Roots & Culture 239 Items

The best of the early singles by Bob Marley and the Wailers Volume 2. The partnership of Bob Marley and the Wailers in its short life would create what many consider to be some of the greatest reggae ever recorded.

Twenty years on, The Black Seeds mark the 2 decade anniversary of their debut album ‘Keep On Pushing’ as a first ever vinyl release. In 1998, The Black Seeds formed their roots in Wellington - a creative, 90s rock based community that was embraced by the sounds of the likes of Shihad, Fur Patrol and Weta.

2001 marked the beginning of the Welly Roots sound and the release of The Black Seeds – ‘Keep On Pushing’ – reaching platinum sales in New Zealand and shaping the funk, soul, Afrobeat and other eclectic elements over their dub/reggae foundation.

Keep On Pushing’s bold themes of love, optimism and solidarity has resonated with fans across the world, shaping them as the creative, vibrant 8 piece band they are today.

"This album marked a change culturally as well as in sound, a south pacific take on soul, where we were proud of our multicultural heritage and our accents. It was a move away from DJ’s to a big band sound. It was the beginning of The Black Seeds as a party band, we wanted to create a funky feel good sound that embraced everyone who experienced it."

- Barnaby Weir, Lead singer and founding member

This special anniversary vinyl edition will feature mixes of all ten tracks from the original album.

Stick Figure's third full-length album, ''Smoke Stack.'' Written, recorded and self-produced by Scott Woodruff, this album truly showcases the musical growth of Stick Figure.

- ''Smoke Stack'' possesses all the elements that we have fallen for in previous albums, but this time around Stick Figure has amplified the sound to give us 14 new smoking tracks to keep our mind in motion and the positive energy flowing.

- One of the top five selling and streaming reggae artists in America.

Soul Jazz Records' new Studio One release Rocksteady Got Soul is a collection of uplifting and superb rocksteady and soulful reggae from the late 1960s and early 1970s. Studio One is the number one label in the history of reggae and he album features - as ever with Studio One - an impeccable and unbeatable line-up of reggae superstars, all soaring at the height of their creative powers. Alton Ellis, John Holt, The Heptones, Jackie Mittoo, The Ethiopians, Lee Perry and more. The album is a mix of classic tunes and rhythms alongside super-rarities that were released in a dazzlingly complex web of Studio One labels and issues, deftly navigated with new sleevenotes from author and Studio One authority Rob Chapman. But enough with the chatter, just spin the platter - these tunes rule the town, hands down! This Soul Jazz/Studio One album is released as deluxe gatefold double-vinyl + house inners + download code. Also as jewel case CD housed in card slipcase. Both formats come with full sleeve notes/discography and exclusive photography.

Beat smith RED ASTAIRE (AKA FREDDIE CRUGER) returns with some crucial instrumental cuts from the 3 volumes of the "NUGGETS FOR THE NEEDY" series. The NUGGETS INSTRUMENTALS DLP features 'FOLLOW ME","MOVE YO ASS","COME DOWN " & more sounds of Lo Fi Hip Hop, Downtempo & Latin in full color jacket!

Biga Ranx is a major artist of the international Dub Scene, he has been acclaimed by the biggest Jamaican MC's over the years for his unique flow and style. From the age of 14, Biga has been working on his lyrics and his compositions. After 5 albums and 1000 gigs over the world, Biga Ranx his still evolving his style by mixing Dub with Electronic, Lo-Fi and Hip Hop sounds.

1988 is his 4th album and the most successful one, it sold 80 000 units around the world and tens millions of streams.

RED Astaire (aka Freddie Cruger) drops the 12 more dope tracks influenced by classic reggae, hip hop, R&B, downtempo and dub vibes. Includes several hard to find/out of print gems including "ghetto Hell", "mambo EL Kingston" and a previously unreleased version of his classic "follow ME". Full pic sleeve. Don't miss!

Popcaan first unveiled his latest project titled Fixtape via Unruly / OVO Sound last year.



Fixtape includes a star-studded lineup, such as the Nineteen85-produced track “twist & Turn” featuring Drake and Partynextdoor. Additional guest appearances include French Montana, Preme, Masicka, Stylo G, Dane Ray, Frahcess One, Tommy Lee, and Jada Kingdom. Fixtape continues Popcaan's historic narrative as one of the most prominent global superstars in the reggae space today. It is also the follow-up to his Vanquish mixtape, which was released after it was announced that he had signed to OVO Sound.



The 19-track body of work is powered by Popcaan’s potent energy, lyrics, and unique amalgam of genres from hip-hop to dancehall and pop. Fixtape is further proof that his cultural appeal spans from the streets to the club.

