Tapper Zukie (or Tappa Zukie) (born David Sinclair, 1955,

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

) is a

roots reggae Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of Ethnic groups of Africa, Africans and those in the African Diaspora, including the spiritual side of Rastafari, black liberation, revolution and the ho ...

deejay A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music festivals), mobile DJ ...

and producer.Greene, Jo-Ann
Tapper Zukie Biography
,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, retrieved 2011-02-15

Biography

Tapper was the nickname given to him by his grandmother in his adolescence, while Zukie was a name that came from his friends' association as a young boy; their gang was called 'The Zukies'. In 1973 his mother, concerned with Zukie's tendency to get into trouble, sent him to England to stay with some relatives. Producer

Bunny Lee Edward O'Sullivan Lee OD (23 August 1941 – 6 October 2020), better known as Bunny "Striker" Lee, was a Jamaican record producer. He was known as a pioneer of the United Kingdom reggae market, licensing his productions to Trojan Records i ...

arranged with the UK-based entrepreneur Larry Lawrence for him to undertake some sound recording sessions and concerts, and he opened for

U-Roy Ewart Beckford OD (21 September 1942 – 17 February 2021), known by the stage name U-Roy, was a Jamaican vocalist and pioneer of toasting.Jo-Ann GreeneU-Roy Biography, AllMusic. Retrieved 11 April 2013. U-Roy was known for a melodic style ...

the day after his arrival in London. Zukie's first release was the single "Jump & Twist", produced by Lawrence. Around this time he also recorded material for Clem Bushay, which were released on the ''Man Ah Warrior'' album, issued in 1973.Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, , p. 325-6 Zukie returned to Jamaica, cutting "Judge I Oh Lord" for Lloydie Slim and "Natty Dread Don't Cry" for Lee. After an argument with Lee that resulted in the police being called, the two made peace with Lee giving Zukie some

riddim In Jamaican dancehall music, a riddim is the instrumental accompaniment to a song and is synonymous with the rhythm section. Jamaican music genres that use the term consist of the ''riddim'' plus the ''voicing'' (vocal part) sung by the deeja ...

s to record over, and taking these and others from

Joseph Hoo Kim Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

, he toasted over them at

King Tubby Osbourne Ruddock (28 January 1941 – 6 February 1989), better known as King Tubby, was a Jamaican sound engineer who influenced the development of dub music in the 1960s and 1970s. Tubby's studio work, in which as a mixing engineer he achiev ...

's studio. These recordings were issued on the album ''MPLA'' , released in 1976 and titled as a dedication to the

People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (, abbr. MPLA), from 1977–1990 called the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party (), is an Angolan social democratic political party. The MPLA fought against the Po ...

, who had fought against the Portuguese Army in the

Angolan War of Independence The Angolan War of Independence (; 1961–1974), known as the Armed Struggle of National Liberation (Portuguese: ''Luta Armada de Libertação Nacional'') in Angola, was a war of independence fought between the Angolan nationalist forces ...

. The ''Man Ah Warrior'' album had gained Zukie a cult following in the United Kingdom, and he returned there in 1975, releasing the track "MPLA" as a single, which was sufficiently successful for Klik to issue the album of the same name in the UK. The bass line and rhythm of the track "MPLA" was based on the

Rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

song "Freedom Blues" by

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...

, a song which had gained popularity in the sound system community due to

Coxsone Dodd Clement Seymour "Coxsone" Dodd (26 January 1932 – 4 May 2004) was a Jamaican record producer who was influential in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, 1960s and beyond. He was nicknamed "Coxsone" at school due to his talent ...

's version of the record with Roy Richards on the vocal. The ''MPLA'' album versions highly regarded

and

’s engineered and produced tunes by

Johnny Clarke Johnny Clarke (born 12 January 1955) is a Jamaican reggae musician, best known for his recordings with producer Bunny Lee in the 1970s. Biography Clarke grew up in the Kingston ghetto of Whitfield Town and attended Jamaica College.Cornell Campbell Cornel Campbell aka Don Cornel or Don Gorgon (born 23 November 1945 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a reggae singer, best known for his trademark falsetto voice, and his recordings at Studio One in the late 1960s and his later work with Bunny Lee in ...

Dennis Brown Dennis Emmanuel Brown CD (1 February 1957 – 1 July 1999) was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of l ...

