Dancehall Godfather U-Roy, Trap Sensation Rygin King Team Up For ‘Stop That Train’
Trojan Jamaica/BMG have released another single from U-Roy’s upcoming album, Solid Gold U-Roy. The single, Stop That Train, features vocals from the late toaster and Dancehall sensation Rygin King.
U-Roy, a pioneering deejay who revolutionized the sound of Jamaican music in the early seventies, passed away on February 17 at the age of 78.
The new track was produced by label co-founders Zak Starkey and Sshh Liguz along with Youth (U2, Paul McCartney, The Verve), and mixed by David Sardy (Toots & The Maytals, Oasis, The Who), with a band comprised of Zak on guitar, New Orleans legend Cyril Neville on percussion, as well as reggae royalty, including drummer Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare on bass and backing vocals, Tony Chin on guitar and backing vocals, Robbie Lyn on keyboards, trumpet player Stingwray and saxophonist/horn arranger/backing vocalist Dean Fraser.
The original Stop That Train was a hit song by the Jamaican band The Spanishtonians (also known as the Spanish Town Skabeats), which was released in 1965 at the height of the original ska movement. Keith & Tex made it a hit again in 1967 and their version of it was sampled by Scotty for the song Draw Your Brakes, famously featured on the soundtrack to the film The Harder They Come. The Beastie Boys and Vanilla Ice also sampled the song.
Rygin King’s new vocals and the updated riddim have refreshed the classic tune, which also received a music video, directed by Nick Franco/1185 Films in collaboration with Zak and Sshh.
King is best known for his hit songs Tuff, Ruption, Me, Myself & I, and How Mi Grow, and is widely regarded as a trendsetter in the trap dancehall subgenre. He’s recovering from gunshot wounds he suffered in a June 2020 attack.
“We met Rygin after his legendary Sumfest performance and thought he was a proper rock star and asked him to participate in the U-Roy record,” says Zak and Sshh in a release. “Rygin agreed immediately, and it was great recording with him for ‘Stop That Train.’”
“It’s a great feeling to collaborate with a legend like Daddy U-Roy,” Rygin King said. “Not many people end up on a track with one of their elders, so I want to give thanks to everyone who made it possible… big up Trojan Jamaica and U-Roy. ‘Stop That Train’ is a classic song that is part of our culture.”
Solid Gold U-Roy will be released on July 15, 2021 with more guest appearances from Ziggy Marley, Shaggy, Mick Jones of The Clash, Santigold, Sly & Robbie, David Hinds of Steel Pulse, Big Youth, Tarrus Riley, Jesse Royal, Richie Spice, and Scientist.
Watch the new visuals for Stop That Train above.