As Jamaica’s independence approached on August 6, roots singer Jahmark believed it was appropriate to release a ska song.

That beat emerged just before the country gained its sovereignty from Great Britain.

The song he recorded with his band, The Soulshakers, is titled No Sorry fi Maga Dog. It is produced by Mike Irwin of Roughsounds Studio in Redondo Beach, California.

“The song is based on that ol’ time Jamaican proverb that every Jamaican know ‘bout. ‘If yuh sorry fi maga dog him a guh tun round bite you,” said Jahmark. “Being in America, we hear the word MAGA nuff and every time I hear it, my mind goes straight to that maga dog proverb made even more popular in the ‘60s and ‘70s by brother Peter Tosh.”

Ska has a strong following throughout Southern California, where the veteran artiste has lived for many years. There are homegrown acts like The Interrupters, Hepcat and RX Bandits as well as platinum-selling bands such as No Doubt and Sublime.

Those acts fuse rock and ska, but Jahmark went for the traditional horn-hooked sound made famous by The Skatalites, on No Sorry fi Maga Dog.

“All that early music have a special place inna mi heart and soul from that time to this time. So many of the artistes who became huge reggae icons started off as ska artistes in the ‘60s, from Bob (Marley) and Peter, to Toots, Desmond Dekker and Jimmy Cliff,” he noted. “I listened to all that early music as a yute, so it’s just one of the many Jamaican genres that just natural inna mi!”

Born in Kingston, Jahmark formed The Soul Shakers there during the 1980s. They had a stint in Japan, then settled in Southern California in the early 1990s.

Happiness, their biggest hit song, was released in 2019.

— Howard Campbell