Friday, February 10, 2012
Concert Picks / Weekend Shinehead rewinds riddims for Atlanta's Reggae Legends Week
Posted by Rodney Carmichael @Rappin_Rodney on Fri, Feb 10, 2012 at 5:15 PM
It might seem inconceivable now, but once upon a time anti-drug songs were the rule in rap. It was as if you couldn't get a record deal in 1988 without comin' correct — word to Shy-D ["Paula's on Crack"]. But when it comes to some of the top "Just Say No" joints of the era, there was the bombastic Chuck D and Public Enemy with "Night of the Living Bassheads" (still the most iconic rap video of all-time), Run-DMC's New Jack Swing-assisted, pop-tart PSA "Pause," and the Brand Nubian's Edie Brickell-sampled burner "Slow Down."
But the most bizarre crack-is-wack anthem of the late-’80s by far was the raggamuffin gem "Gimme No Crack" by MC/dancehall artist Shinehead. Whether it was the sing-songy hook ("I'm real cool/I chill ’cause I max/I might act crazy but I don't smoke crack"), or the amped-up tongue-twista flow he followed it up with ("Don't gimme dat/me don't want dat/don't gimme no/me don't want dat CRACK! CRACK!"), the shit was hilariously addictive.
Shinehead headlines Atlanta's annual Reggae Legends Week with a Saturday night performance at 595 North, hosted by Erica Newell of the Stephen Marley Band, Atlanta-based MC Ekundayo. With Alive 'N' Well (Mike Flo & Ekundayo), Stahhr, Jemere Morgan, Marian Mereba, Lotus Love, Jazmatic, Ahzjah, Adams Morgan. Selectors: DJs Mafioso, Lion of Judah, Jah Prince, Abashaka. $15 door. 9 p.m.-Until. Sat., Feb. 11. 595 North, 595 North Ave. www.reggaelegendsweek.com.
Nowadays it's commonplace for rap, dancehall, and reggae to mix in ways that make it hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. But the fusion is one Shinehead helped pioneer, emerging from New York's dancehall sound system scene in the early ’80s, with a signature look — oversized Cazals hanging off the tip of his nose — as quirky as his musical blend.
Another song from his second album Unity that got daily play on "Yo! MTV Raps" with Ed Lover and the fat Dr. Dre was "Chain Gang Rap," on which Shinehead reworked Sam Cooke's classic to riff about NY's ubiquitous subway system. The end of the video starts to show an old BET "Video Soul" interview Shinehead had with Donnie Simpson before cutting off.
In 1992, Shinehead scored his biggest hit overseas with a cover of Sting's popular "Englishman In New York," tweaked ever so slightly by Shinehead to rep his homeland with the appropriately titled, "Jamaican In New York."
Reggae artists have always been quick to rework a song in their own fashion, but I always thought it was cool that Shinehead (who was born in England before his family relocated to Jamaica and then New York) chose to remake "Englishman In New York" — a song by an artist who made his career, first with the Police and as a solo artist, by heavily borrowing from Jamaica's reggae riddims. I'm sure the irony was not lost on Shinehead.
But don't be surprised if he doesn't perform anything as crossover as "Jamaican In New York" on Saturday night. I'd go expecting selections a little more "Rough and Rugged," and roots, of course. Peep him strumming on his acoustic guitar during this interview, fleshing out his own biographical and artistic roots, recorded in France a couple of years ago.
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