Pass The Dutchie - Emily B with Dennis from Musical Youth (DJ STP Mix)

 A little late on this one, but I was honored to be asked to write a little something by, a gal named Emily B, who is a music artist from Banbury, UK. The music world is a beautifully gigantic one, and in that vast ocean of wondrous creativity, I had not heard of Emily B or her work, but she is now heavily on my radar! On July 14th she released a massive cover of another massive cover, in the form of Pass The Dutchie, with none other than, Dennis Seaton from Musical Youth...they seriously nail the tune and the vibe it was most certainly meant to convey back in 1982. I got the email the day before it was released and was as pleased as I was when I was a kid and heard Musical Youth do it. Remember when the ice cream man used to drive around the streets of any city USA and every kid in the neighborhood would be booking it up to their Moms to get some change (my Mom already knew I was coming because she of course heard the music playing along with the whooping and hollering throughout the apartment complex). As I wrote to Emily B, "heartwarmingly nostalgic". MTV, in it's 80s form, played the heck out of this Musical Youth tune and I was stoked when it would come on, cuz the song and video are so uplifting and happy. So, anyway, here in what I consider to be dark times for the humanity and the planet, in my opinion, we get a respite, a moment of happy hopefulness...thank you Emily B and Dennis Seaton! 

I asked Emily, what are the origins of this project, how did you hook up with Dennis Seaton?

"It was the universe working it’s magic! One evening, someone said something to me about passing something to the left and I started singing… ‘Pass the Dutchie on the left hand side!’ This track I hadn’t even thought about in many many years. Then the next day I received a message on Instagram (@iamemilymusic - come and say hi!) from a member of Dennis' team, named Aleslie Springer, requesting that Dennis had listened to my music and would like to work with me. I couldn’t believe it and thought it was a joke at first! But it wasn't and after a few conversations I suggested we do a fun drum and bass cover of 'Pass The Dutchie'. I thought Dennis would say NO because the poor guy has been singing it for 40 years and would probably be sick of it. But he says he isn't sick of it and he agreed to duet on the track with me! He came to my studio to film the music video and we were laughing all day! We got on very well and he was very down to earth and kind. It was such good fun! He told me stories from his past when we went to Michael Jackson's house and when he met other big celebrities."

I also asked her about the future...

My debut album will be released next year, 2024, which Dennis will be duetting on some of the tracks too. The album will be produced by Aleslie Springer. Also, I will be co-producing and Dennis will be co-producing some of the tracks. There will also be some live performances in the future too!

How about a little music history about the tune? From Wikipedia, "The song was the band's first release on a major label. Following a shouted intro taken from U Roy's "Rule the Nation" with words slightly altered, the track combined two songs: "Gimme the Music" by U Brown, and "Pass the Kouchie" by Mighty Diamonds..."

Again from Wikipedia, "Pass the Kouchie" was based upon a 1968 reggae instrumental piece called "Full Up" by Leroy Sibbles.When the song was released, it was condemned by the Prime Minister of Jamaica Edward Seaga for endorsing the use of illegal cannabis. The government of Jamaica subsequently banned it from being played on national radio as part of a drive against "kouchie culture". Despite this, the song was popular and became a top seller in Jamaican music shops and held that position for several weeks. The song was viewed as having established the Mighty Diamonds as being highly regarded in the reggae music scene. It also gained popularity internationally."

There were the naysayers about this lovely cover, as it replaced the weed (kouchie) with cooking pot (dutchie), thus watering down the intent of the Mighty Diamonds version...I beg to differ. I have a few thoughts on this. I've said this a million times over the 15+ years I've been sharing my personal take on music, there's nothing worse than a "Karaoke Cover"! By this, I mean that I don't want to hear your band play and sing a song exactly like the original...this ain't Bach or Mozart we're talking about here...catch my drift? These young English lads did a fantastic rendition of the song and truly made it their own, doing so well with it that I can't imagine that the Mighty Diamonds were displeased at all. To be honest with you, now that I think about it, Pass The Dutchie may have been my first exposure Jamaican styled music (rocksteady, ska, dub, dancehall, roots, etc.), or was it it the mighty Bob Marley...hmmm. Go back a post or two here at RdM and you'll see that their impact on me was eye opening, at the very least and 40 years later is still a big part of what spins on my turntable. Again, 40 years after the fact, Emily B and Dennis Seaton have made the song lovingly their own thing and I absolutely love it...dig it or don't.

www.iamemilymusic.com

https://www.facebook.com/iamemilymusic

http://www.Instagram.com/Iamemilymusic

https://soundcloud.com/iamemilymusic