, and Junior Ross and the Spear. One notable fan of ''MPLA'' was

proto punk Proto-punk (or protopunk) is rock music from the 1960s to mid-1970s that foreshadowed the punk rock genre and movement. A retrospective label, the musicians involved were generally not originally associated with each other and came from a variet ...

artist

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter, author, and photographer. Her 1975 debut album '' Horses'' made her an influential member of the New York City-based punk rock movement. Smith has fu ...

, who gave Zukie a support slot on her UK tour, reissued ''Man a Warrior'' on her ''Mer'' record label, and contributed sleeve-notes to his 1977 album ''Man From Bosrah''. Reviewing the 1977 reissue of ''Man a Warrior'', ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Ma ...

'' critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

said: " Dub has certain affinities with heavy metal, which may be why the only album of the stuff I've ever played much is

Big Youth Manley Augustus Buchanan (born 19 April 1949, Trenchtown, Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica),Thompson, Dave (2002) "Reggae & Caribbean Music", Backbeat Books, better known as Big Youth (sometimes called Jah Youth), is a Jamaican Toasting (J ...

's first, ''

Screaming Target ''Screaming Target'' is the debut album by Jamaican deejay Big Youth. It was recorded and originally released in 1972 on the Gussie and Jaguar labels in Jamaica.Lenny Kaye Lenny Kaye (''né'' Kusikoff; born December 27, 1946) is an American guitarist, composer, and writer, notable for his work with the Patti Smith Group, his contributions to music magazines, and his garage rock retrospective anthology '' Nuggets' ...

has compiled this set from the same period, which means that the mix is less volcanic than in recent dub, the vocals more buoyant. Zukie's is fresh enough to really enjoy putting a rap down, too, so he doesn't sound doombound, verbally or musically. Sample segue: from 'Simpleton Badness' to 'Archie the Rednose Reindeer.'" This period of success allowed Zukie to set up his own 'Stars' record label, and he began to produce other artists, including Junior Ross & The Spear, Prince Alla,

Errol Dunkley Errol Dunkley (born 6 February 1951), sometimes spelled Erroll Dunkley, is a Jamaican reggae musician, born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1951. Biography Dunkley's recording career began in 1965, when he was 14, with "Gypsy" (a duet with Roy Shirle ...

, Ronnie Davis, and

Horace Andy Horace Andy (born Horace Keith Hinds, 19 February 1951) is a Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer, known for his distinctive vocals and hit songs such as " Skylarking", as well as "Government Land", "Angel", "Spying Glass", and "Five Ma ...

. Two dub albums emerged in 1977: ''Escape From Hell'' and ''Tapper Zukie In Dub''. A deal with

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

subsidiary ''Frontline'' saw the release of two further albums in 1978 - ''Peace In The Ghetto'' and ''Tapper Roots'', while he also continued to release records on his ''Stars'' label in Jamaica. The album ''Peace In The Ghetto'' was notable for its version of

Cornell Campbell Cornel Campbell aka Don Cornel or Don Gorgon (born 23 November 1945 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a reggae singer, best known for his trademark falsetto voice, and his recordings at Studio One in the late 1960s and his later work with Bunny Lee in ...

's tune,"Blessed Are They", a lyrical take on

Beatitudes The Beatitudes () are blessings recounted by Jesus in Matthew 5:3–10 within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, and four in the Sermon on the Plain in the Gospel of Luke, followed by four woes which mirror the blessings. In ...

, which Tapper Zukie reworked as a memorial and

paean A paean () is a song or lyric poem expressing triumph or thanksgiving. In classical antiquity, it is usually performed by a chorus, but some examples seem intended for an individual voice ( monody). It comes from the Greek (also or ), "song ...

to the anti-

Apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

revolutionary

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

Steve Biko Bantu Stephen Biko Order for Meritorious Service, OMSG (18 December 1946 – 12 September 1977) was a South African internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist. Ideologically an African nationalism, African nationalist and ...

, killed in a prison cell in 1977 by the

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

South African police force. After 1976, he concentrated on producing music in Jamaica, working with such reggae musicians as

The Mighty Diamonds The Mighty Diamonds were a Jamaican harmony trio, recording roots reggae with a strong Rastafarian influence. The group was formed in 1969 and were best known for their 1976 debut album, '' Right Time'', produced by Joseph Hoo Kim, and the 1979 ...

Max Romeo Maxwell Livingston Smith (22 November 1944 – 11 April 2025), known professionally as Max Romeo, was a Jamaican reggae and roots reggae recording musician who achieved chart success in his home country and in the United Kingdom. He had several ...

