CHUNE

Riddim: Tour

Producer: Stuart Brown

It’s unbelievable even typing this, but Capleton—aka King Shango—has been a force of nature for more than 30 years. After starting out as a slackness DJ with songs like “Bumbo Red” and “We Nuh Lotion Man,”¹ the man born Clifton Bailey converted to Bobo Ashanti Rastafarianism in 1994, and became the righteous, fiyah-pon-everything pyromaniac the reggae world embraced. This song, which came on the same riddim as his megahit “Tour,” marks his transformation into The Fireman, pointing his blaze at London and Rome:

After mi light up di chalice and turn to di east
Hice up mi block and dismantle di beast
Lick mi likkle chalice di beast a get weak
Agony and pressure nah deep den dem speak
The bear the eagle and the dragon must get defeat
Babylon a come an dem a come whole heap
Come inna dem tank and come inna dem jeep
Tell dem dem a di less, and tell dem dem a di least
This Selassie-I, dem all tremble like leaf…

Additional Listening:

• The video for “Tour (Remix)” and “Wings of the Morning,” the two singles from Capleton’s 1995 Def Jam album Prophecy: The remix—as well as a remix of “Wings” featuring Method Man—came courtesy of the man who signed him, and who became much more famous a few years later: Lil Jon.

• Capleton voicing a “Chalice” special for Empire Sound: A nice look at how informal the process can be, from Capleton verifying the tune to fumbling the sound’s catchphrase.

• Legendary UK selector David Rodigan flattening the clash with a “Chalice” dubplate (2002): This clip features a few different dubs—”Chalice” comes after Johnny Osbourne’s “Murderer” and Barrington Levy’s “Don’t Fuss Nor Fight” and “Prison Oval Rock”—but it’s well worth the entire six minutes just to see the impact of Rodigan’s self-effacing showmanship and crowdpleasing song selection.

1. I’m not linking these because they’re violently homophobic—which is still sadly the standard within dancehall, as well as a major stain (imo) on Capleton’s otherwise incredible body of work. ↩︎