Throwback 45s: Michael Rose & Black Uhuru – Rent Man

ARTIST: Michael Rose & Black Uhuru
TITLE: Rent Man
LABEL: D.E.B. Music
YEAR: 1979

Throughout reggae history, Jamaican artists have recorded plenty of songs about landlords and the struggle to pay the rent. Max Romeo had his Rent Crisis, Half Pint sang about Mr Landlord, Ijahman Levi recorded Hey Landlord, and Black Crucial brought us Mr Vincent. And then there’s Michael Rose & Black Uhuru’s Rent Man, one of their early gems.

Black Uhuru’s roots go back to 1972. The group first operated under the name Uhuru and came out of Waterhouse, Kingston, with Garth Dennis, Don Carlos and Derrick “Duckie” Simpson as its original members. Their first singles didn’t bring the breakthrough they were hoping for, and the group eventually broke up.

A few years later, Duckie Simpson revived the group with Errol “Tarzan” Nelson of The Jayes and Michael Rose. They became Black Sounds Uhuru and recorded the album Love Crisis for Prince Jammy. It’s a strong album, but at the time it received little attention.

The group would soon move forward again. Errol Nelson returned to The Jayes and American singer Puma Jones eventually took his place, while Black Uhuru began working with Sly & Robbie. Before that next phase really took shape, however, they cut Wood For My Fire and Rent Man for Dennis Brown’s D.E.B. label. There were also plans for a full Black Uhuru album produced by Dennis Brown, but the project never came to fruition.

With Rent Man, Black Uhuru stayed true to the militant edge that had become part of their sound. The song is firmly rooted in the hard realities of Jamaica in the late 1970s. Inflation was rising, the cost of living was high, and working-class people were feeling the pressure. Over a tough, bass-heavy riddim played by the D.E.B. Players, Michael Rose delivers a passionate performance, supported by the group’s tight harmonies which add weight to his words. He tells his woman exactly what to say when the landlord arrives: there’ll be no rent money coming from them, not for a “bad living tenement flat”

The version on the flip, Rent Board, is equally worthwhile. Named after Jamaica’s government Rent Board, which handled housing disputes, it most likely came from the mixing desk of Prince Jammy. Echo, reverb and delay tear the track apart and put it back together, allowing the heavy bassline and riddim to dominate. Rose’s voice drifts in and out at different moments, giving the whole thing a deep and atmospheric dub feel.