Why should Haile Selassie have all the good music?

My sister is a born again Christian. What bothers me most about that is the quality of music she listens to. Completely boring, derivative CCM crap.

Why not a little gospel music? Could we put on an Elvis Spiritual at least? Or better still, a Yabby You record.

Yabby You’s musical message is a personalized form of Christianity influenced by the Rastafarian Movement. In Yabby’s world, God is Jah but the conquering lion is not an Ethiopian emperor. It seems fitting for a man who in his youth almost died of malnutrition. He, like many who have faced extreme poverty, developed an intimate relationship with a spiritual figure who embodies kindness love and sacrifice.

The nickname, Yabby You, comes from his own lyrics which is kind of like calling Lou Reed “Do Do Do-Do-Do.” It may be better than his birth name Vivian Jackson. It’s certainly more accessible than his other handle “Jesus Dread.”

By whatever name and by whatever spirituality, Yabby You’s music is well worth a listen.

So
this is the end of my reggae tri-post as casually promised in a comment some time back.

Take any of these three artists (Horace Andy, Culture, Yabby You) and build a tree based on their labels, collaborators or production credits and you’ve got more than enough good reggae to last you through the dog days of Summer. You know where to find more info if you want it. And if you don’t just ask.

Song
Antichrist

Next week – how Jesus and one summer’s nappy collaboration of music independents shaped the Houston theater scene for over a decade.