| Tapper Zukie has risen through the DJ ranks of Jamaica to become one of its most successful exports. Massive hits in his homeland have also crossed over to the UK market where he has built a loyal and trusted following. Tapper Zukie (David Sinclair, b. 1955, Kingston, Jamaica) actually cut his first record in England, after being sent there at age 17, breaking from his troublesome past that found him running with the rough crowd on the streets of Kingston. On his arrival in sunny Ladbroke Grove, London, producer Bunny Lee called him up on stage at a local dance to sing a tune. Impressed with the results, fellow producer Larry Lawrence got the young Tapper in the studio the very next day and cut "Jump and Twist." This led to cutting his Man I Warrior album, and establishing himself as a star on the DJ roots circuit by the mid-1970s and becoming a favorite with the UK punk scene. Another musical genre finding a lot of similarities with their own struggles and oppressions. On arriving back in Jamaica, production work was to follow, which in turn led to the formation of his Stars imprint label, again working out of Bunny's 101 Orange Street premises. His excellent production work on Prince Allah's, "Bosrah," "Daniel," and "Heaven Is My Roof," alongside cuts by Junior Ross & The Spears such as "Babylon Fall" and "Judgment Time," would establish his label's identity. The calling to reignite his own career would see him building up an album's worth of his own material based around the title-track "Raggy Joey Boy," a song telling it like it is about trying to get out of the ghetto. The story rang true with many and become another hit for Mr. Zukie. Spurred on by the track's momentum, Tapper began building an album around its center core, with other fine examples of his talent found on such cuts as the timeless "Natty Princess," "Mr. Bubbler," and "Mr. Finnigan." The opening track, the somewhat boastful "Women Ah No Me Problem" only goes to show how ahead of his time Tapper was, as it seems to be the recurring theme to many of the multi-Platinum acts that attack the charts these days, only they don't seem to say it with such charm. Putting this alongside the more serious ghetto stories (again copied but never really bettered by today's artists) it led to this original album, released in 1982. Kingston Sounds have resurrected this fine collection and remastered it to get it back in the arena and to remind us all what a great album it was and where Mr. Tapper Zukie was at, musically speaking, way back in the summer of 1982. |
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