RIP Mikey Dread

Sad to say that this past friday the great reggae producer vocalist and pioneering radio deejay Mikey Dread passed away at his home in Connecticut. He leaves us too soon at the age of 54.
It is hard to overstate his influence on reggae music. He was the first deejay to play reggae on the JBC(remarkably not until 1976!), and his show, Dread at The Controls went on to pioneer a fusion of Carribean dj styles and the sonic experimentalism of Dub and first broke many of the new reggae artists of the day. He was know world wide as a brilliant engineer and producer, working with Clash and UB40 among others and performing on the Sandanista! record.
His incredible baritone sing-jay stlyes are featured on a few tracks on todays radio show(playlist soon come).

He will be missed.

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In other non-musical but equally important news Barack Obama this week gave what may be the most singularly direct and coherent speech about race in America that I have ever had the privilege of seeing in the 15 or 20 years I have been following politics. He made a number of astute observations about the different ways we veiw each other and our personal struggle to get ahead in the capitalist shitsystem(my words not his...). Among other things he was spot on about the attitude the working class so-called "ethinic" whites have about race in America. Above all, for me, its refreshing to hear a political speech and really see a mind a work. In this culture where we are so taught to devalue critical thinking and intellectual exercise unless it makes money. You've probably all seen it but I still feel the need to repost it.