Those within the hip hop community – performers, promoters and the like – don’t generally make a big deal about where the genre came from beyond name checking DJ Kool Herc or Mr. James Brown. But Herc was born in Kingston during the ’50s. So, while folks can figure anyone from Kraftwerk to Gil Scott-Heron influencing the music that today constitutes hip hop, JA related stuff is an inseparable part of the culture.
Lawrence Parker and Derrick Jones understood all of this going into the recording of Edutainment (1990) and its title track, which makes use of a classic Skatalites rhythm.
“So why is the Pope such a political figure,” asks KRS One as he aligns himself with the likes of Lee Perry in critiquing international goings on. Compounding the confluence of ideas here is the ska-beat of “Man in the Street.” The original finds itself virtually untouched, just looped endlessly with only the choicest horn line plundered to good effect.
“Edutainment” isn’t the first or only example of a producer making use of JA music, but there aren’t too many tracks from the formative period of the island’s music utilized in the same fashion.
