Today Yaadcore, along with Jah9 and Subatomic Sound System, announced the music video for “Police in Helicopter,” a re-imagining of John Holt’s defiantly political 1982 ganja-themed jam.
The track is on Yaadcore’s recently-released debut album, Reggaeland (12 Yaad/Delicious Vinyl Island), and was originally released in April 2021 as a one-off single on Houston, Texas-based Yard Birdz Records. The video was co-directed by Miguel Hernandez, who helped animate Rihanna’s “Rude Boy” music video as well as a recent animation for Ozzy Osbourne, and Emch of Subatomic Sound System.
Yaadcore’s musical journey began as a selector—Jamaican word for a disc jockey—but is now stepping into new shoes as a vocalist, including on his new album Reggaeland. Born Rory Cha, he quickly developed as an artist. He now hosts Jamaica’s first weed strain review series, “Spliff A Light Spliff,” for Kingston, Jamaica-based dispensary Itopia Life. For Spliff A Light Spliff, Yaadcore examines phenos with magnification to see the trichomes and nugstructure.
Dub has a much bigger emphasis on echo and reverb compared to reggae, and that genre formed alongside reggae—and led to sampling and remixing techniques that permeate most other forms of music nowadays, Yaadcore reminds us. Walking in the footsteps of dub masters like Lee “Scratch” Perry, King Tubby, and Mad Professor—Yaadcore, Subatomic Sound System, Jah9, and others carry the torch.
John Holt wrote “Police in Helicopter” because Jamaicans were tired of U.S.-funded efforts to aggressively burn down crops of cannabis. American officials launched Operation Buccaneer—secretly coordinating with Jamaican police—beginning in 1974, when the song was written.
“The chorus of this song has been a battle cry in my heart since I first heard it,” Jah9 said of the track. “As someone intimately involved with the use of this herb as a …
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Author: Benjamin M. Adams / High Times
