Contents - Beth Lesser

studio], it just came to me.”
Two versions of the song were recorded, a version for Jamaican release,
which said “100 weight of collie weed coming from St Anne,” and the New
York version which said “coming from down south.” The St Anne version was
the one Jah Life gave Junjo to play as a dubplate on Volcano. Once it hit the
dancehall, it became a staple. The rhythm was crisp and clean, the singing
was Carleton at his best. And the subject - smuggling Ganja- was topical and
compelling. As the government was clamping down on ganja production, an
important source of income, the music reflected people’s concerns – like John
Holt’s ‘Police in Helicopters’ and Eek-a-Mouse’s ‘Ganja Smuggling’ and, now,
Carlton’s contribution. Jah Life laughs and refers to it as one of the all-time,
top ten ‘weed’ songs.
Its popularity reached far enough beyond the Jamaican dancehall community
that parts of the song keep cropping up in rap and hip hop music. “KRS
one did ‘100 shots, 100 clips, coming to New York, New York’,” Jah Life
recalls. “That was in the ‘90s. Jah Rule did it in 2000. Now JZ did it – some
of Carlton’s lyrics is in the title track for his album Kingdom Come. Like he’s
talking, “Kingdom Come” and all of that, and then him say, “New York, New
York.” So I get my publishing [royalties] for that.”
In New York, Carlton continued recording successfully with Jah Life, releasing
songs like ‘Let the Music Play’, ‘Never See Come See’, ‘Second that
Emotion’ and ‘Sound Man Clash’. However, after living in New York for several
years, Carlton began to see things happening in the reggae scene he wasn’t
comfortable with. So, he moved out to Maryland, staying in touch with music
through his touring and recording.
SCion SuCCeSS
On any given afternoon, visitors to Jah Life’s record shop would walk in
and see singer Scion Sashay Success’s thoughtful face buried deep in the latest
racing forms, his small frame perched on a stool behind the cash register, as
he studied the day’s races with attention to every detail. By 1986, when Jah
Life released his first LP, Scion was already a big name in dancehall because
of the popularity of his dubplates, which were mashing up both New York
and Jamaica. But he almost didn’t get the credit for singing them. Someone’s
name was on the label, and deejays were calling out, “another scorcher from
the man Sammy Levy.”
Everyone involved has a slightly different version of how the mix up occurred.
But it all started back in 1983, when Jah Life, now an established
producer in New York, cut a deal with Greensleeves for the British company
to release some of his original productions, apart from his partnership productions
with Junjo.
So, when Junjo was heading off to England to deliver their co-productions,
Life gave him an extra cargo, a case of tapes to deliver of his own material. The
tapes from Jah Life included tracks for Greensleeves of a Carlton Livingston
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