Day 181 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Lord Sassafrass - ABC

Prior to picking up the mic, Michael Johnson AKA Lord Sassafrass had dreamed of becoming a jockey and in turn worked in the riding stables at Jamaica's famous Caymans Park race track.  Sassafrass began performing with a handful of sound systems in the early 80s and as a nod to his former career became known as the Horseman which also had a lot to due with his propensity for chatting lyrics about horse racing.  He made the step from sound system to vinyl in 1982 when he recorded his album Horseman Connection backed by the Aggrovators, produced by Bunny Lee, featuring the talents of mixing engineer Prince Jammy and released on the Starlight label.  Today's track "ABC" comes from Sassafrass' 1985 album Pocomania Jump produced by Jack Scorpio and released on the Black Scorpio label and it's a textbook example of the timeliness of the lyrics dropped by the early 80s deejays.  "ABC" is a tribute to Michael Jackson during the height of his popularity and one that I included in the MJ tribute mix I put together nearly seven years ago.  Also riding the Answer riddim like yesterday's Peter Metro tune, this song is a helluva lotta fun!