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Vis​-​A​-​Vis - Odo Gu Ahorow
by We Are Busy Bodies

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Odo Gu Ahorow (Medley) 00:00 / 15:16
Limited Edition 12" Vinyl
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
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As both a popular live act and in-demand studio musicians, Vis-A-Vis released 13 albums between 1975 and 1982, of which Obi Agye Me Dofo remains the most sought after. Led by vocalist Isaac “Superstar” Yeboah and featuring Sammy Cropper on guitar, Slim Manu on bass and Gybson “Shaolin Kung-Fu” Papra on drums, Vis-A-Vis helped propel K. Frimpong to fame as one of Ghana’s most popular stars of the 1970s. On some of Frimpong’s albums, they also overlapped as part of his other recording band, the Cubano Fiestas.

As We Are Busy Bodies begins its roll out the Vis-A-Vis catalogue, it will also simultaneously release another essential album by the group, 1976s Odo Gu Ahorow. Original copies of both LPs are scarce and in great demand, with Obi Agye Me Dofo briefly issued as an LP in the US in 1980, and again in 2011 by Continental Records. Along with the Frimpong albums, they remain some of the most sought after West African records from the golden age. These reissues have been handled with the utmost respect — every detail has been given strict attention and care, with albums being remastered by Senior Mastering Engineer, Noah Mintz at Lacquer Channel.

About the album:

"The Vis-A-Vis have had many good things to their credit, none more so than the collection of nostalgic items that make up this album “Odo Gu Ahoroo”. It has been able to achieve its well-deserved place in the Ghanaian musical best-seller parade. Now by the titles and programming this entirely new album benefits from Ofobros latest recording experience, bringing many plus-factors of listening pleasure.

With brilliant musicianship, the Vis-A-Vis as a group leads in the field of danceably rhythmic arrangements which do not obscure the enchanting melodies, such as “Abofra Ketewa”. Highlighting the softly soothing, yet richly textured blend of the organ and Slim’s bass work are solos by Sammy ‘red” Cropper on lead guitar, and other instruments as well.

The groups’ thirteen years’ experience in the field of dance music has made their melody reign supreme, and I hope these all are songs that will become a cherished part of our musical past in the future, and an enduring part of our musical period then. This recording the Vis-A-Vis with a new lustre that promises to glow through many mood-matching moments in the future.

Wairunga finds the Freddy juggernaut digging deep to debut five songs and revisit two classics captured in an outdoor performance sans audience but with wild weather elements playing an important creative role in producing this unique live album.

Recorded in Wairunga, high above Waimarama Beach in New Zealand, it is place etched into the DNA of Fat Freddy’s Drop who’ve roamed here for over 20 years; to party, relax between tours, make a song Wairunga Blues in its honour and even to get married. Farmed by the Parker family for a century, Wairunga is an oasis of green pasture and native tree filled valleys that fall away to the ocean below.

In inimitable Freddy's fashion the new tunes run a gamut of genre busting styles. Coffee Black is layered with cosmic hot buttered soul and cinematic wigged out psyche-blues while Shady continues Freddy's Afro-Acid adventures with Fitchie’s beat-making tapping into a South African township brand of techno Freddys experienced on tour. Bush Telegraph is a reggae classic featuring MC Slave aka Mark Williams on the mic with freshly minted yum char spiced rhymes of hope. The other new tracks Leave Your Window Open and Dig Deep are loose rhythmic experiments that the band have been working on for a long time. Versions were developed, rehearsed, but then set aside – dismissed, demonised - only to be revived with new energy in some future moment of creative cohesion. The results are loose-limbed; broken and bruised beats smashing into subterranean bass and twisted up melodies. Bones and Wairunga Blues are the two classics from Freddy's vast back catalogue. Off the Blackbird album, Bones has aged beautifully - like a fine wine - the song’s component parts matured and melded together in harmony and balance. DJ Fitchie rates this 2021 vintage superior to the 2013 original. Wairunga Blues has been a work-in-progress since it was released on Bays in 2015. Kuki dials up some appropriately off-kilter keys to match the wonky-funk laid down by Fitchie’s bass line and the horns. It’s a mighty comeback – and a fitting tribute to this magical place.

Introducing Bays a 9 track boil up heralding a fresh chapter in Freddys fantastic voyages. Bays opens with slow burn funk of ‘Wairunga Blues’ journeying through a hybrid of reggae, hi-tek soul and jazz with techno rhythms underpinning Freddy’s signature horns and Joe Dukie’s smooth & introspective vocals, 'Slings And Arrows', '10 Feet Tall', 'Wheels', 'Razor', 'Makkan', 'Fish In The Sea', 'Cortina Motors' and arriving finally on the crooked blues jam of ‘Novak’.
BAYS is named after our Wellington studio homebase, where the album was predominately written and recorded around beats, food, darts and a winter of content.

colored vinyl edition

For more than a decade, Jamaica's Micah Shemaiah has been crafting his musical message with a keen and steady focus on Rastafari redemption and African unification. His writing style embraces and combines several genres of music delivering unique sounds that will appeal to any ear. Coming from the original home of the sound, Kingston City, and growing up in the Rastafarian house of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, this Singer/Songwriter has certainly put down a solid foundation in the Reggae Industry and has carved a place in the hearts of reggae lovers all over the world.
This new 12' vinyl LP offers 8 vocals and 2 dubs. Produced by Zion I Kings and underpinned with their trademark style of hardcore roots reggae, showcasing a broad spectrum of Micahs vocal talents. Releasing courtesy of Before Zero Records.

