SINCE leaving the popular Jamaican reggae group, Black Uhuru in 1985, Junior Reid had spent considerable time out of his home country and had not had a massive hit song that period. He’s best known for the songs “One Blood” and “This Is Why I’m Hot”
Junior-Reid
Junior-Reid
The 1990 cry for unity among warring factions throughout the world has become his signature, winning him fans among a new generation of dancehall and hip hop die-hards. One Blood has been sampled by hip hop acts like Wu Tang Clan and The Game, and is a rallying cry for ghetto youth in Jamaica.
He recalled being in England in the late 1989 and observing the animosity between blacks and police in that country.
Returning to Jamaica, he found hostility throughout inner-city communities; Reid also read about bloody gang feuds in Los Angeles between the Bloods and the Crips. At home, he said, the situation was dire.
“There was a tension in Jamaica, the streets was like a ghost town,” Reid recalled. The universal friction inspired him to write One Blood, which was recorded at his studio and producer at Gussie Clarke’s Anchor complex.
Backing him were keyboardist Tony ‘Asher’ Brissett, saxophonist Dean Fraser, bass player Chris Meredith, drummer Cleveland Browne and guitarist Dalton Browne. Reid said, he was pleased with the song but did not know how big a hit it would be.
“Nobody know when a song is going to be a hit.” Reid credits the sound systems for breaking One Blood, which quickly became an anthem in the dancehall. In terms of popularity, it surpassed Original Foreign Mind and Fit Yuh Haffe Fit (which he did with Black Uhuru) as his biggest hit in Jamaica. Its distinctive hook has been used by the Wu Tang Clan (One Blood Under W) and The Game for his smash 2006 hit It’s Okay.
The album of the same name, also released in 1990, is arguably Reid’s finest. It included the song Married Life, a cover of The Beatles’ Eleanor Rigby, and Sound:
*Courtesy of Jamaican Observer
SOURCES: VANGUARDNGR
Returning to Jamaica, he found hostility throughout inner-city communities; Reid also read about bloody gang feuds in Los Angeles between the Bloods and the Crips. At home, he said, the situation was dire.
“There was a tension in Jamaica, the streets was like a ghost town,” Reid recalled. The universal friction inspired him to write One Blood, which was recorded at his studio and producer at Gussie Clarke’s Anchor complex.
Backing him were keyboardist Tony ‘Asher’ Brissett, saxophonist Dean Fraser, bass player Chris Meredith, drummer Cleveland Browne and guitarist Dalton Browne. Reid said, he was pleased with the song but did not know how big a hit it would be.
“Nobody know when a song is going to be a hit.” Reid credits the sound systems for breaking One Blood, which quickly became an anthem in the dancehall. In terms of popularity, it surpassed Original Foreign Mind and Fit Yuh Haffe Fit (which he did with Black Uhuru) as his biggest hit in Jamaica. Its distinctive hook has been used by the Wu Tang Clan (One Blood Under W) and The Game for his smash 2006 hit It’s Okay.
The album of the same name, also released in 1990, is arguably Reid’s finest. It included the song Married Life, a cover of The Beatles’ Eleanor Rigby, and Sound:
*Courtesy of Jamaican Observer
SOURCES: VANGUARDNGR
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