Black Roots

The story so far.

Written and edited by Smokiller

Black Roots is a cadence-lypso band from the 1970s, and the release credits on its old records are the surest guide to its music. Wikipedia's account of the music of Dominica places it in the wave of bands that came up beside Exile One, listing it with the Grammacks, Black Machine, Belles Combo, Black Affairs and Midnight Groovers. Archive uploads date several of the band's recordings to 1977. The title track Lessé Rhum La Tombé appears as side A, track one of a 1977 record, and Libération is credited on one upload to the 3A Production label in the same year. Other songs from that period include Working for Nothing, Nou Même and Fè Lalaw, the last tagged cadence lypso in its upload title. A channel devoted to Dominican cadence-lypso also carries Lessé Rhum La Tombé.