Let’s take a trip back in time. It’s Christmas of 2001 and Santa was good – no switches and coal that year. I got the gift I wanted most – It was a new Playstation system and some games to play too. We’ll just be talking about one of those games, the controversial Grand Theft Auto III. As I’m rolling through the streets of Liberty City looking for a prostitute to raise my health bar, I’m jamming to one of the radio stations hosted by one of the hypothetical gangs in the city. It’s KJAH radio and the album all the tracks are from is by a young man from Kingston, Jamaica, Hopeton Overton Brown. Brown, better known as Scientist, is a disciple of King Tubby and a dub reggae artist and legend. The album featured on the station is titled Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires and was released on Greensleeves Records in 1981 (Discogs, 2022). This is a dub classic.
Long story short, when this album was released on CD it came in a neon green case. It was this neon case that caught my attention in a record store in Greenville, SC later in life. Having found this electronic dub reggae gem, my music life changed. Soon, I had Scientist’s discography, which includes classics like Scientist Meets the Space Invaders and Heavy Weight Dub Champion. Recently, 20 years later, I was sharing music with my daughter on a road trip when we found Sublime Meets Scientist and Mad Professor inna L.B.C.. I am a huge fan of both Sublime and Scientist, so I had to listen. Let’s talk about this album – Sublime Meets Scientist and Mad Professor inna L.B.C..
First, and I’m honest here, Scientist is not for everyone. If you are not very familiar with Reggae music, you need to understand that there is a big difference between people like Peter Tosh and Bob Marly and Scientist. Scientist is dub reggae which basically means that it’s Reggae music, in this case all electronically made, with very little to no words. Think about the old Dr Dre or TuPac singles that featured a version of the song without lyrics – just the beat. Now, take your butter knife, dip it into a jar of that classic reggae sound, and spread it all over the track. You now have Dub Reggae. There’s a lot of stops and echoes in the music with super chilled out running beats that amplify as songs progress. Any words included are few and are only repeated with added breaks and echoes. Scientist’s music, in my opinion, is fantastic get your chill on background music or wonderful for long car rides. I will often spin one of his records when I am making art.
Sublime Meets Scientist and Mad Professor inna L.B.C. features several songs taken from the lengthy catalog of the great Sublime. Sublime is a sound and genre, musically, of its own. The Sublime sound is a mash up of so many genres including Reggae, Ska, dub, and has a signature Long Beach, California style on top of that. I knew that these two giants pairing up would either be great or be a disaster. Knowing, how awesome Scientist is, my money was on this composure being great. Personally, I wasn’t let down or wrong. It was everything that I expected, knowing Scientist’s sound and that of Sublime too. I was excited after listening and shared with a friend. This person and I have shared and appreciated music together for over 2 decades now. I value my friend’s feedback on new music I am listening to.
My friend made a comparison that I like and couldn’t have said better. According to him, “It’s like Tarantino directing a Star Wars movie. Individually both are awesome, but the combination of the two doesn’t equal a greater sum.” Musically speaking, there will never be another Sublime or Sublime sound. Also, Scientist is so unique. Even among dub artists, he stands out. Putting these two groups together could never make a greater sound than either of them could produce solo. The album is good and as enjoyable as any of the other albums in Scientist’s catalog. Here’s a good thing about Scientist, he’s consistent. You know what you are going to get. This album is no different. My favorite remix on this one is “Garden Grove” but, they are all good. Any Sublime fan should give this album a try. I would encourage them to play it in the background while they are doing whatever they do. Any Scientist fan has probably already listened to Sublime Meets Scientist and Mad Professor inna L.B.C. and probably agrees with me on it being enjoyable and consistent.
I’ll say this in closing and I apologize to the reader but, it’s a little bit of an inside joke. If 2 King Cobras and a Microphone – an unheard-of freestyle rap group I belonged to years ago – were still together, there would be some gold dropped over this album for sure. There would be surfing in Cali, tiki bars in Kingston, and so much other stuff that made no sense or would ever happen being rapped about over these killer Kingston beats. Get you a base in Scientist, remember Bradley Nowell, sit down, get your chill on, and have a listen to this album. It is worth the half hour of your time. You can read more about Scientist and view some of his catalog at https://www.dscogs.com/artist/33468-Scientist. You can also find his music on most music platforms out there and YouTube.
Reference List
Discogs. (2022). Scientist. Discogs.com. https://www.dscogs.com/artist/33468-Scientist
Schube, W. (2022). Sublime go dub for ‘sublime meets scientist & mad professor inna L.B.C. [Photo]. udiscovermusic.com. https://www.udiscovermusic.com/news/sublime-meets-mad-scientist-and-mad-professor-inna-lbc/?amp