''Blackman Know Yourself'' is an album by the Jamaican musician

Joe Higgs Joseph Benjamin Higgs (3 June 1940 – 18 December 1999) was a reggae musician from Jamaica. In the late 1950s and 1960s he was part of the duo Higgs and Wilson together with Roy Wilson. He was a popular artist in Jamaica for four decades and is ...

, released in 1990. He is credited with

the Wailers Band The Wailers Band are a reggae band formed by Aston Barrett in 1989, one of several spinoffs from Bob Marley and the Wailers. History After the death of Bob Marley in 1981, the Wailers continued, led by Aston Barrett and Junior Marvin. The ba ...

Production

The album was produced by

Lee Jaffe Lee Jaffe (born 1950) is an American artist, photographer, filmmaker, musician, and producer. Life and work Early life Born in the Bronx to a Jewish family, Jaffe grew up in New York City. Having fulfilled his high school requirements at the age ...

and Higgs, although there are questions about how much Jaffe was involved. "Steppin Razor'", written by Higgs, was popularized by Peter Tosh. " Small Axe" and " Sun Is Shining" are covers of

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

songs. "Oh Carol" is a cover of the Gladiators' song.

Critical reception

The '' Austin American-Statesman'' wrote that "the rumbling bass of Aston 'Family Man' Barrett keeps the music anchored in authenticity and Higgs' expressive voice does the rest." ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' praised Higgs's "silky smooth vocals," writing that "the music upholds a roots-reggae sound and consciousness." The ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...

'' stated that Higgs's "soulful, powerfully 'dread' singing offers a reminder of the music's spiritual foundation too often neglected or trivialized by latter-day reggae artists." '' The Gazette'' thought that "'Sons of Garvey', 'Wave of War', and the title track, 'Blackman Know Yourself', are all sparkling examples of Higgs at his best." The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' concluded that Higgs's "voice of middle-aged experience is well-suited to plaintive love songs such as 'She Was the One' or Bob Marley's sultry 'Sun Is Shining' ... On the title track, his dignified, authoritative rasp breaks into a falsetto wail that by itself is worth the price of the disc."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

wrote that "when other reggae artists were going for high-tech productions and incorporating hip-hop or urban contemporary elements, Higgs stuck with the type of simplicity that had characterized him since the '60s."

Track listing

References

{{reflist 1990 albums Shanachie Records albums