“DIS ONE IS for ALLA the JUNGLISTS”: from Rebel MC To
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“DIS ONE IS FOR ALLA THE JUNGLISTS”: From Rebel MC to Conquering Lion and beyond. The journeying of Michael West 34 MATT GRIMES aking a broadly historio- and the Soul Sonic Force’s 1982 blacks in 1970’s Britain also Tgraphical and socio-cultural release Planet Rock. sought to establish a Black British approach, this article presents the Rather than continuing to emulate identity that was reflective of development of Jungle, a unique American Electro, Hip-Hop their localised experiences. Lloyd Black British musical form, and House, which spoke of the Bradley (2002) suggests that in through the musical lifecourse of African American experience, the the 1970’s, the older generation one of Jungle’s originators and release of his next tune Cockney of Caribbean immigrants used innovators Michael West aka Con- Rhythm was an attempt at trying American Civil rights and Black go Natty. With its roots in Reg- to establish a UK manifestation Power as a revolutionary template. gae soundsystem culture, British of American Hip-Hop. What set For British Reggae bands, such as Hip-Hop, Soul and Rastafarian this aside from his American Steel Pulse and Aswad, this did philosophy, Jungle emerged from counterparts was the use of not resonate entirely with their various previous manifestations a sampled Reggae bass line experiences of being young and of Black British music since the black in 1970’s/80’s Britain. As 1970’s. With his ongoing develop- PLAYLIST Bradley notes: ment of and contribution to Jungle “To the new young bands, music and its culture, West pres- roots Reggae was a particularly ents a Black British identity that relevant expression of blackness reflects the multicultural society [...] Oddly, Rastafari’s notions he grew up in, and continues to of displacement actually made inhabit. greater sense in the UK that it did in Jamaica [….] It was easy to Establishing a brood on the idea that if you were British Black born in England or arrived as a Identity child, it wasn’t by choice and the Caribbean was where you should Born in Islington London in be. Thus it wasn’t a quantum leap 1965 to a Jamaican father to mentally translate the Africa/ and Welsh white mother, as a Jamaica theme to a West Indies/ young man Michael West often from Mikey Dread’s 1979 tune Great Britain forced exodus.” frequented north London Reggae Operators Choice. West drew on (2001: 430-431) soundsystem clashes, immersing a number of Jamaican influences This referential harking back to a himself in soundsystem culture. for his music productions as sense of ‘homeland’ to establish When he was 20 years old, he and a homage to the music he had a unique Black British identity some friends started their own experienced, and continued would be a trope that West himself soundsystem called Beat Freaks in to experience, at the Reggae would draw upon later in his life. which they would play a mixture soundclashes. It could be argued of Hip-Hop, Reggae and the New that West’s combination of Street tuff rebel York and Chicago house records Hip-Hop and Reggae, was also a music that were just starting to infiltrate way of expressing Black British UK record shops. Influenced youth experience and identity Through soundsystems like by these diverse sounds, West’s for his generation. So whilst Unity, Heatwave and Jah Tubbys, first foray into music production Jamaican Reggae music played a alongside emerging young UK was through his 1985 untitled part in his local culture, through toasters such as Tenor Fly who release under the name of Micron, the Caribbean diaspora of his cut his teeth MC’ing on Lloyd followed by the tune Solar Rock, father’s generation, being born Coxsone’s Sound System, West which was heavily influenced in England created a distance was also exposed to ragga by the style of Hip-Hop/Electro between his father’s experience music, a subgenre of dancehall style that was developing in of Jamaican culture and West’s that was originating in Jamaica the USA through artists such as own experiences of growing at that time. Unlike previous Afrika Bambaataa and Soul Sonic up in North London. As noted incarnations of Jamaican Reggae Force. The title itself was perhaps by both Paul Gilroy (1987) and music, Ragga was instrumentally 35 homage to Afrika Bambaataa Simon Jones (1988), young driven by electronic forms culture that West suggested of the authorities. From this UK where, like Hip-Hop, sampling people should seek to understand acid house/ techno rave scene a served a prominent role in its and engage with. Whilst the particular sound was emerging production, something that West historical factuality of the time of in the early 90’s. The electronic was already familiar with by such musical developments and instruments that spawned techno, using sampling techniques and introductions are always going to such as the Roland 909 and 808 electronic instrumentation in be contested, it’s worth noting that drum machines and the use of his early productions. 1988 saw West and a few other producers rudimentary samplers in early US West form the group Double such as DJ Hype, who was part of Hip-Hop were being repurposed Trouble who had major chart the Heatwave Soundsystem, and by UK producers in the early success with the single Street Tuff his friend Scientist, had already 1990’s as they produced a sped-up , the use of the spelling ‘tuff ‘ been experimenting with Ragga form of techno called hardcore. perhaps referencing Bob Marley’s and Dub basslines since early As Simon Reynolds (1994) notes, nickname and business empire 1990. As pirate radio station Kool the hardcore techno tunes of 1991 Tuff Gong. FM’s MC Navigator explains the that were based around looped hip term jungle comes from junglist hop beats became hugely popular Again, as a nod to Jamaican and and was first heard in raves as a and “the gritty funky syncopation London soundsystem culture, he Rebel MC sample: drew more black British kids sampled the bassline from The Maytals 1968 hit ‘54-46 That’s Rebel got this chant — 'alla the junglists' — from a yard-tape [ie, a My Number’ and combined this sound system mix-tape from Jamaica]. There's a place in Kingston with self-produced synth stabs called Tivoli Gardens, and the people call it the jungle. When you and syncopated breaks, frenetic hear on a yard-tape the MC sending a big-up to 'alla the junglists', patterns of cut up and rearranged they're calling out to a posse from Tivoli. When Rebel sampled that, sampled drum breaks from US people cottoned on, and soon they started to call the music 'Jungle' Funk and Soul records. When (Mc Navigator cited in Reynolds 1994) Double Trouble split after their chart success, West continued In Jamaica, a Junglist is a slang into hardcore rave. In turn they his contractual relationship with term which refers to a person brought new musical inputs, Desire Records, and during 1990, living in Jungle, an area of West Ragga and Dub in 92 and Soul in released a number of singles and Kingston, Jamaica. However, 93” an album titled Rebel Music: the term further developed into slang for people who operated Whilst previously sampling outside of the law, or according Reggae, Ska and Ragga and to the ‘law of the jungle’ such infusing his music with audio as rudeboys and gangsters. This samples of gunshots, rewinds, co-option of the term Junglist in sirens, air horns and lyrical the UK seemed to resonate with references to soundboys, the activities of UK Soundsystem rudeboys, badboys and gangsters, culture that also operated outside West’s use of visual references of the law in terms of the legality to Jamaican and Rasta culture of the soundclashes that at times became prominent during and took place in unlicensed premises, beyond this period. It could be argued that Rebel along with the unlicensed Music was a nod to Bob Marley selling of alcohol and the illegal BLACK MEANING and Reggae/Rastafarian cultural drug culture that existed in and heritage. The album single around soundsystems; practices GOOD Culture samples Jimmy Cliff and which would often bring the His 1991 follow up album Black Dennis Alcapone and lyrically soundsystem operators into direct Meaning Good (https://www. references Bob Marley, with West conflict with the authorities. discogs.com/Rebel-MC-Black- asking that people should study Meaning-Good/master/20284) their culture. For the first time A similar situation simultaneously continued to draw musical on record, West also used the existed in the UK acid house/ reference from ragga and Hip-Hop term Jungle music and Junglist techno scene, where warehouse but visually referenced Jamaican in his lyrics, suggesting that this parties and the popular use of and Rastafarian culture in a more term was linked to the Jamaican ecstasy, attracted the attention 36 direct way than Rebel Music had dub production through innovative also influenced by cultural, social previously done with red, gold and uses of the mixing desk as a form and economic forces, such as green being the only colours on an of instrumentation as well as the relative affordability of the otherwise black and white cover. production. As West Explains; technology, the Jamaican and What is particularly visually Rastafarian cultural and musical striking is the illustration of what “..when you have a certain way of references he drew upon for his it seems are black slaves carrying making music, it’s a lot to do with productions, and the multicultural texts that show how the word the technology that is available society in which he grew up in, black has always been linked to at the time.