We Begin With Only 1 Rule

This journey requires the use of Headphones or Ear Buds. If you are going to listen and learn you must feel the baselines as Jah intended. So now We Begin!

Burning Spear (Live) - Driver

I want to make it quite clear that my love of Reggae extends deeply into the Drum and Bass and that's what moves my soul but every once in a while something will strike me. And though it's a rarity I was overtaken by the rhythm guitar quip in this live performance of Driver.

When listening to Winston Rodney reasoning live over hard driving base and crisp drum taps your drawn in and there's nothing you can do about it but on this day, at this place, with this sound system it is the precise guitar hit that captures me. Every time I watch and listen to this video for nearly 7 minutes I plead with the Reggae gods not to let it end.

And though I've stood before him dozens of times and heard many versions of Driver, this one stands out among the best. How I would have loved to see this in person.

My Reggae Story

The Reggae Journey is a result of new inspiration from our new tribe @reggaesteem. What you will hear from me is compilation of me and the musical journey embarked on with my friends some 35 years ago. In some sense the product of a quarter century-long friendship between friends who have shared a passion for reggae since junior high school. I originally hail from Central Florida. Like many North Americans, we were exposed first through BMW, the great Jimmy Cliff, and the Clash. Intrigued by what we heard, we began seeking out other reggae artists and their records where we could find them. Soon we became regulars at a local club, Negril Palms, where a phenomenal outfit, New Breed, was the house band. Luckily no one seemed to care that we were under-age.

We also came to know a number of local Caribbean migrants to Central Florida, many of whom had come as H2 workers to harvest citrus. Among them was the deeply religious Kabrasta Negasta, a dread who lived in a little red, gold and green house (dubbed the Judah Seal Museum); dressed only in military khaki (like Selassie, he told us); and openly smoked and sold his sacrament (for which he spent too much time in the dungeon). We spent many hours in the company of Kab and his Idren, where oily sticks of incense burned; the chalice bubbled; dreads came and went; the cops occasionally paid a call; and the heaviest (what Kab called “orthodox”) rhythms pounded out of giant speakers – think of Hugh Mundell’s “Western Kingston Style.” For us, this immersion in race, class, and cultural difference cast a spell on us like nothing else in our high school years. Our collective love of Jamaican music shaped how we saw the world, what we thought mattered, and how much bass is required for music to be listenable.

We are now scattered across the globe, from Florida to Connecticut, and from California to Mozambique, but are all still as hooked as we ever were. The idea for our original was Howard’s, whose vision emerged out of the desire to find some way for us all to share the music we all have continued to explore. It has always taken place on Maxell Tapes and now it will take place on @reggaesteem where I will share the years of collective thought deciding to share some of the all time great Reggae tunes every recorded. I hope you enjoy it and consider this an invitation to start your own Reggae journey with the help of a group of friends who started together over 35 years ago.

Onward - @cflclosers

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