Culture are a Jamaican

roots reggae Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of Africans and those in the African Diaspora, including the spiritual side of Rastafari, black liberation, revolution and the honoring of God, called Jah ...

group founded in 1976. Originally they were known as the African Disciples. The one constant member until his death in 2006 was Joseph Hill.

History

The group formed in 1976 as the vocal trio of Joseph Hill (formerly a percussionist in Studio One house band the Soul Defenders), his cousin Albert "Ralph" Walker, and Roy "Kenneth" Dayes, initially using the name The African Disciples.Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 83-85 Roy Dayes also used the name "Kenneth Paley", which is the name that appears on the Culture records released by Virgin Records. The African Disciples soon changed their name to Culture, and auditioned successfully for the "Mighty Two": producer

Joe Gibbs Joe Jackson Gibbs (born November 25, 1940) is an American auto racing team owner and former professional football coach. In football, he was head coach for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL) from 1981 to 1992, and a ...

and engineer Errol Thompson. While at Gibbs' studio, they recorded a series of singles, starting with "See Dem a Come" and including "Two Sevens Clash" (which predicted the apocalypse on 7 July 1977), many of which ended up on their debut album ''Two Sevens Clash''.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004). ''The Rough Guide to Reggae'', third ed. Rough Guides. . p. 163."Joseph Hill and Culture: Age-Defying Reggae", ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', 8 May 2006, p. C04Porter, Christopher (2006)
Joseph Hill and Culture: Age-Defying Reggae
, ''

'', 8 May 2006 The song was sufficiently influential that many in Kingston stayed indoors on 7 July, fearing that the prophecy would come true.Norris, Michele (2007)
Birth of a Phenomenon: 'Two Sevens Clash'
,

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

, 12 July 2007 A second Gibbs-produced album, ''Baldhead Bridge'', followed in 1978, by which time the group had moved on to record for producer

Sonia Pottinger Sonia Eloise Pottinger OD ( Durrant; 21 June 1931 – 3 November 2010)Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 316 The group entered into a long-running dispute with Gibbs over royalties to the first album. ''Two Sevens Clash'' meanwhile had become a big seller in the United Kingdom, popular with punk rock fans as well as reggae fans and boosted by the support of

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

on his

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

show, and reached number 60 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

in April 1978.Obituary: Joseph Hill
, ''

Liverpool Daily Post The ''Liverpool Post'' was a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. The newspaper and its website ceased publication on 19 December 2013. Until 13 January 2012 it was a daily morning newspaper, with the tit ...

'', 22 August 2006 This prompted

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

to sign the group to its

Front Line A front line (alternatively front-line or frontline) in military terminology is the position(s) closest to the area of conflict of an armed force's personnel and equipment, usually referring to land forces. When a front (an intentional or uninte ...

label, releasing ''Harder than the Rest'' (1978) and ''International Herb'' (1979). Culture also released records on other labels in Jamaica, including a dub version of ''Harder than the Rest'', ''Culture in Dub'' (1978, High Note), and an album of different recordings of the same album, ''Africa Stand Alone'' (April 1978). An album recorded for Pottinger in 1979 with a working title of ''Black Rose'' remained unreleased until tracks emerged in 1993 on ''Trod On''. Culture performed at the

One Love Peace Concert The One Love Concert (OLPC) was a large concert held on 22 April 1978 at The National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica. This concert was held during a political civil war in Jamaica between opposing parties Jamaican Labour Party and the People's ...

in 1978. In 1981 the three singers went their own ways.Pareles, Jon (1988)
Pop: Culture, Rockers Reggae Band
, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 16 January 1988, retrieved 15 September 2012 Hill carried on using the Culture name, and recorded the ''Lion Rock'' album, which was reissued in the United States by

Heartbeat Records Heartbeat Records is an independent record label based in Burlington, Massachusetts. The label specializes in Jamaican music. Founded by reggae music enthusiasts Bill Nowlin and Duncan Brown, the label's first release was a vinyl LP reissue of L ...

. Hill and his new band recorded a session for long time supporter

in December 1982, and the group went on to record further studio sessions for Peel in 1998 and 2002, and their performance at the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...

in July 1998 was broadcast on his show.Culture
, ''Keeping It Peel'',

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

, retrieved 15 September 2012 For their part, Walker and Dayes recorded a handful of songs on their own; a few of which turned up on an album titled ''Roots & Culture''. Hill performed at the ''

Reggae Sunsplash Reggae Sunsplash is a reggae music festival first staged in 1978 in the northern part of Jamaica. In 1985 it expanded with the addition of an international touring festival. The festival ran annually until 1996, with a final event in 1998, befo ...

