Aswad

Before they became darlings of 1980s pop reggae (notably with the massive hit “Don’t Turn Around”), London-based Aswad were hardcore roots-and-culture reggae artists in the same general mode as their countrymen Steel Pulse and Matumbi. Their debut album is filled with repatriation anthems, songs of sufferation, and heavy one-drop rhythms — and while it may not be as hooky as their subsequent work, it remains one of the best examples of the 1970s UK roots style.