To celebrate the birthday of one of Reggae music’s all-time legends, Controlled Substance Sound Labs (the label counterpart of Silverback Music), in collaboration with DubShot Records, and Argentinian label Afro Studios, has released a never before seen video for the song “To You” showcasing one of the last studio recordings and videos of the late singer Toots Hibbert. The posthumous video showcases Toots singing along-side Roots Radics, the legendary band including original musicians Errol ‘Flabba’ Holt on bass and Earl ‘China’ Smith on guitar. The footage from the video was shot during one of his last recording sessions, prior to his tragic death on September 11, 2020. The video is now playing on the YouTube video channel for The Final Battle: Sly and Robbie vs. The Roots Radics, the Grammy-nominated project released in partnership with New York based DubShot Records. Watch the video HERE.
The Final Battle: Sly and Robbie vs. Roots Radics, was produced by Hernan ‘Don Camel’ Sforzini at the Afro Studios headquarters in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Additional Roots Radics musicians include Kirk Bennett on drums, Lloyd ‘Obeah’ Denton on Piano, Synth & Organ, Bongo Herman on Nyah drums & Percussion, and producer Hernan ‘Don Camel’ Sforzini adding Nyah drums & accessories. The vocals were recorded at Reggae Center by Nigel Burrell, Harmonies provided by Jahniella Smith, Maria Smith, and IshaBel recorded at Grafton Studios, Kingston – Jamaica. Everol Wray contributes Trumpet and Trombones.
The LP features a who’s who of reggae legends, and was nominated for a Best Reggae Album at the 2020 Grammy Awards. Toots has once again been nominated in 2021 for his most recent full-length album “Got to be Tough.” Frederick ‘Toots’ Hibbert has received 7 total nominations throughout his illustrious 60-year career. Along with his group The Maytals consisting of fellow vocalists Henry ‘Raleigh’ Gordon and Nathaniel ‘Jerry’ Mathias, Toots coined the phrase “Reggae,” with his hit single from 1968 “Do the Reggay.” More than 50 years after that monumental single, Toots returned to the studio to reunite with one of the genre’s landmark rhythm sections to document what would unknowingly act as a coda in his musical legacy. Imagine, if you will, a sort of “dream concert,” a Reggae Woodstock that unites two of the finest Jamaican bands ever, playing behind a once-in-a-lifetime assembly of the music’s foundational creators performing all new classics composed for the event. Well, that’s exactly what you got. A clash between Sly & Robbie vs. Roots Radics, 12 original new songs featuring other legendary artists: Lee "Scratch" Perry, Ken Boothe, Luciano, Mighty Diamonds, Max Romeo, Mykal Rose, Horace Andy, The Congos, Freddie McGregor, Brinsley Forde, Pablo Moses.
In 2021, The Final Battle project will continue, with the release of The Final “DUB” Battle, that will feature exclusive DUB versions of the songs from the project. Included on the Dub Battle will be legendary producers Scientist, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Dennis Bovell, Mad Professor, King Jammy, and another important epitaph from recently departed Bunny “Striker” Lee, who passed away in October of 2020. The set will also include unreleased tracks from King Tubby, one with the Roots Radics and one from Sly and Robbie.