Ken Boothe Kenneth George Boothe OD (born 22 March 1948) is a Jamaican vocalist known for his distinctive vibrato and timbre. Boothe achieved an international reputation as one of Jamaica's finest vocalists through a series of crossover hits that appeal ...

, Sugar Minott and

. In 1978 he scored a big hit with "Oh Lord", which spent six weeks on top of the Jamaican charts. Also popular that summer was "She Want a Phensic". In 1979, Tapper Zukie released

and

Headley Bennett Felix Headley Bennett OD (29 May 1931 – 21 August 2016), also known as Deadly Headley, was a prolific Jamaican saxophonist who performed on hundreds, possibly thousands, of recordings since the 1950s. Biography Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Ben ...

’s

discomix A discomix, or simply a disco, is an extended reggae 12-inch single that typically features the vocal track followed by a dub version or a deejay version of the same track.Heath, ML (2010)Joe Gibbs: 12" Reggae Discomix Showcase Volumes 4 and 5, Pop ...

, ''If I wasn't a Man'' tune on his own ''Stars'' label , built around a variation on the horns refrain from

Sound Dimension Sound Dimension (previously named The Soul Vendors) was a Jamaican reggae band formed in 1967 in Kingston, Jamaica. They were the house band at Clement "Coxsone" Dodd's Studio One. They were named after a piece of studio equipment called the S ...

Real Rock "Real Rock" is an instrumental reggae song by the Jamaican band Sound Dimension. It was recorded in 1967 at Jamaica Recording Studio in Kingston, Jamaica, and released as a single in 1968 by Studio One. The song was produced by Clement "Coxsone ...

rhythm. In the mid-1980s, Zukie was more prolific as a producer, working with artists such as

, Sugar Minott, and

. In 1986 he released a new album of his own, ''Raggamuffin''. He continued to concentrate on production, although another album was released in 1996, ''Deep Roots''. In 1995,

Steve Barrow Steve Barrow (born 29 September 1945) is a British reggae historiographer, chronologist, archivist, journalist, curator, writer, promoter, sound system operator, record-label owner and producer.

Blood and Fire (record label) Blood and Fire was a British reggae record label active from 1993-2014, specialising in reissues of 1970s dub. History Steve Barrow, Bob Harding, Simply Red's Mick Hucknall, Elliot Rashman and Andy Dodd formed the record label in Mancheste ...

re-issued ''Tappa Zukie in Dub'', introducing his work to a new audience. After suffering a "diabetic episode" in October 2015, Zukie was out of the public eye until he performed at a concert in December 2018.Campbell, Howard (2019)
Tappa Zukie looks to Europe
, ''

Jamaica Observer The ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by ...

'', 9 January 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2019 He stated in January 2019 that he was recording a new album and planned to perform in Europe in the summer.

Discography

Albums

*''Man a Warrior'' (1973), Klik *''M.P.L.A.'' (1976), Klik - reissued (1978),

Virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

*''Escape From Hell'' (1977), Stars *''Tapper Zukie in Dub'' (1977), Stars *''The Man From Bosrah'' (1978), Stars *''Peace in the Ghetto'' (1978), Virgin *''Tapper Zukie International'' (1978), Stars *''Blackman'' (1978), Stars *''Tapper Roots'' (1978), Stars/

Front Line A front line (alternatively front-line or frontline) in military terminology is the position(s) closest to the area of conflict of an Military, armed force's Military personnel, personnel and Military technology, equipment, usually referring to ...

*''Raggy Joey Boy'' (1982), Stars *''Earth Running'' (1983), Mobiliser *''People Are You Ready?'' (1983), Stars *''Ragamuffin'' (1986), World Enterprise *''Deep Roots'' (1996), RAS

Compilations

*''Living in the Ghetto'', Stars *''Cork & Tar'' (2004), Tappa *''Dub 'Em Zukie'' (2004), Jamaican Recordings *''Musical Intimidator: The Anthology'' (2004),

Trojan Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * '' Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 18 ...

*''The Best of the Frontline Years'' (2004), Virgin *''From the Archives'', RAS

References

External links

Tapper Roots Discussion
Radio 1's

Mark and Lard Mark and Lard is the stage name of Mark Radcliffe (Mark) and Marc Riley (Lard), who presented various weekday shows on BBC Radio 1 from 1991 to March 2004. Career Radcliffe, then a Radio 1 producer, began presenting specialist shows on the ne ...

discuss Tapper Zukies 'Tapper Roots' album cover.
Discography
at Roots Archives. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zukie, Tapper 1955 births Jamaican reggae musicians Jamaican record producers Living people Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica