CHUNE

Riddim: Conqueror

Producer: Bunny “Striker” Lee

Cornell Campbell is definitely IYKYK territory, thanks to a mean falsetto and a great run of tunes over the iconic “flying cymbals”¹ of the mid-’70s. Love songs like “Boxing” brought him some renown, but I can’t get enough of the braggadocio in numbers like this—his nest of locks gave him claim to the idea that he turned men to stone a decade before Ninjaman did the same:

I don’t mess with the East or the West
I leave the public to suggest
I am the Gorgon
Inna disya dance I am the Gorgon…

Additional Listening:

• Derrick Morgan, “The Conqueror” (1967): The birth of the riddim—and the lyrics Campbell used as well. Respect the architect.

• Cornell Campbell, “I Man the Stal-a-Watt” (1976): Another personal favorite of mine, this one reviving the Cherry Oh Baby riddim.

1. Hear that open hi-hat on the 2 and 4? That’s it. ↩︎