CHUNE

Riddim: Cuss Cuss

Producer: Dave Kelly

No label ruled dancehall in the early and mid ’90s like Penthouse Records. Producers Dave Kelly and Donovain Germain built original riddims¹ that defined the era, but they also updated classics for the uptempo digital age. This one, Cuss Cuss, serves as a backdrop for one of Buju Banton’s blistering early tunes. While Buju would ultimately become a conscious icon, he came into the business with a different sensibility—one with “a crocodile heart an’ iguana stomach”:

man fi dead, junglist nah save no lead
gunshot fi buss up inna informer head
dem neva hear dem neva hear what di general said
come a guy dis di program, it haffi dead
dem coulda light like a cork or heavy like lead
mi 4-4 magnum nuh lef unda mi bed…

Fifteen years prior, Jacob Miller and Dennis Brown had bemoaned informers; now, a young Gargamel was declaring outright war and telling their families to prepare for Nine Night.

Additional Listening:

• Lloyd Robinson, “Cuss Cuss” (1968): A classic for a reason.

• Toyan, “Cuss and Cuss” (1982): Ernest Hoo Kim’s version of the riddim—complete with that lovely, spacey Channel One sound—perfectly suits Toyan, a rub-a-dub standout.

• Buju performing at 1992 Sunsplash: His mane of locks still years away, he runs through early slackness hits like “Stamina Daddy” and “Gold Spoon.”

1. Dickie, Action, Champion, and the list goes on. ↩︎