Released on CD and digital on the 21st May 2021, this eagerly anticipated LP from I Grade Records immediately soared to the number one position in the iTunes reggae charts. The LP is now being released on 12" vinyl and cassette tape courtesy of Before Zero Records.
Polarities is the 13th and final full album of new material from Vaughn Benjamin and I Grade Records, the culmination of a 20 year working relationship that began with 2001's Nemozian Rasta album, which was Midnite's 4th album released to date at that time.
Polarities was produced jointly by the Zion I Kings production team, with Tippy I of I Grade at the production helm, alongside Vaughn Benjamin himself.
The album also includes two notable guest features: Tiken Jah Fakoly of Ivory Coast on "Everything Bless" and Chronixx of Jamaica on "Black Carbon", which were both released in 2020 as the first singles off of Polarities.

Akae Beka's inimitable style, developed over decades performing with St. Croix based band Midnite and countless recordings (including 2014 iTunes reggae album of the year Beauty FOR Ashes and Ride Tru). At the point of his untimely passing in 2019, he had released over 70LP's. He is without a doubt one of the most prolific reggae artists ever known and his quanity is always matched with quality, with his albums consistently featuring in the top 10 on the billboard charts reggae LPs.

This release makes no exception. 5 years on from the original 2016 CD and Digital release which charted at number 6 in the reggae billboard charts, this timeless masterpiece is being re-released on 12" Vinyl and Cassette tape, courtesy of Before Zero Records. Produced by ZIK bassist, JAH David, Livicated was Akae Beka's debut release on the Zion High Productions (zhp) label. The album features solid original riddims composed and arranged by the ZIK family with musical contributions from Aston Barrett Jr. (drums), JAH Bless (horns), Chet Samuel (guitar), and Yami Bolo (melodica). Particularly striking on Livicated are the strident, Burning Spear-like horn arrangements and the variety and range of Drew Keys' keyboard voices.

The legendary reggae artist Frederick 'Toots' Hibbert, together with his band The Maytals, toured Europe in 1980. During those days they had one of reggae and ska's finest live shows and Toots stepped out as the showman. This great performance at The Hammersmith Palais in London, with songs like 'Funky Kingston', '54-46, That's My Number', 'Pressure Drop' really capture their live energy. The album is available in the 'SELECTED REGGAE CLASSICS' series. Toots passed away in Jamaica in 2020, but his legacy lives on with this incredible Live album.

Dub album by Nkrumah "Jah" Thomas from Kingston, Jamaica. Released on RED vinyl. Reggae deejay and record producer who first came to prominence in the 1970s, later setting up his own Midnight Rock and Nura labels.

The new studio album featuring all the great digital only singles from previous months, brandnew songs and illustrious guests like Collie Buddz, Jo Mersa Marely, Wailing Souls and Quino from Big Mountain!

Alborosie is committed to authentic reggae, to honoring and preserving its heritage. His work with Roots Radics band, The Wailers United, King Jammy, Wailing Souls and many of today’s leading artists, is a testament to his study of the origins of reggae, and his contribution to its future. He is unique among non-Jamaican reggae artists in his personal commitment to saturating himself in the culture of Jamaica and reggae music.

The album "For The Culture" was written and produced (by Alborosie) during the darkest months of the Covid 19 Pandemic and gives voice to many thoughts and emotions felt around the world during the period. Like most of the world, Jamaica is blessed (or cursed) with steady, high-speed internet connectivity and it is through this personal (computer) window that many of the songs were conceived. Through the music, darkness gives way to light and the finished work conjures a subtle, yet powerful feeling of hope, for the future and for the culture.

Producer Jeremy Harding has delivered an update on dancehall reggae classics with vocals by some of Jamaica's most exciting artists these days including Naomi Cowan, Kabaka Pyramid, Blvk H3ro, Runkus, Bugle and Royal Blu, alongside veterans like Beenie Man, Sean Paul, Wayne Marshall and Agent Sasco. Now available as LP-vinyl - ten songs that will move the massive in full lenght, all with a deep respect to the originators including Michigan & Smiley, Tenor Saw, Half Pint, Garenett Sik, Ken Boothe, Yellowman and Tiger, on original riddims like "Real Rock", " Shank I Sheck", "Death In The Arena", "Answer", "Mad Mad" and more!