Was sitting in crib with my boy and he brought up how he wanted to get into spinning more reggae and spent half the night bumping what i had in my stash which isn't deep enough as it should be. I remember at one point not being into reggae because only person i knew of was Bob Marley and the Wailers haha.
Over the months thanks to friends I've developed a new appreciation for dub,Rocksteady, and smooth reggae mainly. The following uploads are songs you can just sit back to and groove to in your room with your lady(if you got one ha!) or alone on a chilled out day.
I heard the Tamlins Version of "Baltimore" (originally done by
Nina Simone and sampled by Ant on brother ali's song "
Freedom Ain't Free")on a compilation called
Darker Than Blue, the group itself consist of 3 singers Junior Moore, Derrick Lara, and Carlton Hines. The reggae version of the song is very harmonic with a twist of blues in the vocals. Who knows why they chose Baltimore to remake non the less it came out a fresh single 2 years after Ninas version was made.
Alton Elis's
"Im still in love with you" is one of my favorites from the godfather of
rocksteady. The all around feel is more soulish from the way Alton hits his notes but still carries a reggae vibe that doesn't completely take away from it's element. Almost every song Alton has is bump worthy and capable of honorable mention along with his remake of
"Ain't no Music" unfortunately he passed away this past October but there are several good findings if you look around for more of his work.
Freddie Mcgregor makes some great Lovers Rock, but very versatile in the styles he gives out since he's dabbled in a little bit of everything. Having a steady career, i love how Freddie can bring that soulful vibe consistently, and the man has been singing since the 60's at the age of 7 so you know he's got that longevity. Alot of his songs are Rastafari influenced and he is a member of the
Twelve Tribes . "Natural Collie" is so addictive for me, it's just mad mellow and the bass line rides perfectly with Freddies chanting.
Not alot to for me to go by with Otis Gayle, he's a hard find though but his remake of Bobby Caldwells
"what you won't do for love" is off the chain. The beat is just knockin throughout the whole song from the solid procussions. My only downfall with the song is how short it is but it's a sweet 2:32.
Tamlins-BaltimoreAlton Ellis-Im Still In love with youFreddie Mcgregor-Natural CollieOtis Gayle-What you wont do for love
Posts
