Sinsemilla (album)

Sinsemilla
Studio album by Black Uhuru
Released	July 1980 (1980-07)
Recorded	January 26, 1980 (1980-01-26)
Studio	Channel One Studios, Kingston, Jamaica
Genre	Reggae
Length	36:43
Label	Mango, Island, Warner Bros.
Producer	Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare [1]
Black Uhuru chronology
Showcase (1979) Sinsemilla (1980) Red (1981)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Christgau's Record Guide	B+ [3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[4]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide	[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[6]

Sinsemilla is the third album by Jamaican reggae band Black Uhuru, released in 1980 on the Island Records subsidiary Mango. ^[4] The album helped the band achieve a global fanbase. ^[1]

Critical reception

Trouser Press wrote that the album "delivers a level of consistency only Bob Marley himself had achieved." ^[7] The Miami New Times wrote that "by 1980's Sinsemilla, Black Uhuru was a paragon of politics, close harmonies, pumping grooves, and a social awareness as astute and incisive as Marley's." ^[8] Spin deemed Sinsemilla a "classic reggae" album, writing that Sly and Robbie's "trademark synth-drum grooves drove the group's harmonies like a diddling steam turbine." ^[9]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Michael Rose.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Happiness"	4:21
2.	"World Is Africa"	5:17
3.	"Push Push"	4:12
4.	"There Is Fire"	5:02
5.	"No Loafing (Sit and Wonder)"	3:59
6.	"Sinsemilla"	5:11
7.	"Endurance"	4:01
8.	"Vampire"	4:34

Bonus tracks 2003

No.	Title	Length
9.	"Sinsemilla" (Discomix)	6:30
10.	"Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" (Discomix)	6:00

Personnel

Black Uhuru

• Michael Rose - lead vocals
• Derrick "Duckie" Simpson - harmony vocals
• Puma Jones - harmony vocals

with:

• Robbie Shakespeare - bass, lead bass on "Vampire"
• Sly Dunbar - drums, percussion, electronic drums
• Ansel Collins - acoustic piano, organ
• Jimmy Becker - harmonica
• Radcliffe "Dougie" Bryan - lead guitar
• Bertram "Ranchie" McLean - rhythm guitar
• Uziah "Sticky" Thompson - percussion

Technical

• Lister Hewan Lowe, Lowell "Sly" Dunbar, Robert "Robbie" Shakespeare - executive producer
• Ernest Hookim, Colonel Maxie (Lancelot "Maxie" McKenzie) - recording engineer
• Tony Wright - cover illustration

References

1. "Black Uhuru: Sinsemilla / Red / The Dub Factor". March 7, 2004.
2. Ruhlmann, William. "Black Uhuru: Sinsemilla" at AllMusic. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
3. Christgau, Robert (1990). "B". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s . Pantheon Books. ISBN   0-679-73015-X . Retrieved August 17, 2020– via robertchristgau.com.
4. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 1. MUZE. p. 638.
5. MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 116.
6. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 63.
7. "Black Uhuru". Trouser Press. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
8. Stratton, Jeff (November 15, 2001). "Rare Riddims". Miami New Times.
9. "Classic Reggae". SPIN. SPIN Media LLC. April 11, 2003 – via Google Books.