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DJ's (Reggae Greats) (Island, 1984) An intriguing collection of works from early DJ masters who display styles that so greatly influenced hip-hop as we know it today. The line-up here contains many big names, ranging from toasters like U. Roy and Scotty -- who more or less just talk over their tracks -- to early dancehall chatters like Yellowman and Lone Ranger to who knows what Eek A Mouse is. This album starts off strong, with 3 great tunes: U-Roy's "Runaway Girl," Lone Ranger's "tribute" to Dark Shadows, "Barnabas Collins," and Michigan & Smiley's wonderfully energetic "One Love Jamdown." I don't usually care for toasting much, but U-Roy does a nice job incorporating his vocals with the backing song, Ken Boothe's "Just Another Girl." Less effective are Scotty's "Draw Your Brakes," voiced over The Wailers' "Stop That Train," and Dillinger's "C.B. 200," voiced over Gregory Isaacs' "Sun Shines for Me." Like much of "toasting" (in my eyes), it's just some un-rhythmic rambling over someone else's song (today known as a Puff Daddy song). Fortunately, for those listeners like me who can't take much of this style, most of the songs on DJ's are not toasts. Unfortunately, most of the tunes also aren't as good as the first 3, with only Eek A Mouse's zany "Wa Do Dem" living up to their standard. Still, the rest aren't bad and are worth a listen as a piece of reggae history. |
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