Mobster Dub

from the CD 30 Years of Rudeboy Dancehall Dub, Rhino Records, released: 1996; recorded: 197?



Osbourne Ruddock (a.k.a. King Tubby) was one of those guys who heard things---no, not “heard things” like homeboy that’s preachin’ craziness on the corner, but he heard sounds and atmospheric vibrations which pleaded to be put inside reggae music. Rather than being content to spin the same B-sides or “versions” at his soundsystem around Jamaica, a practice which had already won him growing acclaim, Mr. Ruddock (like so many musical geniuses before him) set about creating a studio from scratch in order to produce these sounds and effects; as there was no specific equipment that created the noises he wanted, he tore electronics apart, patching new and old back together again, in the process creating what we today know as “dub” music. Being the true architect, it was fitting to take a name like ‘King’ Tubby, but instead of becoming consumed by ego and pride during his rise to prominence in the 1970s, Tubby became well-known for mentoring numerous kids in the studio, essentially giving now-well-known dub stars like Prince Jammy and Scientist their starts. His brilliance matched with that compassionate and generous vibe is what makes the circumstances of his death all the more frustrating: he was shot and killed outside his home in Jamaica during a botched robbery attempt, coming back from a session at the studio in February of 1989. The reggae world was stunned, having lost Peter Tosh in a similar type of incident only two years prior, and it really highlighted for people the paradoxical nature of that island, so beautiful and yet so dangerous. King Tubby left us all with a gargantuan amount of dub music, releasing an album a year (at the least) throughout his entire career, and with so many tracks still on the shelf in the studio, enough music to continue releasing posthumous records yearly since his passing! This track floats along like pot smoke on the breeze, clean minimal feel, crisp echo and delay, & that phatty-bo-batty bassline riding in the front, Tubby’s spirit abiding in it all…