Culture feat. Kenyatta Hill

Shortly after Culture came together, they began working with the ‘Mighty Two’ – producer Joe Gibbs and engineer Errol Thompson and recorded a series of powerful singles, many of which ended up on their successful debut album ‘Two Sevens Clash’. This initial release was hugely popular in both Jamaica and England. The lyrics demonstrated Hill’s keen awareness of the connection between Jamaica’s history and its current social climate. While the songs may have been dealing with serious issues, at the same time the group always recognized the value of a catchy beat – a sensibility shared by U.K. punks at the time. At once Culture became part of a wave of vocal groups (including the Mighty Diamonds, Black Uhuru, the Meditations and countless others) that ruled the reggae scene for a brief while in the late 70’s.

After their success with Gibbs, the group went on to make a string of albums for producer Sonia Pottinger. Culture began working with some of the premier musicians of the day including Robbie Shakespeare, Sly Dunbar, Ansel Collins, Cedric Brooks and the ever-present percussionist Sticky. Virgin Records picked up the albums, and that added distribution enabled Culture to gain an even larger following outside of Jamaica. In recent months Virgin has begun re-issuing most of its reggae catalog from the late 70’s, so once again these early Culture albums are readily available.

In 1982 the three singers went their own ways. Joseph Hill carried on using the Culture name, and recorded the ‘Lion Rock’ album, which was released in the United States by Heartbeat Records. For their part, Walker and Dayes recorded a handful of songs on their own – a few of which turned up on an album titled ‘Roots & Culture’.

In 1986 the original line-up reformed to record two highly regarded albums – ‘Culture in Culture’ and ‘Culture at Work’. These releases marked the beginning of a very busy period for the group, including annual albums and countless tours. The U.S. label Shanachie released a steady stream of new and old Culture albums up to ’Wings Of A Dove’ in 1992.

In 1993 Kenneth Dayes left the group and was temporarily replaced by the singer from Dub Mystic – who was their backing band at the time. With Dub Mystic, Culture reached new heights that included the release of two popular studio albums (‘One Stone’ and ‘Trust Me’) and a live album (‘Cultural Livity’).

Culture continues to be in demand in the studio as well. In 2000 the group recorded the album ‘Payday’, which was followed by a much-praised dub album mixed by the renowned engineer, Scientist. In the same year a very contemporary sounding album called ‘Humble African’ appeared on VP Records. Since then RAS Records have issued a CD and DVD set titled 'Live in Africa' - taken from a historic show the group performed in South Africa in December of 2000. The DVD, the group's first, offers proof of just how lively and intense a Culture performance can be. More recently, the US label Roots & Culture have released a live album recorded in Jamaica - 'Live in Negril'.

Following the release of World Peace in 2003 Culture continued to actively tour around the world. In 2004 they played at the first edition of the highly successful Montreal Reggae Festival. Joseph Hill was inducted into the Reggae Walk of Fame, and was presented an Independence Award by the Jamaican Prime Minister in 2005. In 2006 the group performed a number of concerts including the 'Bob Marley 61st Birthday Celebration' in Ghana and Reggae Sunspash.

Joseph Hill suddenly became ill while the group were on tour in Europe and passed away in Berlin Germany on August 19 2006. The group decided to finish the European tour with Kenyatta Hill (Joseph's son and Culture's audio engineer) singing lead vocals as a tribute to his father. On September 8th a tribute concert took place in Kingston Jamaica and featured an all-star line-up of artists that ranged from Luciano to Bunny Wailer. Kenyatta Hill has continue to tour and record in his father's place with Culture.

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