Goldshop's WITTY reissue series returns after a long hiatus, with one of the baddest '80s digital riddims, the 'E20' riddim. All three of Witty's 'E20' cuts reissued here originally appeared on 12"s on the iconic red Witty label in NYC, direct from the legendary Music Master record shop on Utica Ave, which was Witty's HQ. All come in Goldshop's trademark matching company sleeves.
Legendary hard New York digital roots tunes from 1990-92. Originally released via Superpower on the Justice and Diamond Music labels. Produced by the crew behind infamous Brooklyn sound system King Kustom. Some of the best digital reggae ever from NYC. Sluggy's "Ghetto Youth" was rinsed by Jah Shaka in the day.
After a long break, Goldshop is back with some digital heat for the summer. While DKR has been busy issuing the best early 80's productions from Mikey 'Karat' Jarrett's catalog, Goldshop continues their campaign of bringing you the best of '80s digital dancehall from New York producers, and mines these gems from the 14 Karat catalog. One of our all time favorite NY artists, there are two great Sluggy tunes on killer digital stepper style riddims, circa 1989/1990. These were only ever released on 12-inches on the Flynn & Flynn label in NYC. Add to those, a wicked soundboy tune from Mikey General, circa the same period. This one is on a rugged hip-hop influenced digital lick of the skylarking riddim with killer bass, and is previously unreleased, and unheard until now. Only the finest in 14 Karats from the Goldshop!
For the next batch of Gold Shop releases, they are focusing on the productions of Ossie Hibbert. Ossie is a completely under rated talent, as he often worked behind the scenes, and in different capacities. In the seventies Ossie played keyboard for The Professionals, The Aggrovators, and The Revolutionaries. He also worked as an engineer and in house producer for Joe Gibbs, Channel One, and others. His resume of hit songs that he has worked on is quite impressive, but what many do not realize is that his own catalog of material is equally impressive. Partly what has obscured his legacy is that although he has had a handful of imprints for himself (Ossie Sounds, Earthquake, Ossie Music), a lot of his best material was released on other labels. Most of the singles we are releasing now originally appeared on other labels, and sometimes a different label in each territory, but the sound is distinctly Ossie. First up, “Rip Off” by Roland Burrell is may be the best and hardest to obtain tune of this catalog. Recorded and mixed at Channel 1 in the mid eighties, and released in NY on the obscure Super Power imprint "Paradise" and in the UK on the C & E imprint, this one is a total monster. Killer synths on the vocal side, and an awesome horn cut by Barry Bailey on the flip. “Heat In The Place” by Tony Tuff was only released on a Barry U 12" as far as Gold Shop knows, this one probably sank without a trace when it was originally released, but has become a bit of an anthem among fans of Digital dancehall ever since. Wicked rhythm that is crying for more cuts, but alas, the only other one is the horns cut by Deadly Headly. The third titles is the only song King Kong ever recorded for Ossie, this one was on a World Enterprises 12 inch and also features a great driving rhythm with reality lyrics about the importance of having some dollars in your pocket. Johnny Osbourne ”I’m Moving Up” sounds like it could have come out on Jammys in the midst of the other Johnny Osbourne hits from that studio, and for good reason. Ossie recorded this tune at Jammys, and the rhythm was played by none other that Steelie & Clevie. This tune was previously released as a Living Room 12 inch in the UK, and an Ossie 12 inch in NY. The last issue is Lionel Craig ”Under M Nose”. Same rhythm as the Johnny Osbourne, here we have Ansel Meditation singing as Lionel Craig, backed with Ricky Stereo's "Jealousy Lover", a great dj cut, with an even better intro by Joe Lickshot.
Produced by Derrick "Eric Bubbles" Howard, one third of the roots vocal trio The African Brothers, these are two of the earliest and hardest to find Nitty Gritty tunes. Produced around 1985, a few years before his string of hits for King Jammy and others, these two tunes showcase Nitty Gritty in a raw roots fashion. Voiced and mixed at Channel one, these are a great example of the sound of pre digital dancehall that paved the way for the sleng teng era that would follow.
Gold Shop presents the most iconic NY dancehall labels Whitfield "Witty" Henry's Witty Records. Throughout the 80's, Wittys Music Master Record Shop, and Witty record label were the pulse of the NY dancehall scene. His releases began with licensing tunes from his friends back in Jamaica like Prince Jammy, Junjo, Gussie Clarke and others, but by the mid 80's Witty began focusing on his own production. Some of the earlier productions featured rhythms that were made in Jamaica with vocals added by the popular artists of the time. As the label and the NY dancehall scene developed, Wittys became a home to some of the best NY artists like Shelly Thunder, Sluggy Ranks, Knight Rider, Trevor Sparks and others. Witty also employed some of the best NY musicians of this time, most notably John "Raf" Allen who played a lot of the classic Wittys rhythms, as well as legendary engineer Philip Smart, whose HC & F studios served as the home base for all of Wittys in house productions.
Most probably remember this rhythm as the backing track to Sluggy Ranks girl's anthem "Rough Wine". Although there were a few tunes on this rhythm at the time, people really has not played this as a juggling. The Sluggy tune was a hit on it's own, but was overshadowed by the B-Side cut, 95% Black In Jail, one of Sluggys biggest hits, and an absolute dancehall anthem to this day. The other tunes on the rhythm were spread out over album cuts, and even different labels. The Sugar Minott cut, "No Wicked" was actually never released on the Witty label at the time, it came out on an Ikus 12 Inch in the US, and on the Charm imprint in the UK. Be sure to check out the Dub that is on this record, as it is unique to this track, and is a bit different than the rest. The Nitty Gritty tune "Sweet Dreams" was a tune that Nitty Gritty performed live often and as a dubplate, but the actual song was released as an album cut on his self titled LP recorded for Witty. The real gem of this selection however is Junior Wilson's "Mama Told Me", which was a minor hit for him at the time, but over the years has become a sound system classic, and a very hard to find original record. So, for the first time, available as a complete set on 45 we bring you the entire rhythm selection.
With the death of the King of pop, Michael Jackson, people all over the world have been compiling playlists of his hits. In reggae music there have been many covers of Michael Jackson songs, and in these playlists, people often list covers of his songs which have become classics on there own. I would say that Shinehead's version of "Billy Jean" is the most famous example of this. To commemorate the passing of MJ, Gold Shop has released Billy Jean, along with another Michael Jackson cover "Lady In My Life" and the sound killer version on this rhythm "Reprimand".
Know How Fi Chat, Shineheads cut on the Sleng Teng rhythm has always been a bit of an elusive tune, only released on an African Love 12 Inch as the b side to Who The Cap Fits, another classic on the Tempo rhythm. So here, available for the first time on 7 inch, we bring you these two classics in all their glory, paired up with the original versions. To round out this set, we included two more Shinehead tunes, Rough & Rugged, and Good Love Tonight, which although they have been available on reissue before, have been unavailable for awhile, and are really the type of tunes that never go out of fashion, so we are proud to add them to our catalog.
Here it is, the long awaited 7 Inch Re-issue of Sluggy's massive sound system anthem "Sodom & Gomorrah". This tune was produced by Devon "Part 2″ Garnett, a NY promoter and producer around 1991. It was released only on 12 Inch, and has never been re-issued before.
The first batch of 7 Inch releases on Gold Shop showcases the works of NY's hometown hero Phillip Smart. An original protege of the great King Tubby, Phillip has been at the center of most NY reggae production since he migrated to NY in the early 80's. The good folks at Gold Shop have taken great care to re-master these tunes directly from the original master tapes under the guidance of Phillip Smart himself at his legendary HC & F Studios.
