Pull Up: Darker Shade of Black Riddim

In this installment of Pull Up, this blog's look at reggae and dancehall, we'll be investigating the background of the Darker Shade of Black Riddim.

The origin of the Darker Shade of Black Riddim are still highly debated in dancehall circles, but the first appearance was either Soul Dimension's 'Darker Shade of Black' or Jackie Mittoo and the Soul Vendors' 'Darker Shade of Black'. Trained ears may notice a more than passing resemblance to the Beatles' single 'Norwegian Wood', though they do not have any writing credits for 'Darker Shade of Black'. Some classic cuts on the Darker Shade of Black Riddim include Augustus Pablo's dub exploration 'The Red Sea', James Eastwood's electric guitar peppered 'Darkest Night', and dancehall great Dennis Brown's 'Dark Continent'.

Recently, the Darker Shade of Black has appeared as the backing of some of dancehall's bigger singles. The most notable is Mr. Vegas' laid-back banger 'Lean Wid It'. I'm not one to pester the DJ; but when I first heard my friend Geoffro play this, I had to storm the booth to know what it was. A more recent track on the riddim is Cherine's 'Kingston State of Mind', which is blazing hot despite the possible Billy Joel title reference.

The Lowdown:
Jackie Mittoo and the Soul Vendors 'Darker Shade of Black'
The Beatles 'Norwegian Wood (The Bird Has Flown)'
from 'Revolver' (1965) (MP3 not available/CD)
Augustus Pablo 'The Red Sea'
James Eastwood 'Darkest Night'
Dennis Brown 'Dark Continent'
Mr. Vegas 'Lean Wid It'
from 'Hot It Up' (2007) (MP3/CD)
Cherine 'Kingston State of Mind' (Redemption Mix)
from 'Kingston State of Mind' (2008) (MP3/CD not available)

BONUS CUT:
Version time: Mr. Vegas 'Lean Wid It' (Instrumental)