Greetings,
I ‘n’ I think it was the late 90’s. I was in a long gone record shop in Salt Lake City cratedigging as usual. Ran into one of the fellow deejays at KRCL. He was one of the Drivetime programmers (he shall remain nameless). Drivetime: 3-6 PM. He started a little fun tradition he called 4:20* funk.
*4:20 – 420 – Smoker’s slang for getting together after school to burn some hippie lettuce.
Alas, he was told by the station manager to cut it out. As soon as he said that to me, a light bulb went off in my head. Smile Jamaica plays 4-7 PM.
Thus, sometime around 1998 the Cannabis Service Announcement was born. KRCL plays public service announcements highlighting (no pun intended) a worthy non-profit. That’s what I ‘n’ I intended to do. I have at least a thousand cannabis songs in my Ark-Ives. All formats. All genres. Peter Tosh – Legalize It in the same way giving money to a food bank serves the same worthy cause.
First set, around 4:20 PM I will spin a tasty herbtune. A few years later that expanded into the full on 3 hour specials on the Saturday closest to April 20th.
The station manager at the time didn’t really like me and thus probably didn’t care for Reggae. And since staff weren’t in their offices on the weekend, I could skate.
I ‘n’ I always saw it as an exercise in free speech if nothing else. Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do? No one ever said anything. And soon that show became my most popular during any year.
Later, there was a student who worked in my department who confessed she figured out who I was when she heard my voice at a 420 pot party where they were playing Smile Jamaica.
There is hope for the youth….
Wheel it forward a few years. I ‘n’ I was transferred into Audio Production at the University of Utah where I toil. I was in charge of a professional audio studio. I literally taught myself the recording setup and digital sound editing through cannabis music, movies, comedy albums and special efx.
That’s when I started adding the movie trailer clips (Jackie Brown, Pulp Fiction), comedy bits (Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Cheech and Chong), bongrips and vocal salutations to the Seven Leaf from countless Reggae, Rock and Dub albums.
- Rip tune to Itunes
- Upload song to Audacity sound editor
- clip 420 byte
- save as .mp3
- stitch between the songs
On this dubplate you can hear me play a 4:20 min. bongrip symphony. (Eat your heart out, Leonard Bernstein). I do a Marley-juana mix of selections from all of Bob’s herbal delights.
My Digital Dubplate renderings are when I ‘n’ I am either out of town or KRCL is in fund drive mode, which it will be Sat. April 18th.
- 4 hours
- 20 minutes
- 00 seconds
Plus I am heading out of town driving my parents back to Fort Benton, Montana from Sun City West, AZ. Now both those states have legalized the collie herb! First night in Mesquite (legal).
Second day drive through the dry Mormon Triangle states of Utah and Idaho to get to the Big Sky High in Montana. (The third leg of the triangle, Wyoming has an adult use bill working its way through the legislature.)
Wyoming Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Legalization Bill Sponsored By Top GOP Leaders
- White Mountain dispensary – Sun City; taking my Pops to get 10% off with his veterans card
- Deep Roots Harvest – Mesquite NV. Last trip I ‘n’ I won $1000 playing video poker. Vaping in a pandemic pulling the handle in a plastic phone booth type arrangement. Can lightning strike twice?
- Does Fort Benton (farming town of barely 1000 people) have a dispensary. Stay tuned and find out!
bless, Bobbylon
Smile Jamaica 420: Digital Dubplate 2021 Playlist:
0-30 min.:
- Jah Woosh – Marijuana World Tour; Marijuana World Tour (Original) ‘76
- Sly & the Revolutionaries – Pass the Rizla (Trojan) ‘80
- Eek a Mouse – Ganja Smuggling; Wa-Do-Dem (Greensleeves) ‘81
- Inner Circle – Mary, Mary; Best of Inner Circle (Island) ’79 comp.
- Mighty Diamonds – Sensemilla; Get Ready (Rohit) ‘88
- Ras Prophet – Herbman Hustling; Feel the Fire (Prophet) ’93 Sugar Minott cover
30-60 min.:
- Sugar Minott – Dreadlocks Chalice; Ghetto Child (Heartbeat) ‘89
- Human Rights – Who’s Got the Herb; I Luv (Railroad) ’91 throat of Bad Brains
- UB40 – Mi Spliff; Credit to the Nation (bootleg)
- Wayne Smith – Under Me Sleng Teng; Sleng Teng (Greensleeves) ’86 = smoking utensil
- Charlie Chaplin – Bubbling Telephone (Chalice); Hi Grade Ganja Anthems 3 (Greensleeves) ’82
- Pupajim – International Farmer; Jahtarian Dubbers vol. 2 (Jahtari) 2010 mutant dub Peter Broggs cover
60-90 min.
