sus
Moderator
That's really brutal. Is that why Craner left?
SHAKA R.I.P.
- Thread starter DannyL
- Start date
Craner likes to hold the board in disdain. He's not angry, he's just very disappointed.
Leo
Well-known member
That would require paying attention to such a little numbnuts. Pass.
sufi
lala
+1 on this - it's odd to find that he was mortal, just never thought of him that way
sufi
lala
nice tribute at
www.facebook.com
Aba Shanti-I
Aba Shanti-I. 50,092 likes · 70 talking about this. The Official Facebook page for Aba Shanti-I Sound System
www.facebook.com
Client Eastwood
Well-known member
Salute
william_kent
Well-known member
it's taken me a while to process this news
there is a tune or two I wanted to post as a sort of tribute, but youtube, mixcloud, and soundcloud fail, and I'm too lazy to "rip" them myself
so here is one of my favourite Shaka clips, where he goes wild on the H & H echo, overdubbing The Twinkle Brothers in front of an audience who were there to see "someone else" at some odd showcase event, not his usual habitat
Jah Shaka - H & H Echo Style 1989
^ this is fucking wild! Shaka was once known as a "madman sound"
while I'm at it, here's a clip from the "Sound Business" documentary where the young lads show us how to dance, recorded at a "cup dance" - this is more for the moves than the music
Shaka in the dance - 1979
here's the 3 hour version of the 1986 dance at Arklow Road
Jah Shaka - Arklow Road 1986
this was Shaka at his lowest point of popularity, most Sound System had embraced slackness, very poor attendance at the Shaka dances, I've seen video of one from this period where two dreadlocks are stepping in an otherwise empty community centre, but he stuck to his guns and became a legend
he mellowed out in the 90s as the white crusties paid the bils
Jah Shaka - The Rocket 1989 ( ? )
^ this is from the Visions VHS tape which is one of the only reasons that I still own a VHS player - this is an awful quality rip, but to be honest the VHS isn't that much better... but there is more than one dead person on this video but at least they are captured on tape for posterity.. we used to laugh when we spotted "x" in the video but now I frown... anyway, Shaka is on fire, H & H echo action, chanting, an "all roads lead to" announcement, everything pushed into the "red"... I spent years tracking down this tune and when I got it..well, let's just say Shaka was an alchemist
sometimes in the 90s his Sound system was stolen leading to a bit of a hiatus
but I did catch him on his one visit to Manchester, feel proud to say he told me to fuck off out of the way ( actually it was a nod and a subtle head movement indicating that we were standing in the exact spot he intended to place a stack of speakers while he was "stringing up the sound" )
and then he became a global ambassador - here's another favourite clip of him bringing reggae to the land of the rising sun - Ninja Style!
Shaka - Japan
badder than dem ninja!
it also took me a few years to acquire this tune ( Earl 16 - Natural Roots ) although there are a few versions and I bought the "not so good" one before finding the version Shaka is playing in this clip
one tune that is on youtube that I've posted before but... it's an example of why certain tunes were known on reggae bore forums as "Shaka Killers"
Max Romeo - Melt Away ( Shaka Music )
R.I.P, a legend
there is a tune or two I wanted to post as a sort of tribute, but youtube, mixcloud, and soundcloud fail, and I'm too lazy to "rip" them myself
so here is one of my favourite Shaka clips, where he goes wild on the H & H echo, overdubbing The Twinkle Brothers in front of an audience who were there to see "someone else" at some odd showcase event, not his usual habitat
Jah Shaka - H & H Echo Style 1989
^ this is fucking wild! Shaka was once known as a "madman sound"
while I'm at it, here's a clip from the "Sound Business" documentary where the young lads show us how to dance, recorded at a "cup dance" - this is more for the moves than the music
Shaka in the dance - 1979
here's the 3 hour version of the 1986 dance at Arklow Road
Jah Shaka - Arklow Road 1986
this was Shaka at his lowest point of popularity, most Sound System had embraced slackness, very poor attendance at the Shaka dances, I've seen video of one from this period where two dreadlocks are stepping in an otherwise empty community centre, but he stuck to his guns and became a legend
he mellowed out in the 90s as the white crusties paid the bils
Jah Shaka - The Rocket 1989 ( ? )
^ this is from the Visions VHS tape which is one of the only reasons that I still own a VHS player - this is an awful quality rip, but to be honest the VHS isn't that much better... but there is more than one dead person on this video but at least they are captured on tape for posterity.. we used to laugh when we spotted "x" in the video but now I frown... anyway, Shaka is on fire, H & H echo action, chanting, an "all roads lead to" announcement, everything pushed into the "red"... I spent years tracking down this tune and when I got it..well, let's just say Shaka was an alchemist
sometimes in the 90s his Sound system was stolen leading to a bit of a hiatus
but I did catch him on his one visit to Manchester, feel proud to say he told me to fuck off out of the way ( actually it was a nod and a subtle head movement indicating that we were standing in the exact spot he intended to place a stack of speakers while he was "stringing up the sound" )
and then he became a global ambassador - here's another favourite clip of him bringing reggae to the land of the rising sun - Ninja Style!
