In honour of Black History Month and CIVL’s newest music show, Echoes of Roots and Dub, hosted by Lion Trod, CIVL Station Manager Aaron Levy brings you a shuffle of Grade A Reggae-oriented tunes to groove to this month!
I hadn’t heard this song much since it came out in the late 2000s, but after enjoying a deep cut spin during a drum and bass set last year, it’s been a staple in my long car ride journeys. I’m all about the high vocal flourish on the games!
Canadians may know Levy from the popular early 2000s Rascalz hit, “Top of The World,” with his skatalogical vocalizations connecting the Canadian diaspora with the authentic calls of the roots reggae tradition. He’s one of the originals, and this is as formative as it gets.
Darrin Kenneth O’Brien is from Toronto, born in 1969, and has a completely manufactured Jamaican Patois accent. Apparently he had the blessing of community members and supporters around the neighbourhood/city, but years later, I can’t stop thinking, he puts that accent on? Yes, yes he definitely does.
Haviah Mighty has been winning Junos, rocking social media, and overall re-establishing a new hip hop Queen in Canada — and like Michi Mee and Jully Black before her, she’s based in Toronto. From Mighty’s record 13th Floor, this track is perhaps her most “roots oriented” in the stable.
