Beyond the Blue

Jamaican toasting legend Big Youth collaborates here with travelling French producers Brain Damage and Sam Clayton Jr in a heady fusion of dub and rough-edged jazz of the kind that’s rarely captured on record. Opening track and lead single, ‘2020 I Pray Thee’, begins with brushed drum strokes and double-bass plucks; from here in, Big Youth’s spoken-word vocals are as vintage an instrument as the numerous trumpets and hand drums that join in delicate layers. Big Youth’s career is best known for his chanting style that links African griot traditions with American rap. His commitment to Rastafari gave him and fellow toaster U-Roy unique respect in reggae circles, with Big Youth’s position immortalised by a blistering cameo in the film Rockers.

The jazz elements phase in and out of Beyond the Blue. Where the trumpets and double bass (which sadly barely makes another appearance) are pushed back, Brain Damage stays true to a laid-back tempo amid a complex musical landscape. ‘Dying Too Young’ has a tantalising whiff of desert blues style guitar, while ‘Wareika Hill’ is pure dub of 70s Black Ark quality. Tragically, Sam Clayton Jr, whose studio chat can be heard throughout this album, died of COVID-19 in Kingston before Beyond the Blue’s completion.