Who can make the Dance Ram? Only Yellowman can. The Champion
One of the longest-ever titles for a Pop single. And that title belongs to King Yellowman from Jamaica, The actual title is - Zungguzungguguzungguzeng. Long isn't it?
I start by saying this. Yellowman was the next Superstar to appear from the Islands of Jamaica, directly after the Death of the International Superstar that was Bob Marley in 1981..
It was a monumental achievement too, and sometimes I still don't know how it just happened, but it did
Well, let's start from the beginning. He is known as King Yellowman by thousands of people via his stage name within the music of Reggae, but his real name is simply Winston Foster.
He was born in the city of Kingston, Jamaica in the year 1956.
Winston Foster grew up in a Catholic orphanage called the Alpha Boys School in Kingston, Jamaica.
He was shunned for most of his young life due to him being an Albino - which was not socially accepted in Jamaica at the time.
Things were to change for the young Foster musically that is. In the late 1970s, Foster won a music contest even in Kingston, Jamaica called the "Tastee Talent Contest" where people like himself would or could perform "Toasting"- (Jamaican)
Like many Jamaican artists at the time he got better over time at the art of "Toasting"; and by taking part in the number of increasing Sound system dances that were becoming more and more popular on the island.
The year 1981 saw him being signed to an American record label, CBS Records.
The first Reggae Dancehall artist to do so much was his popularity.
His first album was called "Mister Yellowman" (1982), and then later on after releasing at least 7 other albums down the line we saw him releasing the album in 1983 called " Zungguzungguguzungguzeng".
"Mister Yellowman" (1982) and " Zungguzungguguzungguzeng" (1983) were huge within the island of Jamaica.
My favorite album from the artist that is Yellowman is - Zungguzungguguzungguzeng.
‘Zunggunzungguguzungguzeng,’ reached its 40th anniversary this year in fact (2023).
Back in June 1983, Greensleeves Records seized the opportunity to release this album which featured the hottest emcee in reggae and dancehall at the time, And that was Yellowman
The title track of the album is one of my favorites of mine.
Also on the same album is the track called "Who Can Make Dance Ram?
Yellowman's sexually suggestive lyrics did earn him some criticism by the mid-1980s.
Yellowman boasted of his sexual prowess, like the other Jamaican Dance performers of the time, which didn't go too well with many Women's movements across the world.
It was around this time that this style of Reggae gained a nickname known as "Slackness"
When asked about his lyrics from that period his response was:
"I never know why they call it slackness. I talk about sex, but it's just what happens behind closed doors. What I talk about is reality" - Du Noyer, Paul (2003). The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Music (1st ed.). Fulham, London: Flame Tree Publishing. p. 362.ISBN 1-904041-96-5
Yellowman has had some influence within the world of Hip Hop music as well during his time within the Music Industry.
He is often credited by music critics, some Hip Hop fans, and Reggae fans for allowing other artists to gain acceptance within the American music market; especially within the Hip-Hop music industry during the 1980s
For Instance, Easy-E used a sample of Yellowman's "Nobody Move, Nobody Gets Hurt" 1983 track within his single called "Nobody Move, Nobody Gets Hurt" featuring Biggie Smalls - 1995.
The Rhythm of the song called "Zungguzungguguzungguzeng" has also been heavily used within the Hip-Hop community over the years by artists such as KRS ONE, TUPAC SHAKAR, BIGGIE SMALLS, AND BLACKSTAR.
The rhythm used by Yellowman within the song called "Zungguzungguguzungguzeng" is known to us as the "Diseases" riddim by "Junjo" Lawes and has been sampled and imitated repeatedly since its original release in 1967.
However, this rhythm has little to do with Yellowman's talent. Yellowman's real talent comes from his ability to ride the rhythm like no other at this period.
The lyrics seem to come out of his head to his mouth without thinking about it over live appearances or live performances.
From the early to the middle 1980s; he was the King of Dancehall Reggae music.
When Bob Marley died in 1981, many people across the world thought that Reggae music was dead.
However, he took the problem by the root and took it to another level, by taking this new vibe of Reggae music to New York areas of America; and to cities within England such as London, Birmingham, and Manchester.
Yellowman was diagnosed with Skin Cancer during the year of 1982 and was told that he had only 3 years to live. However, this proved to be wrong as further tests showed that he had overcome the disease after a series of surgeries.
However, once again came to the forehead, it was confirmed that Cancer had returned but this time it had spread to his jaw.
The surgery performed to remove Cancer from that area disfigured his face as a large part of the lower left-hand side had to be removed to remove the tumor.
By the 1990s Yellowman had moved on and tried to distance himself from the "slackness" culture/vibe (explicit lyrics) that he was renowned for in Reggae music to a more conscious musical style of Reggae music.
For instance, in 1994 he released an album called "Prayer".
In 2003, he released an album called "New York" and in 2005, he released an album called "Round 1".
To this day Yellowman still manages to perform all around the world with his band called "Sagittarius" in countries such as Australia, England, Spain, Peru, Sweden, Italy, Germany, the USA, France, and Kenya.
One of his most famous tracks - "Nobody Moves, Nobody Gets Hurt" is used within the game called Grand Theft Auto V via the fictitious station known as Blue Ark FM
The Question a lot of Reggae music fans are asking is this.
What happened to Yellowman
Here is something below a wonderful, wonderful interview with the man himself (YELLOWMAN), and I NEVER KNEW RADIO AND TV the Interview took place in 2017. Please see below.
Yellowman and I NEVER KNEW RADIO AND TV - Part 1
Yellowman and I NEVER KNEW RADIO AND TV - Part 2
Just another Musical legend that comes from the island that is Jamaica continues to "punch above its weight"
PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINK BELOW TO BE TAKEN TO THE NEW ARTICLE FEATURING YELLOWMAN:
Yellowman's new album and a rift with Beenie Man?
Well, that's all folks for me now anyway.
Please
Dj Mistri and the Electric Soul Show © www.electricsoulshow.com