Shaka - Japan
badder than dem ninja!
it also took me a few years to acquire this tune ( Earl 16 - Natural Roots ) although there are a few versions and I bought the "not so good" one before finding the version Shaka is playing in this clip
one tune that is on youtube that I've posted before but... it's an example of why certain tunes were known on reggae bore forums as "Shaka Killers"
Max Romeo - Melt Away ( Shaka Music )
R.I.P, a legend
version
Well-known member
I liked this I saw on Twitter,
"shaka is inimitable, not least because his sound tends to obliterate attempts to record it"
"shaka is inimitable, not least because his sound tends to obliterate attempts to record it"
william_kent
Well-known member
I tell a lie about him only visiting Manchester once, I should have clarified "only once with his Sound"
previously to that he did once play live with his band, the Fasimbas / Shaka All Stars, at the International club in Manchester
there was a celeb on the mixing desk, seem to recall it may have been the Mad Professor, but my memory is a bit hazy
I remember he sang this song
Jah Shaka - Do the Right Thing
this tune was ruined for me because a friend mentioned that she thought he was singing "student rights"
previously to that he did once play live with his band, the Fasimbas / Shaka All Stars, at the International club in Manchester
there was a celeb on the mixing desk, seem to recall it may have been the Mad Professor, but my memory is a bit hazy
I remember he sang this song
Jah Shaka - Do the Right Thing
this tune was ruined for me because a friend mentioned that she thought he was singing "student rights"
william_kent
Well-known member
another favourite Shaka clip:
Shaka vs Coxsone vs Fatman 1993
this was the dance where Shaka had "technical difficulties" and afterwards refused to ever "clash" again
about 29 mins in the camera person was focusing on the pimped out ranking dread looky like in the hat supplied by Gregory Isaac's milliner who is concentrating on rolling his spliff
but then Shaka assumes his position at the controls and after a bit of a false start the crowd goes wild as he drops a monster tune ( I've helpfully set the youtube vid to start at this point ) and the ranking dread dude and his mate in the natty pink hat lose their cool
Shaka vs Coxsone vs Fatman 1993
this was the dance where Shaka had "technical difficulties" and afterwards refused to ever "clash" again
about 29 mins in the camera person was focusing on the pimped out ranking dread looky like in the hat supplied by Gregory Isaac's milliner who is concentrating on rolling his spliff
but then Shaka assumes his position at the controls and after a bit of a false start the crowd goes wild as he drops a monster tune ( I've helpfully set the youtube vid to start at this point ) and the ranking dread dude and his mate in the natty pink hat lose their cool
These clips are fucking wild. I'd seen the cup dance one before but a terrible copy. Mad to hear his voice.
