Simpson - Harmony vocals
    Uziah "Sticky" Thompson - Percussion
    Bruce Hamilton - Engineer
    Steven Stanley - Engineer, Mixer
    Neville Garrick - Design
    Lynn Goldsmith - Photography

" Darkness "  Lyrics

Darkness, seems to glorify the world,
Darkness, seems to glorify the world.

What does it work to put yourself in a run town,
who told you to go obligation,
get off my back, Babylon !
there's a pride in each & everyone's stage of life.
i must keep Jah work and trim this foundation,
most of all, they go to bed and dem high in there head.

Darkness, seems to glorify the world,
Darkness, seems to glorify the world.

I see mothers & fathers wandering all over through material things,
is this a result of their sin?
every (time) look over my shoulder someone dies.

Darkness, seems to glorify the world,
Darkness, seems to glorify the world.

Yes my structure isn't random,
I am among the rioters eaters of flesh,
there is no return to your faulty destruction,
my blood is hot, you telling i.

Darkness, seems to glorify the world,
Darkness, seems to glorify the world.

With the good foot I climb the ladder of life.
Darker than blood, in a dis attention.
Trumpet & Voice are not for only celebration.
Let's struggle with the new generation:
"The Deaf", "The Dumb", "The Blind".

Darkness, seems to glorify the world,
Darkness, seems to glorify the world. 

MP3 @ 320 Size : 89.6 MB

                              Flac  Size : 227 MB   

 

  BLACK UHURU - THE DUB FACTOR 1983
                

Released the same year as their Grammy-winning Anthem album, Black Uhuru's The Dub Factor figures as one of the most impressive of reggae's electronic age dub releases. Bristling from the fine mixing work of Soljie and Maxie, the album is basically a reworking of the band's breakthrough Chill Out release from the year before, albeit in often unrecognizable form. But if you like your dub with a healthy dose of apocalyptic effects from syndrums, synthesizers, and mixing board alike, then The Dub Factor will do the trick. More than just a empty exercise in knob twiddling, this Black Uhuru dub excursion by Sly & Robbie will no doubt please both fans of the group and habituates of quality dub titles.

              

Black Uhuru – The Dub Factor
Label: Mango – 539756-2
Format: CD    
Country: US
Released: Jan 1983
Genre: Reggae
Style: Dub

TRACKS
                       

01. Ion Storm    3:49
02. Youth    3:49
03. Big Spliff    4:06
04. Boof 'N' Baff 'N' Biff    3:30
05. Puffed Out    3:55
06. Android Rebellion    4:04
07. Apocalypse    3:48
08. Back Breaker    3:39
09. Sodom    3:23
10. Slaughter    4:35

Flac Size: 217 MB           

Black Uhuru : Red

The most successful of the second-generation reggae bands, Black Uhuru maintained their high quality despite numerous personnel changes in their 40-plus-year history. The first reggae band to win a Grammy award, for their 1983 album Anthem, Black Uhuru was, according to Reggae: The Rough Guide, "The most dynamic and progressive reggae act of the 1970s and early '80s."


The group formed in the Waterhouse district of Kingston in 1972, initially called simply "Uhuru" (the Swahili word for freedom), with a line-up of Garth Dennis, Don Carlos, and Derrick "Duckie" Simpson. Their first release was a cover version of Curtis Mayfield's "Romancing to the Folk Song", which was followed by "Time is on Our Side"; Neither song was a success and they split up, with Carlos pursuing a solo career, as did Dennis, before joining The Wailing Souls.[2] Simpson also briefly worked with the Wailing Souls, before

With the addition of harmony singer Sandra "Puma" Jones, an Afro-American woman who held a master's degree from Columbia University and was a former member of the female group Mama Africa in 1981, Black Uhuru entered their most commercially successful period. In addition to recording a memorable studio album, Red, and an exciting live album, Tear It Up, the group reached its peak with the release of Anthem in 1983.

Red is an 1981 album by the Jamaican reggae band Black Uhuru. The line-up of the band changed many

forming a new version of Uhuru with Errol Nelson (of The Jayes) and Michael Rose, the group now taking the name Black Sounds Uhuru. Their Prince Jammy-produced debut album, Love Crisis, was released in 1977.

 They had their most successful period in the 1980s, with their album Anthem winning the first ever Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in 1985.
times during its 16 years and this is the second release for the lineup of Michael Rose, Sandra "Puma" Jones and Derek "Duckie" Simpson. Sly & Robbie were again in the production seat after having previously working with the band on the 1980 album Sinsemilla.

( The sophomore release from the third and most successful incarnation of Black Uhuru (singers Don Carlos, Erroll "Jay" Wilson, and Rudolph "Garth" Dennis had come before), Red spotlights the singing talents of then rising star Michael Rose, American-born Sandra "Puma" Jones, and original member Derrick "Duckie" Simpson. Backed by the tight and dancehall-era defining Sly & Robbie band, the trio reels off eight high-quality reggae cuts here, including classics like "Youth of Eglington" and "Sponji Reggae." Filled with Rose's astute lyrics, the album provides an engaging

blend of steppers rhythms and social commentary. Sly & Robbie's ingenious mix of sophisticated roots reggae and a variety of modern touches (synthesizers, electronic drums) not only brought Black Uhuru widespread fame but, along with Henry "Junjo" Lawes and Prince Jammy's contemporary productions, also helped define the slicked-up last stand of roots rhythms in the first half of the '80s, while foreshadowing reggae's coming digital age. A very enjoyable listen, recommended along with other fine offerings by the band like Chill Out and the Grammy-winning Anthem.    Review by Stephen Cook )

    Michael Rose - vocals
    Derrick "Duckie" Simpson - harmony vocals
    Puma Jones - harmony vocals
    Sly Dunbar - drums, syndrums
    Robbie Shakespeare - bass, piano
    Ranchie McLean - rhythm guitar, lead guitar
    Mikey Chung - rhythm guitar, lead guitar
    Radcliff "Dougie" Bryan - lead guitar
    Barry Reynolds - lead guitar
    Robert Lynn - piano
    Keith Sterling - piano
    Uziah "Sticky" Thompson - percussion


TRACKS

1.Youth of Eglington   5:00
2.Sponji Reggae        4:56
3.Sistren   Rose, Derrick "Duckie" Simpson 4:34
4.Journey       Simpson 5:21
5.Utterance         3:42
6.Puff She Puff   5:08
7.Rockstone  Rose, Simpson 4:38
8.Carbine       6:05

FLAC : Size : 241 MB