Help finding a Reggae song

January 11, 2005 3:14 PM

ReggaeFilter: Help finding a Reggae song. [MI]

About a week before the presidential election I heard a reggae song – the line I remember is “Mr. Bush your weapons of mass destruction are a lie. . .” Or something to that effect. I have tried googling “reggae” and “wmd [spelled out]” but have been unable to locate it. It is not the song by Xzibit. Anyone know the song or have suggestions on how I could find it?

posted by MLIS to media & arts (12 comments total)

Is is a dancehall, dub, or ragga-style composition?
posted by Smart Dalek at 4:07 PM on January 11, 2005

ditto what dalek said- does it kind of sound like rap with a dancehall beat, or is it a really rasta-sounding guy crooning the lines out?
posted by rxrfrx at 4:11 PM on January 11, 2005

rxrfrx - ahhh, I would go with the rasta-sounding guy - It sounded like he was telling a story set to the same tune played over and over w/only slight variation. As he sang the words did not always rhyme, but there was definitely rhythm to the song. I just tried to listen to some samples of the different types of reggae as listed by Smart Dalek - no luck so far.

The beat of the song was faster than, say, "No Woman No Cry" (face flushing as I compare the song to the only bit of reggae I am familiar with).
posted by MLIS at 4:41 PM on January 11, 2005

Is it possible you're thinking of "Mass Destriction" by Faithless?

Not really reggae but the singer has an accent.

Here are the lyrics

There's nothing about Bush in the official lyrics, but I think there is an extended mix or something that I also may have heard on a radio station.

You can listen to a sample on Amazon. Let us know if that's it.
posted by chaz at 4:46 PM on January 11, 2005

Chaz - thank you for the links - it is not the Faithless song - now I have a reference point - the musical style was not like "mass destruction" - it was faster than "No Woman No Cry" but not as fast as "mass destruction" and did not sound like techno/dance (?) music. The singer does not sound like Faithless, he sounds like a rasta-sounding guy.
posted by MLIS at 5:17 PM on January 11, 2005

It's not reggae but there's The Perceptionist's (Mr. Lif and Akrobatic) "Memorial Day:"

Where are the weapons of mass destruction?
We been lookin' for months and we ain't found nothin'
Please Mr. President, tell us something
We knew from the beginning that your ass was bluffing!
posted by orange clock at 5:26 PM on January 11, 2005

No, that is not it either. Good song, though!
posted by MLIS at 8:43 PM on January 11, 2005

Try looking at the band Spearhead with Michael Franti maybe? I don't remember those specific lyrics but it sounds like something he would say....
posted by rooftop secrets at 10:12 PM on January 11, 2005

You may have luck posting this question on Jamaican/reggae boards:

• The Star Newspaper message boards. Scroll down and you'll see a reggae/dancehall forum. The Star is just fun reading anyway.
• YouthLink Jamaica music boards.
• Reggae Links where you will find dozens of reggae-related sites.

Good luck.
posted by Juicylicious at 8:29 AM on January 12, 2005

Juicylicious - thank you for message board links - I am going to pursue that.

Thank you to everyone who posted - I will enjoy listening to Spearhead and The Perceptionists.

I am going to update this post when I get the answer in case anyone else is interested.
posted by MLIS at 9:33 AM on January 12, 2005

Could it possibly be Steel Pulse? They have a song on their new album about Weapons of Mass Destruction.

posted by lips at 10:51 AM on January 12, 2005

No, not Steel Pulse. Thank you for the link I am going to listen to them, too!
posted by MLIS at 3:03 PM on January 12, 2005