Toppa Top 10: Junior Reid’s Best Cameos

Words by Jesse Serwer—

Tu-tu tweng! Junior Reid is reggae’s king of collaboration. From the start of his career, “JR” has always been a team player, forming the vocal group Voice of Progress after early work as a youth on Augustus Pablo’s Rockers International label, and later stepping in as the lead vocalist for Black Uhuru following the departure of Mykal Rose from that group in the mid ‘80s. An appearance on Coldcut’s “Stop This Crazy Thing” in 1988 (and the worldwide success of “One Blood” in 1989) led to features on records by such non-reggae artists as The Soup Dragons and Poor Righteous Teachers in the ‘90s. It wasn’t until the following decade, though, that Reid’s range really came into focus with appearances on hit remixes for Mims and Alicia Keys, and original tracks by The Game and Wu-Tang, among others. And we’re not even talking about his countless combination tunes with other reggae artists, as well as productions for Jamaican acts like Ninjaman. (There’s a whole separate post there).

Here at LargeUp we’re psyched to have one of our all-time favorite reggae artists on the bill as we present Chronixx and Junior Reid live at Central Park Summerstage July 26, alongside the Rice and Peas crew.

Here’s a look at some of Mr. One Blood’s best, most notable and most unexpected cameos and collaborations.

10. Guru featuring Junior Reid and Prodigal Sunn “Mashin’ Up the Earth”

Guru and Junior Reid have a song together? Yep—“Mashin’ Up the Earth” was was on Guru’s somewhat forgotten third album as Jazzmatazz from 2000, Jazzmatazz StreetSoul, so we’ll forgive you if you missed it. The track features J.R. interpolating Michael Jackson’s “Earthsong” while Guru and Sunz of Man’s Prodigal Sunn commiserate over tragedy, and a stark beat with just a touch of cornet.

9. Lil Wayne “Rappa Pom Pom” (2011)

JR and Likkle Wayne have hit the studio on a number of occasions, resulting in no officially released collaborations but a handful of decent mixtape tracks. The best “Rappa Pom Pom,” appeared on 2011’s The Return of Nino Brown.

8. Bun B “If It Was Up To Me” (2008)

One of the most underrated notches in Junior Reid’s turban is this appearance on Texas rapper Bun B’s second solo album II Trill from 2008. Bun absolutely rips his verses, tearing into bad politicians and poverty pimps, while JR naturally does his thing on the hook of the reggae-inspired (if not quite reggae-flavored) track from “This is Why I’m Hot” producer Blackout Movement.

7. Soup Dragons “I’m Free” (1990)

Don’t be afraid of your freedom! Soup Dragons’ “I’m Free” was one of the biggest songs in the world in 1991, and it started off with the aforementioned chant from JR. The song itself sounds pretty hokey today, but Reid is its saving grace, interrupting the song’s tie-dye flavor with some authentic raggamuffin business.

6. The Game “It’s Okay (One Blood)” (2006)

The Game wasn’t the first rap act to have JR recycle “One Blood” as a hook (see the next entry), but his first single post G-Unit is definitely the best known, and it essentially kicked off the wave of hip-hop features and collabos from JR that would fall like fruits from an ackee tree over the next year or two.

5. Wu Tang Clan “One Blood Under W” (2000)

The Wu featured JR on two different tracks from The W, their third album as a unit. The better of the pair, “One Blood Under W” was a showcase for unsung member Masta Killa with an interpolation of Reid’s classic “One Blood” for a hook, a full six years before The Game’s “It’s Okay.” Reid also appears on “Jah World,” a slow-burning track featuring Ghostface and RZA that closes out the the album.

4. Coldcut “Stop This Crazy Thing” (1988)

JR’s first foray outside of reggae was an appearance on EDM pioneers Coldcut’s “Stop This Crazy Thing,” a track which made it to No. 21 on the U.K. charts in 1988. More importantly, it introduced Reid’s as a voice that could work in any context, setting the stage for his late-career renaissance as a cameo killer—not to mention the worldwide success of “One Blood” just one year later.

