BLOW DEM

Anthony B

(BLACK SCORPIO)

Back towards the close of 1995, Anthony B was calling for Fire Pon Rome, and not a few other transgressors, including all the main Jamaican political parties. The incendiary nature of the lyric caused this Richard Bell production to be banned from Jamaican radio play, but it obviously struck a chord with many on the island as Fire Pon Rome became a major hit the following year.

After that, many more equally hard-hitting 45s appeared on Bell's Star Trail label, along with a couple of excellent albums released by Greensleeves in the UK, and another, appearing only in Jamaica, on which he held his own alongside the popular Sizzla. Though remaining mainly loyal to the Star Trail camp, Anthony B also took the opportunity to record the occasional side for mainstream Jamaican outfits such as Fat Eyes, Digital B and Black Scorpio, as well as those labels focusing on the new breed of roots artists, including Xterminator, Jazzy Creation, Zola & Zola, King Of Kings, 218 Street, New Life, Manatee, Flash, Henfield and X-Rated. Whatever the choice of production camp, the results seldom disappointed.

Half a decade later we find the militant chanter still working much the same lyrical vein, though he's been joined by not a few others and there has recently been a shift of sorts in his music. Instead of relying largely on reworkings of well tried rhythms from the past, Anthony B has been delivering his messages over tracks that are far more hardcore.

Perhaps he has been inspired by fellow Bobo Dread chanter Capleton's success over such take-no-prisoners outings. Even when tackling fuller, more traditional roots tracks, such as Dennis Brown's No More Will I Roam for Tax (Kickin) or Morgan Heritage's Buss Up Barriers for Straight Can't Lean (HMG), Anthony B's vocal style is now decidedly less melodic than before: far nearer, in fact, to Capleton's or Sizzla's barely controlled rants.

And the totally hardcore rhythms employed for recent singles such as as Jail House (Slam), High Grade (Stone Love), More Fire (The Net) and Red In A De Gideon (How Yu Sey Dat?) seem to have bought out an even rougher, no-holds-barred element to his own approach. It's almost as if his messages have become so urgent that he's fighting against the ticking of the clock - as Capleton would have it - and no longer has time for the finer niceties.

This particular little nugget is a fine example: knowing that the Ward 21 Crew had a hand in the building of the "Auntie" rhythm employed, and how it has also been voiced by the likes of Beenie Man, Zebra, Tonto Metro and Mega Banton, will give some idea of its reading on the roughness meter. Rhythms as hardcore as this are often let down by ephemeral lyrics when heard away from the atmosphere of the dancehall. But Anthony B's sense of purpose ensures this is certainly not the case when he's let loose on them. Here he is proclaiming how "Emperor Selassie show them perfect love", and calling for those who choose to ignore this to be "burnt on the double".

As he says elsewhere: "This fire, can't quench it, this fire, can't cool it...More fire! More fire!"

Peter Dalton, March 2000