'' festival in 1985 and in 1986 the original line-up reformed to record two highly regarded albums – ''Culture in Culture'' and ''Culture at Work''. Several albums followed in the 1990s on

Shanachie Records Shanachie Records is an American, New Jersey-based record label, founded in 1975 by Richard Nevins and Dan Collins. The label is named for the Gaelic word ''seanchaí'' (anglicised as shanachie), an Irish storyteller. It was previously distribu ...

and

Ras Records RAS Records, also known as Real Authentic Sound, is a reggae record label. History RAS Records was founded in 1979 by Doctor Dread. In his travels to Jamaica he created a network within the reggae artist community there. By the early to mid-1980 ...

, often recorded with

Sly and Robbie Sly and Robbie were a prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo, associated primarily with the reggae and dub genres. Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare teamed up in the mid-1970s after establishing themselves separa ...

, with Dayes leaving the group again around 1994, with Reginald Taylor replacing him.Quillen, Shay (1990)
Culture adds synthesized sounds to 'Nuff Crisis'
, ''

The Cavalier Daily ''The Cavalier Daily'' is an independent, student-run daily news organization at the University of Virginia. Founded in 1890, under the name ''College Topics'', ''The Cavalier Daily'' is Virginia's oldest collegiate daily and the oldest daily new ...

'', 1 February 1990, p. 4, retrieved 15 September 2012Stoute, Lenny (1994) "Reggaeman pounds Culture message home", ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', 28 July 1994, p. E5 Dayes subsequently worked as a solo artist under the name Kenneth Culture.Campbell, Howard (2016)
Kenneth Culture continues journey
, ''

Jamaica Observer ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica. The publication is owned by Butch Stewart, who chartered the paper in January 1993 as a competitor to Jamaica's oldest daily paper, ''The Gleaner''. Its founding editor i ...

'', 27 May 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016 By 2001 Telford Nelson had replaced Taylor.Cooke, Mel (2003)
Culture remains humble
, ''

Jamaica Gleaner ''The Gleaner'' is an English-language, morning daily newspaper founded by two brothers, Jacob and Joshua de Cordova on 13 September 1834 in Kingston, Jamaica. Originally called the ''Daily Gleaner'', the name was changed on 7 December 1992 to ' ...

'', 13 September 2003, retrieved 15 September 2012Heim, Joe (2001)
Culture, Partying On In Rastafarian Harmony
, ''

'', 26 March 2001 Joseph Hill, who came to symbolise the face of Culture, died in Berlin, Germany on 19 August 2006 while the group was on tour, after collapsing following a performance.Francis, Petrina (2006)
Reggae Icon, Joseph Hill, Dies
", ''

'', 20 August 2006, retrieved 15 September 2012 His son, Kenyatta Hill, who had acted as the group's sound engineer on tour, performed with his father's band at the Western Consciousness show in 2007, which was dedicated to Joseph Hill, and became the lead singer of Culture; Walker and Nelson continue to provide backing vocals.Cooke, Mel (2007)
Culture tribute for Western Consciousness 2007
, ''

'', 13 April 2007, retrieved 15 September 2012Frater, Adrian (2007)
Kenyatta Hill keeps the voice of Culture alive
, ''

'', 21 January 2007, retrieved 15 September 2012Joseph 'Culture' Hill lives on
, ''The Weekly Gleaner'', 1 September 2011 In 2011, ''Live On'' was released, featuring Kenyatta's performances of his father's songs, including "Two Sevens Clash" and "International Herb".

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

Two Sevens Clash ''Two Sevens Clash'' is the debut album by roots reggae band Culture, recorded with producer Joe Gibbs at his own Joe Gibbs Recording Studio in Kingston in 1976, and released on Gibbs' eponymous label in 1977 (see 1977 in music). The album's tit ...

'' (1977), Joe Gibbs Music * ''

Baldhead Bridge ''Baldhead Bridge'' is the second album by the Jamaican roots reggae band Culture, released on Joe Gibbs in 1978. Production As with the band's debut, '' Two Sevens Clash'', the album was recorded in Kingston at the studio of Joe Gibbs, who a ...