3. Alicia Keys “No One (Reggae Remix)”  (2007)

Alicia Keys had a huge hit with “No One” in 2007, and, revisiting reggae for a second time following her appearance on Cham’s “Ghetto Story” a year earlier, she tapped Junior Reid for a remix that, for a brief minute in NYC at least, became just as popular. Ms. Keys even brought Reid out for her performance of the track at the American Music Awards, giving JR an opportunity to do “One Blood” before ceding the stage to Chaka Demus & Pliers (who did “Murder She Wrote,” naturally).

2. Bounty Killer featuring Junior Reid and Busta Rhymes “Change Like the Weather” (1995)

Talk about a power trio. This super slept-on single from Bounty Killer’s My Xperience LP (produced by Erick Sermon!) is one of our all-time favorite hip-hop/dancehall hybrids. In fact, we’ve already featured it high up on a handful of previous Top 10s, including our favorite rapper/deejay collabos (#4), Bounty’s toppa top hip-hop tracks (#1) and Busta’s biggest bashment bangers (#2). The classic video with Bounty, JR and Bussa Buss as raggamuffin weather correspondents is the icing on the cake of classicness that is “Change Like the Weather.”

See also: “Stop The Fuss and Fight,” Junior Reid and Bounty Killer’s dancehall answer to “Gangster’s Paradise.”

1. Mims “This is Why I’m Hot (Blackout Remix)” (2007)

I know what you’re thinking: “This is Why I’m Hot”? Total footnote status, right? Sure, if we’re just going by the original, which came out of Washington Heights, Manhattan in early 2007 to become the biggest hip-hop song of its moment only for Mims to fade into an all-but-certain one-hit wonder by year’s end. But if you weren’t around the Eastern seaboard of the United States in summer 2007 to witness the destruction every time this remix came on in the club, let us break down all of the elements that make this one such a boomshot.

Start with the way the song’s opening melody is teased at the beginning, only to be interrupted by a fire alarm and JR’s trademark “Tu-tu tweng” ad lib, letting you know immediately the island-wise direction track the mix is headed in. Then mix in Dawn Penn’s “No No No,” Stalag and the 85 riddim (of Cham’s “Ghetto Story” fame), all elements sure to draw out gun finger salutes when dropped in quick succession. Then there’s the appearance of Cham, still running at the time on “Ghetto Story” hype. Holding it all together, and keeping the level is Junior Reid’s chill-inducing vocals, which bring “One Blood”-level gravitas to a track that’s otherwise one big boast about how hot someone thinks they are.

We rarely hear “This is Why I’m Hot” these days, but when it does get played it’s almost always the reggae remix, and for good reason.

+1: Fabolous “Real Gangsta’s Don’t Play” (2007)

Junior Reid has made a lot of cameos over the years. So much so we had to go into overtime to acknowledge some honorable mentions. This track, off Fabolous’ 2007 album From Nothin’ To Somethin’, is another addition to the deep canon of reggae-inspired Brooklyn hip-hop anthems. Reid’s presence inspires Fab to chat bout Caribbean women (specifcally a “sexy pair of Bajans,” who he goes on to call “Bahama mamas”) and reference Ninjaman’s “Murder Dem” (or at least Foxy’s reference to it). But the track really belongs to Reid, who’s given a full minute at the beginning and end to do his thing.

+2: Poor Righteous Teachers “Dreadful Day” (1996)

A year before dropping his own True World Order LP (featuring guest appearances from Bounty Killer and Anthony B, amongst others) JR appeared on New Jersey rap crew Poor Righteous Teachers’ third LP, The New World Order. The Clark Kent-produced track, which sampled The Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun” featured lyrics chronicling the bleakness of prison life.

+3: Smif N Wessun “Solid Ground” (2013)

Boot Camp Clik soldiers Tek and Steele featured JR on the lead single to their reggae-inspired Born and Raised EP with producers K-Salaam and Beatnick last year.