A few months ago I was flipping through an issue of Mojo and in a review of U Roy's latest LP, they referred to him as "the late" U Roy. As in dead. Fu-uck. U Roy was one of my favorite reggae artists. I was both bummed and stunned. It hit me that my connection to any sort of reggae community has dissipated to the point that in the few months since his death, no one I knew had heard the news either.
I've been listening to U Roy's stuff since I was twenty years old, well over half my life. He's one of the artists that has spent the most time on my turntable. I owe it to that first record of his that I bought, Dread In A Babylon. I still consider it his best LP. After that one I went back to the beginning. Here's a few from his first LP Version Galore, 1970. I realize that the above doesn't say shit about U Roy himself. If you're unfamiliar with him, there's a link to a profile at Jamaican from about four years ago.
U Roy - Wake the Town mp3 at Internet Archive
U Roy - Rule the Nation mp3 at Internet Archive
U Roy - Wear You to the Ball mp3 at Internet Archive
U Roy - Tide Is High mp3 at Tumblr
U Roy - Dread In A Babylon (full LP, streaming) at YouTube
Visit:
U-Roy, Best Known as the Pioneer of Toasting the Forerunner to Rap at Jamaicans
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