A TWO SONG DOUBLE DROP - 'IF YOU DONT MEAN IT'- B2B WITH -'UNIVERSAL TRIBULATION'
Lewisham, South London is the home of sound-system culture and The Saxon Sound was and still is, Lewishams Home Sound. The MCs who represented Saxon are now legendary. Their crew counted Papa Levi, Maxi Priest, Smiley Culture and Tippa Irie, all top selling singers who enjoyed brief bouts of pop-star fame at the height of their careers. The style that they practised fed directly into the development of hip-hop both in the US and the UK.
Jah Shaka and Saxon were the biggest sound-systems (in terms of popularity and sonic force) to come out of Lewisham but were also part of a much wider network that encompassed London and many other parts of England. From the late 1970's to the mid 80's when the reggae phenomenon was hitting a peak of popularity, sound-systems prospered. And at the time, south-east London reverberated with the sounds of Kingston, Jamaica.
Although sounds such as Jah Shaka and Saxon pioneered vital forms of reggae music, they were also highly culturally significant. They represented the communities in which they were situated and created a space in which people could come together.
"The sound-system men were businessmen; they were running dances but they were catering to an audience that wasn't being catered to, not only in mainstream society, but in the context of this part of London. A part of London that is deeply implicated in the history of empire and relations between here and elsewhere, Africa and the Caribbean, amongst others."
