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It was jazz musicians of the late twenties and early thirties who first immortalised marijuana on record and the fact this took place directly after the introduction of 78s suggests that smoking “Mary Jane” was already well established, even by then. Rock, soul and especially hip-hop have consistently paid tribute to it also, yet it’s the reggae music of Jamaica that’s championed it longest and strongest, and done most to publicise its more positive attributes over the past thirty years.
Indentured Indian workers took it there during colonial times, and mention of it was first made in local folk and calypso music before Rastafarian artists like Bob Marley sang about it during the seventies. Three decades later and his successors have proved no less committed as some of reggae’s biggest stars of the modern-day era now join forces on this unmatchable collection of herb anthems, which includes killer tracks in a variety of different styles. Peter Tosh’s Legalise It became a worldwide hit twice over once Luciano had recorded this magnificent version of it for Jet Star. Other big-name singers include Bushman, Cocoa Tea and former Black Uhuru lead vocalist Michael Rose, whilst the roll call of deejays are headed by the mighty Shabba Ranks, current mainstream acts Sean Paul and Beenie Man and Jamaica’s latest dancehall sensation, Vybz Kartel. Sizzla, Anthony B and the Prophet Capleton represent the Bobo Ashanti and listen out too, for Jigsy King’s classic Gimme The Weed and the up-and-coming Demolition Man, whose Nah Share Mi Spliff is an unforgettable slice of UK reggae dancehall.
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