Culture: Roots Reggae's Righteous Voice

16 tracks of pure root reggae gold

Jamaica in the mid-70s was a pressure cooker. Political violence, poverty, and a deep spiritual hunger for something beyond the immediate reality of Kingston’s yards and tenements all found a voice in roots reggae, and few groups channelled that voice more purely than Culture. The group came together in 1976, initially calling themselves the African Disciples: Joseph Hill on lead vocals, his cousin Albert “Ralph” Walker, and Roy “Kenneth” Dayes on harmonies. Hill had already put in his time as a percussionist with the Soul Defenders, the house band at the legendary Studio One, and had been working the sound system circuit for years before stepping out front. He knew the machinery of Jamaican music from the inside. They rebranded as Culture, found their producers in Joe Gibbs and engineer Errol Thompson, and cut a run of singles that crackled with urgency, among them “Two Sevens Clash.” The song predicted apocalyptic consequences for 7 July 1977. When that date arrived, large numbers of Jamaicans reportedly stayed home. Shops closed. People waited. The record had crossed the line from music into prophecy.

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