Tippa Irie

Tippa Irie, MacSorleys, Jamaica Street, Glasgow 1st June 2013

Evergreen on the UK reggae scene, Tippa Irie brought his unique style in old school fashion to nice up the dance in Glasgow on Saturday night. You don’t notch up nearly thirty years in the business without having something special. On record, or even with a live band, sometimes it is hard to capture the true essence of dancehall; the rapport betwee...n the live performer and the crowd through the power of the microphone and sound system. A packed MacSorleys bar was feeling the vibes, bouncing along to a masterclass in DJ craft, with Tippa the consummate professional overflowing with lyrics, energy and charisma in abundance. This is how he made his name on the Saxon Sound back in the day, a leading light in a new generation of British MCs, without whom the sound of today’s dancehall, rap, grime or whatever the hell they call it would be very different…slower, for one thing. I lost track of who is the world record holder for speed rapping since Daddy Freddy tore it apart on Record Breakers with Roy Castle, but Tippa demonstrated he could give anyone a run for their money. He always had his own brand of humour, chronicling everyday life for Black British youth in the early eighties, and was one of the first to chat in an unashamedly London style, taking Jamaican DJs on, with even the great Yellowman taking notes. The session was powered by Samson Sound, who heated up the place as much as Fire in Babylon’s yard food, with just enough time for the crowd to cool down with plenty of Red Stripe, stocked up by the venue that stepped in at short notice to host the show, but has become so associated with reggae I am sure I am right in thinking the council has recently renamed it as Jamaica Street.  

Tippa takes us on a journey through eighties cultural references that may have faded while the tunes have stayed fresh. Not many people may remember ‘Falcon Crest’ now, but ‘Hello Darling’ always brings a smile to people’s faces and as Tippa said, it was the reason he could give up his day job, and it also gave me something to say to girls at the school disco when I was 14 so I'm sure we all have a reason to be thankful for this catchy crossover tune.  He is also clearly able to appeal to a generation who may not have been paying such close attention in the eighties, what with being mere embryos or just a glint in a soundman's eye at the time, and skips easily from raggamuffin to jungle to ska to his smash hit with the Black Eyed Peas. What has seen him through three decades of musical, social, personal and political changes, is that he has always stuck to his roots, as testified on the latest album with the Far East band from Germany. This is good advice, which you can follow in the next instalment of the summer of reggae in Scotland, courtesy of JA Live.