African Roots Act 3

The third and final installment in Wackies’ venerable African Roots series is essentially a dub version of Wicked Ago Feel It, the vocal album that Sugar Minott recorded for Lloyd “Bullwackie” Barnes during the same period. While the first two volumes of African Roots emphasized the experimental aspects of Barnes’ mixing style, this set does away with all trickery, yet still finds the fathomless mystery inherent in the ultra-simple constructions of “Stay on Dub,” “Take Away Dub,” and “Good Thing Dub.” The predominant sonic fingerprint belongs to Owen “Fox” Stewart, whose subtle but unmistakable keyboard work marks “So Much Dub,” “Feel It Dub,” and “Dubmatic.” While this set primarily focuses on Barnes' and Stewart's instrumental prowess and their unit of crack musicians—who performed under the moniker Wackies Rhythm Force—the crown jewel is undeniably “You I Love Dub,” which multiplies and layers Sugar Minott's reverb-drenched vocals so that they hang in the air like a sequence of smoke rings.