Reggae is a popular music genre that originated in Jamaica in the 1960s. Although it is a term used to describe all different styles of Jamaican dance music, it mainly refers to music influenced by traditional Jamaican folk music (mento) as well as jazz and American r&b and is heavily led by its drum and bass. The most internationally renowned reggae musician is Bob Marley but since it’s global takeover in the 1970s, the UK is known for its contributions in the genre. Although clouded by its punk rock roots of the same time, Britain was the home to many of Reggae’s biggest names including The Specials, Merger, Kofi, The Police and UB40. In December, British reggae band UB40 teamed up with Kingston legends Inner Circle for the release of their new hit “Rebel Love” accompanied by a high-quality lyric video which lowkey I was grooving on repeat.
Formed in 1978 in Birmingham, England, UB40 consists of founding members Jimmy Brown (drums / lyricist), Robin Campbell (guitar / vocals), Earl Falconer (bass / vocals), Norman Lamont Hassan (percussion / vocals) as well as Matt Doyle (vocals), Martin Meredith (keyboard / WX7 / Saxophone), Tony Mullings (keyboard) and Laurence Parry (trumpet / flugal / trombone). From young Brummie school friends to the world’s most successful reggae band, selling over 100 million records with over 11 combined years and 50 singles on the UK album charts. By the spring of 1980, they had their debut single in the UK’s Top 5 and American singer/songwriter Chrissie Hynde had invited them to tour with The Pretenders. Things were escalating fast for this new reggae group and by 1983 and the release of their album “Labour Of Love”, things would never be the same again. The album’s hit cover of Neil Diamond’s “Red Red Wine” soared to number 1 on the charts, eventually going Platinum in the UK and Gold internationally.
Around the same time, Kingston, Jamaica natives and brothers Ian (bass) and Roger Lewis (guitar) alongside Bernard “Touter” Harvey (keyboard) and Lancelot Hall (drums) reformed their reggae band Inner Circle (aka The Bad Boys of Reggae). Originally formed in 1968, the band had a new lease on life. International hits such as their 1987 song “Bad Boys” as well as their 1993 banger “Sweat (A La La La La Long)” made them a household name. Now complete with Trevor “Skatta” Bonnick (lead vocals) and Andre Philips (lead guitar), the band teamed up with old friends and tour partners for a new reggae hit titled “Rebel Love” featured on UB40’s collaboration album “Bigga Baggariddim”. An immediate classic filled with contagious lyrics over a feel-good rhythm, this single undoubtedly needed an equally impactful visual to showcase it’s meaningful lyracism.
On December 10th, the bands released a professionally produced lyric video for their new song “Rebel Love”. This music video is all about chillin’ beach vibes, showcasing a really unique gritty animated texture throughout its entirety. The visuals are thematic, featuring layered vignettes of water, sand, wood planks, tropical flowers, waving palm trees and string lights. All carefully placed, color corrected to suit the lyric video’s warm earthy color palette of browns, yellows, reds and greens. I really love the use of the live action footage from the band’s music video shoot and how it’s creatively displayed through still polaroids. This helps connect the fans to the lyric video, especially for artists with an already existing fanbase that dates back decades.
This lyric video’s kinetic typography is perfectly on brand for the new reggae track. Featuring two different font styles, one showcases a paint brush style appearance which really pops out as it transitions on screen across a wooden backdrop. The other looks like a roughly spray painted beach sign, really tying together the overall design. The font is stylized yet very legible and really helps showcase the song’s heartfelt lyrics such as lines like “She’s the one that I adore, she’s got the love of Jah for sure”. High quality lyric videos are extremely effective in providing an artistic visual representation of an artist’s story or brand. In the case of ‘Rebel Love’, it utilizes live footage of the band to pair up with the groovy rhythm of the song over a custom designed beach party display. Artist’s from yesteryear have to learn to grow with the times and in today’s digital era, UB40 and Inner Circle have done an excellent job adapting to the new industry standards. You can follow both bands across social media and music streaming platforms or check them out at one of their many 2022 shows.
Check out the lyric video for “Rebel Love” on UB40’s official YouTube channel here: