Black Uhuru

Rip It Up, Issue 98, 1 September 1985, Page 8

Black Uhuru

Certainly the most militant face of Rastafari in the Island catalogue, Black Uhuru have had a long and chequered career, marked by frequent disagreements and changes of personnel. They were founded in the mid-19705, when Derrick ’Duckie’ Simpson teamed up with Garth Dennis (now with the Wailing Souls) and Don Carlos, now an established solo performer. This incarnation cut only one single before splitting, and

Simpson then recruited Errol Nelson from the Jayes and a young man named Michael Rose, who had recorded with Prince Jammy. This trio cut the first Uhuru LR Love Crisis, later reissued by Greensleeves as Black Sounds of Freedom (a literal translation of the group’s name). The album has stood the test of time but did not achieve the expected success at the time. Nelson quit, and Simpson and Rose decided to seek a woman vocalist as a replacement. Puma Jones, an American from South Carolina, was discovered by Simpson in an apartment building, singing Bob Marley!s ’Natural Mystic’. She had converted to Rastafari while still in the States and came to Jamaica to further her religious studies, recording with Ras Michael and the Sons of Negus. The classic Black Uhuru was born, the sound being completed with the rhythm section of Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare. These two were seeking a suitable vehicle for the new sound they were developing, fusing

reggae and funk into a light but very potent beat, held together with the syndrums which have become a Sly and Robbie trademark known as The Taxi Sound’.

The group produced five albums, peaking with 1981’s Red. Michael Rose departed earlier this year, to be replaced by Junior Reid, a light dancehall-style singer, whose debut single with the group failed to impress. It seems we've seen the best

of Black Uhuru, well captured on the compilation. There are three tracks from Sinsemilla, only two from Red, two from Chill Out and three from Anthem. Glad to see, by the way, that the Anthem tracks are the originals rather than Paul Smykle’s dreary remixes. Would have liked to see 'Chill Out and 'Puff She Puff here, but in total the compilation is a fitting tribute to a well tough ensemble.