CHUNE

Riddim: Wolf and Leopards

Producer: Lee “Scratch” Perry

Dennis Brown wasn’t known as the crown prince of reggae for no reason; he recorded his first big hit, “Money in My Pocket,” when he was 15 years old, and was a prolific artist from that point forward. He wasn’t even out of his teens when he made 1977’s Wolf and Leopard, the remarkable title track being one of two he voiced with at Scratch Perry’s Black Ark Studios. Its message is no less urgent for being simple: Babylon is “coming for the sheep and the shepherds,” aided by the eyes and ears of the badminded:

Too much informers
Too much talebearers
Time to separate the sheep from the wolves
We’re at the crossroads
And this is the time of decision…

Brown remained one of reggae’s most beloved acts through the decade; while he found some success in the dancehall era before his death in 1999, the work during his mid-’70s conscious awakening remains as a the crown prince’s crowning achievement.

Additional Listening:

• Brown performing the song at Montreux in 1979: The original single wasn’t even three minutes long; luxuriating in the extra time during this live set, he adds some fuel to the fire—.too much wagonist an’ false prophets and evildoers and sorcerers in Jah’s sight…

• I-Roy, “Step On the Dragon”: The DJ displays his toasting skill over the “Wolf and Leopards” version, though so much of Brown’s vocal remains in that it’s almost a combination tune.

• Capleton, “Time of Decision” (2006): The Prophet tackles a 2006 re-lick of the Wolf and Leopards riddim.