Source Material: Max Romeo 'I Chase the Devil'

In the late 60s, after having split from the Jamaican group the Emotions and failing to follow up with a solid solo career, Max Romeo met Lee Perry and formed a new band called the Hippy Boys, who would later become the Upsetters. After eight years and some ups and downs in the reggae recording industry, Romeo linked back up with Perry and recorded 'I Chase the Devil', a track from his 1976 album 'War Inna Babylon'. 'Babylon' is seen as one of Romeo's best albums and 'I Chase the Devil' is one of reggae's most notable singles as well as material for future producers to sample.

Lee Perry himself released a dub version of 'I Chase the Devil' titled 'Disco Devil' (note: this is not disco in the LEAST, it's very much a crazed Perry rant over the Upsetters backing). In 1992 at the dawn of the rave era, the Prodigy released 'Out of Space' utilizing the breakdowns from 'I Chase the Devil', but doubling the speed of the entire track. 'Out of Space' references the growing drum n' bass music scene and is a precusor to the UK's interest in speed garage. Most recently, Kanye west flipped 'I Chase the Devil' for Jay-Z's 'Lucifer' from his 'Black Album'. Kayne managed to incorporate both vocal samples and instrumentation for an unusually dark beat.

'I Chase the Devil' is a necessary reggae tune for any crate, but running the track alongside these songs can diversify how, when, and in what context the original can be played.

The Lowdown:
Max Romeo 'I Chase the Devil'
from 'War Inna Babylon' (1976) (MP3 unavailable/CD)
Lee Perry 'Disco Devil'
The Prodigy 'Out of Space'
from 'Experience' (1992) (MP3/CD)
Jay-Z 'Lucifer'
from 'Black Album' (2003) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: 'Lucifer'

BONUS CUTS:
During the rush to remix Jay-Z's 'Black Album' like Danger Mouse, a series of terrible remix albums were released. From the many homemade mixes, only a few yielded anything of note. One mix by producer Kno yielded this remix of 'Lucifer' (presented here in its instrumental format) which rivals the original. It does a fantastic job flipping 'Ave, Lúcifer' from Brazilian psychadelic rock band Os Mutantes' brilliant third album 'A Divina Comédia ou Ando Meio Desligado'. This 'Lucifer' remix is a well deserved footnote to this post.