RIP Max Romeo

 

Romeo reaches rave through this unlikely conduit 

While we're paying tribute to Max, this tune is oddly topical - reusing the "War Inna Babylon" rhythm 

Would love to read something really probing on the Anti-Papacy subcurrents in Rasta 'n' roots culture. 

Given that Rasta is essentially Afro-Protestant - a  Caribbean cousin of the born-again, fundamentalist, Scripture-is-literal-truth offshoots of Calvinism in America - one explanation would be that it is simply sourced in the anti-Catholic paranoia that impregnates Protestantism from the start: the idea that the Church of Rome is an ungodly perversion of true Christianity.  It taps into the same wellsprings that led to the anti-Catholic secret societies in 19th Century and early 20th Century America, the nativist newspapers with their fears of an influx of Catholic immigrants from Ireland, Italy, Poland, changing the fundamental make-up of the country. At its extreme edge, there were fevered fears of the Pope arriving at the head of a new Armada to conquer the USA. 

But perhaps there are some uniquely Jamaican ingredients involved.... 

I seem to remember reading that at dancehall events to this day (or at least whenever it was I read the piece) you would get anti-Pope shout-outs from the deejay

Here's another Vatican-themed tune - Lee Perry, no Max - about the Conclave itself

Here's a really sharp piece of writing about Lee Perry - specifically his way with a kick drum, but also his whole sono-spiritual project - by Nick Coleman at his Substack. There's also some great outlandish quotes from Scratch from an interview Nick did some time ago.