Respecting the Reggae Riddim
Picture it: 1988. You're in a dim studio in Kingston, Jamaica, and Dennis Brown is on the mic. Behind him seated at the drums is a young Lowell Dunbar (aka Sly) and next to him on guitar, his bredren Robert Shakespeare. Hear the bassline. Feel the shuffle of the percussion. See the birth of the original riddim, instrument by instrument. At that point producers Sly & Robbie had already cemented themselves on the reggae scene for a little over 10 years, and possibly had no idea that well into the 2000s, they would be the most prolific team in the musical genre, having produced around 200,000 songs. Their roster could easily start and stop with Dennis Brown, but Sly & Robbie's production credits continue to include classics from Bounty Killer, Buju Banton, Gregory Isaacs, Luciano, Tony Rebel, and of course Chaka Demus & Pliers. And their affiliations aren't limited to reggae. They've also performed and produced with/for legends like the Rolling Stones, Stin...