Words by Gize “77Klash” Burrowes
LargeUp and Jamaica-born, Brooklyn-based deejay/producer/man-about-town 77Klash go way back. LU founder DJ Gravy has been holding Klash down at live shows for years and editor Jesse Serwer gave him some of his earliest ink, back when he dropped his debut single “Brooklyn Anthem” in ’06. And it was actually through that article that Jesse and Gravy first linked up. You see, Klash was our own six degrees of separation before most of us LargeUp dudes even met. