Toppa Top 10: Top 10 Garnet Silk Tunes

Words by Jesse Serwer

This past Saturday, April 2, would have been the 45th birthday of one of reggae/dancehall’s golden voices: Garnet Silk. A supremely righteous, one-man antidote to the slackful ’90s, Garnet Damion Smith (“Silk” was a reference to his supernaturally smooth vocal tones) helped bring cultural consciousness and spiritual themes back into fashion in Jamaican music in the early 1990s. He was, many say, on his way to becoming his generation’s Bob Marley when he was killed in a house fire while attempting to rescue his mother in December, 1994, less than three years after the release of his breakthrough recordings. Today, Silk is regarded with reverence by the over-30 dancehall crowd but is little known outside of the Caribbean music world. Here’s a look at some of his quintessential recordings, all from his brief heyday between 1992 and 1994.

10. “Kingly Character”

One of Silk’s signature tunes this 45, with its affirmation of Christ, in his kingly character embodied Garnett’s role as one of a small movement of conscious Rasta artists calling themselves the Christian Souljahs. Including deejay Tony Rebel as well as poet Yasus Afari, the Christian Souljahs took a stand against both the rising slackness of dancehall and the bible-burning of some radical Rasta leaders. It makes a fitting swan song for Garnett, given that his whole contribution to reggae could be summed up as embracing the urgency of Rasta-inflected roots and the best of tough dancehall production–and then taking them to church.

9.”Hello Mama Africa”

The song that put Silk on the map as a major artist in Jamaica and the Caribbean diaspora.

8. “Fill Us Up With Your Mercy (Them Belly Full)”

In another clip from that 1993 Mandeville performance, Silk delivers one of his most moving calls to righteousness. Regardless of one’s perspective on religion, Silk’s disavowal of materialism is undeniably powerful: “Belly full but them starving/Have a lot and still wanting…”

7. “Complaint”

This isn’t one of Silk’s most well-known songs, but it’s my favorite tune in his catalog, and one one of many great tracks on Jammy’s can’t-miss Tempo riddim. It’s hard in fact to choose between the live version and the killer 45 mix.

6. “Oh Me Oh My”

Not just a cultural singer, Silk was also something of the ladies’ man (See above clip). Here is one of his best known lovers’ tunes, performed for a lively Jamaican crowd in 1994, with help from some friends.

5. “Lion Heart”

Silk began his career as a deejay, chatting on soundsystems under the name “Little Bimbo” (And, later, simply just Bimbo) as a kid. It wasn’t until 1989 that ska legend/producer Derrick Morgan, who was overseeing Silk’s recording at the time, convinced him to sing. Though made later in his career, in 1993, this tune, recorded with Donovan Germain for the Penthouse label, showcases Silk’s strong points in both disciplines.

4. “Mama”

The bond between Silk and his mother, Etega, was a reoccurring theme in his music, as expressed in other songs such as “Like A Mother.” In another clip from that 1993 Mandeville concert, witness the effect this has on Silk’s almost entirely female crowd.

3. “It’s Growing”

This 1992 hit (a tribute to his relationship with wife “Lovey”) was also the title track of Silk’s definitive 1992 album. Silk was a commanding, powerful performer who elicited deeply emotional responses from his audience, as seen in this footage, from a “Buju Banton & Friends” concert in Mandeville, Jamaica in 1993.

2. “Lord Watch Over Our Shoulders”

A decade and a half after his passing, this is the Garnet tune you’re most likely to hear in a dance. A King Jammy’s production.

1. “Splashing Dashing”

Silk had bigger hits but this Bobby Digital production was his most unique–and ethereal–tune. The story (According to liner notes written by Silk’s longtime manager Bridgett Anderson for VP Records’ Music is the Rod anthology) goes that Silk was given a poem with some variation of these words by a close friend in St. Thomas, Jamaica, while on hiatus after collapsing on stage in New York City. He and the friend traveled to the beach one day, only to find the sea too rough, and that’s when Silk found the unusual melody and hook.