CHUNE

Riddim: Loud Mouth Rock

Producer: Leroy Sibbles

Leroy Sibbles might just be one of reggae’s most talented all-around artists. He played bass on so many Studio One rocksteady tracks that Horace Andy wrote “Mr. Bassie” about him. He was the lead singer of The Heptones, who are arguably the most influential vocal group in Jamaican music. And as a solo act, he somehow adapted to the dancehall era! Over a track adapted from King Tubby’s 1981 album Dangerous Dub¹, he lets Mr. Palmer know that his son too chatty chatty:

Mi siddung pon mi corner an smoke mi ganja
Him run gona a station fi bring di officer
Him run gone a town fi go get soldier
I tell you, Mr. Palmer, him haffi leave di area
Can’t stay bout, yah…

Okay, so that’s 1986. More than 20 years later, Mavado—who was already embroiled in conflict with Vybz Kartel (real name Adidja Palmer)—reprised Sibbles’ concept for the absolutely lethal “Mr. Palmer.” And then, last year, Teejay pulled the riddim from that song (Drumline) to take shots at his own rival, Valiant. Layers, man, layers.

Additional Listening:

• King Tubby and Roots Radics, “Loud Mouth Rock” (1981): Enjoy the calm now. Things are about to get heated.

• Mavado, “Mr. Palmer” (2007): New name fi informer, Mr. Palmer, grudge mi fi mi X5 so mi sing di songs yeah. Not many stones left unturned here: he calls out Kartel’s face bleaching, his run-ins with other DJs, and threatens all manner of gunplay.

• Vybz Kartel, “Mofraudo” (2007): One good turn deserves another, no? None a dem p***y dem caan call Mr. Palmer informer, send him to di ’balmer, dis Kartel yuh go get murder like yuh father…

• Teejay, “Chapter 1” (2024): Every time I start feeling old-man about dancehall, the kids at the top pull something out of their hat like this. Big tune.

1. This itself might be rooted in something earlier, but if so I don’t know what it is. If you do, reach out. ↩︎