Macka B

African Caribbean Centre, Glasgow, 18 November 2011

The roots was in town last night. DJ, poet, stand-up comedian, teacher, preacher;  Macka B stands out in the reggae world with his unique blend of wit and wisdom and inimitable musical style that brings dancehall back to its roots.  His consistent high quality, prolific recording output with conscious lyrics and topical comment for almost thirty years makes him a social chronicler and cultural historian, moving with ease from the black community in Britain to the global political stage. With his unique take on subjects as diverse as colonialism, religion, football, sexism, diet and alcohol, Glasgow was the perfect venue for his message.  As the African Caribbean Centre filled up, a magnet for reggae aficionados from all over Scotland, the Mighty Bass Warrior Sound set the scene with a great selection to get the crowd in the mood.  The stage, sound, lights, everything was cook, curry and copasetic as the Roots Ragga Band warmed up, getting everyone moving with a rocking rendition of the ‘Swing Easy’ riddim.


Macka B took the stage and launched into not one but two ganja anthems, then not one but two tunes bigging up the women, which were always guaranteed to go down well with the audience. But, at six foot three and xxlarge, a living advertisement for veganism, Macka B must be the only person who can get a room jumping up and down to a list of vegetables.  Some of my favourite tunes of his are the combinations he has done with singers such as Kofi and John McLean, but he did not need these as he reeled through so many songs, refreshing them with the live treatment, revealing why he is such a regular performer at festivals around the world. Enlisting the crowd to join in the original lyrics to his DJ versions of reggae classics such as ‘Chase the Devil’, ‘Legalise It’ and ‘One Drop’, he is the missing link between roots and ragga. He kept going for around two hours, the first encore turned out to be just half-time, as he returned to give us a special preview of a couple of tracks from his new album, due out early in the new year, which showed he has not compromised or lost his touch . Always ready to respond to the changing musical scene, he reminds the new generation of grime and dubstep MCs that ‘Reggae is the Daddy’.  Never afraid to speak his mind, he uses his lyrical talents to draw attention to international news, with a powerful track reacting to the recent execution of Troy Davis in the US.


For the first encore, Macka B introduced his band, including what is becoming a modern reggae tradition of keeping it in the family, with his son doing a great job on keyboards. The drummer and bass man did the Mad Professor proud, especially on the classic ‘Kunte Kinte’dub, while the saxophonist could give Dean Fraser or Val Bennett a run for their money, and the guitarist held the whole thing together neatly.  There have been so many issues Macka B has tackled over the years, many of which continue to be relevant today, while others tell a vital story of black history (check out The Fall of the Devil), he inevitably could not fit it all in, and left us still wanting more. Although, as Macka B told us, ‘Our Music’ sounds better on a ‘Forty-five’, it is OK to revisit his back catalogue on I-Tunes and Amazon, from the eighties ‘Unemployment Blues’ to this year’s ‘Nah Bleach’, while you are waiting for the new album. And, no matter where you are from, if you love African Caribbean culture or want to know more about it, this centre is for you and it needs your support and participation, so follow JA Live and don’t miss a thing in 2012.