'' (1978), Joe Gibbs Music * ''Harder than the Rest'' produced by

Sonia Pottinger Sonia Eloise Pottinger OD ( Durrant; 21 June 1931 – 3 November 2010)Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 316 Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

* ''

Africa Stand Alone __NOTOC__ ''Africa Stand Alone'' is a 1978 album by Jamaican roots reggae band Culture. It was recorded with engineer Sylvan Morris at Harry J's Studios, Kingston, in the interim between the band's sessions with producers Joe Gibbs and Sonia Po ...

'' (1978), April * ''Cumbolo'' produced by Sonia Pottinger (1979), Virgin/Front Line * ''International Herb'' produced by Sonia Pottinger (1979), High Note/Virgin * ''More Culture'' aka ''Innocent Blood'' (1981), Joe Gibbs Music * ''Lion Rock'' (1982), Sonic Sounds * ''Culture in Culture'' (1985), Music Track * ''Culture at Work'' (1986), Blue Mountain/ Shanachie * ''

Nuff Crisis! ''Nuff Crisis!'' is a studio album by the Jamaican reggae group Culture, released in 1988. Production The album was produced by Lloyd Evans, with song arrangements by the Jamaican musicians Sly & Robbie. Culture was backed by the Roots Radics ban ...

'' (1988), Blue Mountain * ''Good Things'' (1989), RAS * ''Three Sides to My Story'' (1991), Shanachie * ''Wings of a Dove'' (1992), Shanachie * ''One Stone'' (1996), Gorgon/

RAS Ras or RAS may refer to: Arts and media * RAS Records Real Authentic Sound, a reggae record label * Rundfunk Anstalt Südtirol, a south Tyrolese public broadcasting service * Rás 1, an Icelandic radio station * Rás 2, an Icelandic radio stati ...

* ''Trust Me'' (1997), RAS * ''Payday'' (1999), RAS * ''Humble African'' (2000), VP * ''World Peace'' (2003), Heartbeat * ''Pass the Torch'' (Tafari Records) (2007) (Seven versions of old tunes by Joseph Hill, and seven tunes by his son Kenyatta Hill)Steckles, Gary (2008)
Spin Control
, ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'', 27 January 2008 * ''Live On'' (2011), Zojak Worldwide

Dub albums

* ''Culture Dub'' (1978), High Note * ''Culture in Dub: 15 Dub Shots'' (1994), Heartbeat * ''Stoned'' (''One Stone in Dub'' engineered by Fathead and Jim Fox) (1996), RAS * ''Scientist Dubs Culture into a Parallel Universe'' (2000) * ''Rare and Unreleased Dub'', Revolver

Live albums

* ''Cultural Livity: Live Culture '98'' (1998), RAS * ''Live in Africa'' (2002) * ''Live in Negril'' (2003)

Split albums

* ''Roots and Culture'' (1982), Jah Guidance – split with

Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the dramatic play '' Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Friedri ...

Compilations

* ''Vital Selection'' (1981), Virgin * ''Rare and Unreleased Dub'' Revolver Records (1989) * ''Too Long in Slavery'' produced by Sonia Pottinger (1981), Virgin * ''17 Chapters of Culture'' (1992), Sonic Sounds * ''Trod On'' produced by Sonia Pottinger (1993), Heartbeat * ''Strictly Culture: The Best Of Culture 1977–1979'' (1994), MCI * ''Ras Portraits'' (1997), RAS * ''Peace and Love'' (1997), Rhino * ''Reggae Giants'' (1997), Top Tape * ''Production Something'' (1998), Heartbeat * ''Kings of Reggae'' (2001), Nocturne * ''Chanting On'' (2004), Earmark * ''This Is Crucial Reggae'' (2004), Sanctuary * ''Culture & The Deejays at Joe Gibbs 1977–79'' (2008), 17 North Parade * ''At Joe Gibbs'' (2011), 17 North Parade * ''Seven Sevens Clash'' (2012), 17 North Parade – box set of seven 7-inch singles * ''Stronger than Ever: At Their Best'', Rocky One * ''Natty Never Get Weary'', Revolver

DVDs

* ''Live in Africa'' (2002), RAS

References

External links

Allmusic biography 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 databas ...

2003 article, ic stand against crack

Culture biography and discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Culture 1976 establishments in Jamaica Jamaican reggae musical groups Musical groups established in 1976 VP Records artists Shanachie Records artists