.::GUIDELIGHT MOVEMENT::.

REVIEW: RUDY LEE - Edutainment/DADDY ROOTS - Dog Amongst Doctors/FITTA WARRI - Rise Above Them Limit/ABASSI ALL STARS - Edutainment Dub (Deep Root/Universal Egg)

Eduitainment is the sixth release in line of the Deep Root 10:inch serie featuring Abassi All Stars sound minded productions. In a short period of time Deep Root has been releasing a number of 10:inches meant for serious sound system play. For those who don't know Abassi is also a sound system run by Perch of Zion Train who's also the main man behind these Abassi All Stars production. A Abassi production could best be described as bass driven rhythm with lots of horn arrangments. So far we had everything from hard steppers to slow binghi rhythms in the Deep Root 10:inch serie. On "Edutainment" we're treated with a rhythm which gets me thinking of the mid eighties dancehall just in the beginning of the digital era. I guess it's mainly because of the bassline and singer Rudy Lee's contribution, from which the vinyl also is named after, "Edutainment".

Rudy Lee is a Bristol resident who did a good album in the late eighties together with Nick Manasseh under the name of Rudy Lee and Steppa. Rudy Lee was the singer and Nick Manasseh was the producer. Except for that album and the 12:inch "Rockfort Rock", which both featured on the Mr Modo label, and a song he did with UK drum & bass duo Smith & Mighty nothing have been heard from this man in a long time. I hope we'll hear more from this man since it's clear he still has the voice and flow intact which is of the eighties dancehall style of singing. On "Eduitainment" he pleas to artists to spread a positive message and use their role in society to motivate and educate through music. Therefor the title "Edutainment" = education + entertainment.

soundclip - Rudy Lee - Edutainment

There's two more vocal tracks on the vinyl. First is by Daddy Roots who's hailing from the small island Anguilla in the British West Indies. He got three albums out, the latest being "All Here Now" from 2006, and is currently working on another one together with producer Karl Pitterson best known for his work with Steel Pulse. Here he delivers a song based on parables and the Caribbean saying "Dogs Amongst Doctors", which also is the title of the tune. The song is like a tale as he lays it out how is Grandmother used to school him with different sayings in his youth.

soundclip - Fitta Warri - Rise Above Them Limit

Last but not least of the vocal tunes we got Fitta Warri's wicked "Rise Above Them Limit" which is the best cut on the rhythm. Fitta Warri now based in Germany after moving from Jamaica not long ago. In Jamaica he was active as a MC on first Magnum Force sound system and later on Bass Odyssey sound system. Before departing to Germany he recorded a cut on the Addiction rhythm for Rolling Records which included more cuts by the likes of Junior Kelly, Bushman and others. In Germany he linked up with Perch of Zion Train and it didn't take long before he featured on Zion Train liveshow across Europe. In the same time he began recording material for Perch which has seen light on the earlier Deep Root 10:inches. He also released a album of his own entitled "Sababa Vibes" on the Lion Tribe Music label in 2006. "Rise Above Them Limit" is a declaration to those who take Rasta as being light headed and careless. Fitta Warri chants "rise above them limit every minute, man ah radical rasta, man ah no gimmick" in the rough deejay fashion of the Bobo chanters he's apart of. I'll bet that it's this cut that this release will be remembered for.

As proven I'll guess we see more of these 10:inches coming from the Deep Root label in the future. For those who haven't heard the other releases I recommend you check out "Crisis" and "Prophecy" featuring Kenny Knots and Rasheda among others on vocals.

/Jakob Levi - 16/7-06