Reggae Anthology - Music Works Classics: The Gussie Clarke Story

As a youth struggling to make it in Kingston’s highly competitive early-'70s music scene, Augustus “Gussie” Clarke made his name by championing up-and-coming deejays like I-Roy and Big Youth. By the late ‘80s he had become a dominant figure on the Jamaican scene, thanks largely to his aggressive championing of digital production techniques. He founded the Music Works label in 1988, intending it to be a strictly digital venture, and it wasn’t long before Gussie’s computerized rhythms began to cause a sensation in Kingston dancehalls. One of his biggest early successes was “Rumours,” a slinky bit of late-night paranoia delivered by Gregory Isaacs. “Rumours” would have an incalculable effect on the development of dancehall in the following decade, and Music Works Classics forefronts its importance by including no fewer than three cuts with the “Rumours” rhythm. The remainder of Music Works Classics is distinguished by equally vital digital productions, including hard-stepping rhymes by ambitious young deejays like Papa San and Shabba Ranks, plus more roots-oriented contributions by veterans like Dennis Brown, The Mighty Diamonds, and others.