Track Of The Day: U Roy - Natty Rebel (Front Line)

U Roy was the original toaster, “not a boaster”. And his sense of timing and melody was/is the template to emulate. I was looking for a track that would cut through the heat and humidity of this uncharacteristically hot September Sunday afternoon and I thought of this. There’s nothing that better encapsulates the clammy conditions and the freedom from responsibility they bring than this all too short skank from reggae’s golden age. The lines are delivered with such swagger and panache that it’s difficult to imagine a tune that is more energetic and relaxing simultaneously.