- Frankie Paul – Stick a Sensi; A We Rule (RAS) ’97 Sugar Minott cover
- Corey Harris – Lamb’s Bread; Daily Bread (Rounder) 2005 blues artist covers Sylford Walker
- Frankie Jones – Colly George; King Jammy: A Man and His Hits (RAS) early 80’s?
- John Holt – Police in Helicopter; 12” (Holt) ’83 JA
- Max (Romeo) & Niney – Aily & Ailaloo; Blood & Fire (Trojan) ’72
90 min. – 2 hr.
- Junior Reid – International Year of the Chalice; Visa (RAS) ‘93
- Peter Tosh – Buk-in-Hamm Palace; Mystic Man (EMI America) ‘79
- Black Uhuru vs. Black Sabbath – Guess Who’s Coming For Sweetleaf; 7” (bootleg)
- Soom T – Smile Jamaica Weedstepper Mix; Glasgow Scotland female
- Vivian Jones – Got a Light; 12” (Jah Shaka) ‘86
- Johnny Clarke – Collie Dread; Don’t Stay Out Late (Rhino UK) ’78
2 – 2 and 1/2 hrs.
- Welton Irie – Telephone Chalice; One and One = Two (JA) early 80’s?
- Pablo Paul – Don’t Dope; Timeless Roots Rockers (Ejaness) 2006
- Gregory Isaacs – Mr. Cop; Extra Classic (Rohit) ‘78
- Israel Vibration – Red Eyes; Forever (RAS) ‘90
- King Kong – Legalize It; Rumble Jumble Life (Massive B) 2011
- Ranking Joe – Solomon’s Weed; 3 the Roots Way (Jah Warrior) 2000
2 and 1/2 – 3 hrs.
- Michael Rose – Draw the Weed; Never Give It Up (Heartbeat) 2001
- Prince Far I – Commandment of Drugs; Message From the King (Virgin Front Line) ‘78
- Zion Tribe – Herbissimo; Tribe Noiz (Red Giant) ’92 SLC
- The Selecter – My Collie (Not a Dog); Too Much Pressure (2 Tone) ’80 2 Tone ska w/ female vox
- Audio Active – Free the Marijuana; Pro Cannabis 4 (Dope) ’94 comp. Jah-pon
- Sonny Knight – But Officer!; But Officer! (Stateside) ‘57
3 – 3 and 1/2 hrs.
- Anthony Johnson – What Kind of Herb; Jah Thomas Presents the Highest Grade (“Ras” Sta) ’82 comp.
- Barrington Levy – Sensimilla; Can’t Stop Us Now (Easy Star) ’82? Comp.
- Mikey Dread – Pound a Weed; Life Is a Stage (Dread at the Controls) 2007
- Aswad – Just a Little Herb; Rebel Souls (Mango) ‘84
- Ben Harper – Burn One Down; Reggae Sampler (Virgin) ‘97
- Chosen Few – Collie Stuff; Darker Than Blue (Blood & Fire) ‘75
- The Toyes – Smoke Two Joints; The Toyes (CD Tunes) ‘96
- Barry Brown – Pass Up the Chalice; Rich Man Poor Man (Moll-Selekta) 70’s?
- Capital Letters – Smoking My Ganja; Headline News (Greensleeves) ’79 UK youth group
3 and1/2 – 4 hr.
- John Clarke – Good Collie Weed; Visions of John Clarke (Wackies) ’79 to Only Sixteen riddim
- Lovejoys- One Draw; Lovers Rock Reggae (Wackies) ’83 Rita Marley herb tune
- Future Pigeon – Mummy Rock; Echodelic Sounds of Future Pigeon (Record Collect) 2005 LA
- Glen Brown – Lambsbread – Way to Mt. Zion (ROIR) ‘79
- Kiddus I – Green Fa Life; Green Fa Life (Makafresh) 2009
4 hr. – 4 hr. 20 min. 00 seconds
- Heavy Manners – Taking the Queen to Tea; Heavier Than Now (NoVo) ’96 Chicago w/ female vox
- The Pioneers – Feeling High; Greatest Hits (Trojan) ‘79
- Sublime – Legalize It; Hempilation (Capricorn) ’95 Tosh cover
- Bush Chemists – Light Up Your Spliff; Light Up Your Spliff (Conscious Sounds) ‘95
Smile Jamaica 