william_kent
Well-known member
no, his surname was McKenzie ( edit: or rather I should say the family name of the slave master who "owned" his ancestors and which was assigned to him at birth )
true heads called him "Knocky", never Shaka, ( sarcasm: that was from a defunct reggae bore forum )
william_kent
Well-known member
here's the Destiny tune Dub Judah talks about
Fabienne Miranda - Destiny
a "Shaka Killer"
she's best known for "Prophecy", but Shaka was always about the "deep cuts"
Fabienne Miranda - Destiny
a "Shaka Killer"
she's best known for "Prophecy", but Shaka was always about the "deep cuts"
william_kent
Well-known member
one of the tunes I originally intended to post as a tribute was "In The Beginning Dub", the first track off this dub album that is probably in my top ten dub albums EVER, even if it is only for the opening tune:
Jah Shaka - Jah Dub Creator - Commandments Of Dub Chapter 5
the first tune, "In The Beginning Dub" is a lethal do-over of the rhythm that is maybe better known as "Chapter 3", a "Loft" classic and Joe Gibbs tune off the "African Almighty Dub" series, which was really a do-over of the Jacob Miller Augustus Pablo tune "Baby I Love You So" which is also known as the "King Tubby's meets Rockers Uptown" riddim ( I may have made a longwinded drunken case for this rhythm being the birth of techno in another thread )
but Shaka makes the tune his own due to the over the top snare overkill, the simultaneous "wet " reverb and yet "dry" production
there was much talk in the past about the UK could never rival JA for reggae but, in my opinion, the Shaka sound was geared for cold community centres, freezing cold church halls, and other desolate enclosed spaces, whilst Jamaican tunes were meant to be played in sunny open "lawns" - horses for courses, etc.,
anyway, Jah Dub Creator is one of the greatest dub albums ever, and has maybe the best cover of any dub album EVER
with a cover like this you know it's going to be gold
Jah Shaka - Jah Dub Creator - Commandments Of Dub Chapter 5
the first tune, "In The Beginning Dub" is a lethal do-over of the rhythm that is maybe better known as "Chapter 3", a "Loft" classic and Joe Gibbs tune off the "African Almighty Dub" series, which was really a do-over of the Jacob Miller Augustus Pablo tune "Baby I Love You So" which is also known as the "King Tubby's meets Rockers Uptown" riddim ( I may have made a longwinded drunken case for this rhythm being the birth of techno in another thread )
but Shaka makes the tune his own due to the over the top snare overkill, the simultaneous "wet " reverb and yet "dry" production
there was much talk in the past about the UK could never rival JA for reggae but, in my opinion, the Shaka sound was geared for cold community centres, freezing cold church halls, and other desolate enclosed spaces, whilst Jamaican tunes were meant to be played in sunny open "lawns" - horses for courses, etc.,
anyway, Jah Dub Creator is one of the greatest dub albums ever, and has maybe the best cover of any dub album EVER
with a cover like this you know it's going to be gold
william_kent
Well-known member
Shaka was not alone, I once had "technical difficulties" and blew up my amp, had to rely on a "boom box" for a couple of months and one of the tapes that carried me through that time was :
Jah Shaka Pesents Dub Masters Volume 1
there never was a volume 2
this was a standout tune off that tape, a reminder that at one time Aswad were not shit:
Aswad - Mossman Skank
I was familiar with the tune anyway due to it's previous incarnation as the "Dub Fire" tune on "New Chapter of Dub", but this version with the bad man card shark chat lead to a life long obsession with the "Promise Land" rhythm, one of the heaviest bass lines EVER ( I may have mentioned this before )
Jah Shaka Pesents Dub Masters Volume 1
there never was a volume 2
this was a standout tune off that tape, a reminder that at one time Aswad were not shit:
Aswad - Mossman Skank
I was familiar with the tune anyway due to it's previous incarnation as the "Dub Fire" tune on "New Chapter of Dub", but this version with the bad man card shark chat lead to a life long obsession with the "Promise Land" rhythm, one of the heaviest bass lines EVER ( I may have mentioned this before )