A Jamaican veteran of the 1980s, King Kong has enjoyed a new career thanks to Bobby Konders' Massive B label. After more than ten years of collaboration, this album, in the form of a retrospective, takes stock of a long-haul partnership between the artist and the New York producer. Inspired by Tenor Saw, King Kong is a figure of the 1980s Jamaican underground who recorded for King Tubby and then for Jammy, who would produce the hits Trouble again and Legal we legal. In 1991 he met Bobby Konders in London (see the Bobby Konders interview), who promised to produce him one day on his own instrumentals. After a spell in prison, the opportunity came in 1997 and he recorded Rumble jumble life on the Cuss cuss, a hit that gave his career a new lease of life. It is logical that this title was used for this album, which comes entirely from the sessions with Massive B in Jamaica.
The album therefore opens with Rumble jumble life, a touching track that is one of King Kong's finest achievements. The rest is made up of 45s, new or older, already released on the label. The interest is thus to put the work of the artist and his producer over that decade into perspective. A great fan of rub a dub, Bobby Konders often rearranged classic riddims in his own New York style: so we find the Truth and rights riddim for I feel a joy, the Tempo for Unity, the Dub organiser riddim for Jah's my best friend, the Heavenless for Paradise lost, which takes up the melodic line of Trouble again, and the Answer for They don't no. There are a few new items, including three superb cuts: Earth is the lord, on the Abyssinians' Ye mas gan riddim, Ethiopia on a recut of Yabby You's Warn the nation (Jah love riddim) and Free speech on an Augustus Pablo riddim.
On the dancehall bashment side, the lyrics of Trouble again have been adapted to present-day realities and laid on the Bang bang. There is also Bag juice on the Wanted riddim, as well as the Sick riddim for Legalize it, a somewhat limp version compared with the remix released on the Rah rah riddim, and the Vampire riddim for Selassie rise.
Finally, mention must be made of the little nod to Massive B's beginnings with Call Mr Madden on the Stalag, a famous dubplate for Massive Sound that became a single.
Despite an obvious lack of originality for single aficionados, this King Kong album is a pleasure to listen to and has the merit of offering a very coherent panorama of the artist's journey with the Massive B label and sound system. The productions are polished and King Kong's haunting voice sits comfortably on every track: the last living representative of a major vocal style, magnified by Tenor Saw and Nitty Gritty, King Kong richly deserved this tribute.
