Sunday 5 July 2009

Fare dodger

Any more fares please? You've got to be joking mate. So there you are in London without much in the way of chatty coinage. What can you do? Well, if you're Papa Benjie you'll turn to a life of petty crime and wreak revenge 'pon London Transport by travelling around our fair city without paying them a penny or a pound. The guy had good reason. Fair's fair, after all.

I'm ashamed to say I know absolutely nothing about Papa Benjie, except that this gem of a track appeared on a classic compilation called Great British MC's (we won't get into the issue of apostrophes 'ere) which came out in the early '80s on the Fashion label, which I believe was related to the Dub Vendor shop. Papa Benjie's Fare Dodger was one of the highlights of this set, and a great example of a London perspective on the Jamaican toasting/MC tradition. I would love to hear more ...

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