Search - Big Youth :: Screaming Target

Essential listening

Sean M. Kelly | Portland, Oregon United States | 09/15/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Rising out of the shadows of Jamaica's most influenial and beloved dee-jay, U-Roy, Big Youth became arguably the most noticed and popular reggae superstar of the 1970's other than Bob Marley.Youth (born Augustus Buchanan in 1955)had a following in the early '70's at the Lord Tippertone Hi-FI, a local Kingston sound system, where he was quite a sensation. Like many in the reggae community, Youth was a devout Rastafarian. Unlike all of them (at the time), the brash Youth would reportedly take off his tam and allow his dreadlocks to flow free while he delivered his social and spiritual beliefs on the microphone. Unlike most other dee-jays at the time, Big Youth's messages were chant-like, as opposed to the popular style that U-Roy used- a hybrid of what we would now call rap and jive talking. In these ways, the only 17 year old Big Youth was an original, and it would show on his albums.After scoring a major hit with the now legendary "S.90 Skank," Youth showed the world the goods on his groundbreaking and very important debut lp, "Screaming Target." The mood of the lp is that of youthful exuberance, and this can be credited to not only the still-teenaged Youth, but his producer, the 20 year old veteran Augustus Clarke, who had recently produced a major hit for U-Roy. The 2 men looked to the fresh sounds of reggae as their source of inspiration, and Youth's toasting was dep and probing. Dee-jays then, as now, borrow their music from popular songs and then rap over that music, and Big Youth was no different, borrowing from very popular tunes by Dennis Borwn, Gregory Isaacs, Leroy Smart, and others so that his audience would recognize it. The lyrics, message, and delivery was pure Big Youth.This is Big Youth, and indeed the whole dee-jay movement at its most fresh and cuting edge. The grooves certainly kept the dancehalls moving and rocking and his messgaes made him an icon on the streets of Kingston- combining the roles of a reporter/editor/commentator with that of a Rasta prophet. An amazing effort."