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U-Roy Reveals All At Rototom 2013

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U-Roy Reveals All At Rototom 2013

U-Roy Reveals All At Rototom 2013

By Gerard McMahon on Wednesday, June 11, 2014 - 1 comment

"Jah - I thank you so much Father for making me be what I am"

Sampler

The name Daddy U-Roy means different things to different people. To some he is the one who took ‘toasting’ mainstream, to others he is the one who lit the touch paper for what eventually exploded as ‘hip-hop’, for many he is the one with Jamaica’s Order of Distinction to his credit and to a plethora of old-timers he is the one who dared appear on the front of his 1975 ‘Dread In A Babylon’ album wrapped around a hookah pipe, yet invisible behind a large cloud of ganga smoke. When asked what he remembered of the latter experience, U-Roy laughed uproariously, explaining: ‘I remember that day very very well, because them photographers kept asking me to do it again and again, so that they could get the best shot’.

At 71 years of age U-Roy is fully entitled to lay claim to that oft abused term ‘living legend’. For he is a real living legend, having left an indelible mark on the reggae, dancehall and dub musical genres. Though rarely giving 1:1 interviews, or sharing his thoughts on sensitive subjects, the night after his 2013 appearance at the ROTOTOM Sunsplash in Benicassim, he returned to the venue of his conquest to talk at the Reggae University and to meet with ROTOTOM and United Reggae staff member Gerry McMahon. To the interviewer’s surprise, the normally reticent U-Roy opened up on a range of topics, including his life’s highs and lows, greatest achievements and disappointments, upsets, regrets, musical influences, his health, politics, slackness, touring, the Order of Distinction award, interests outside music and much more...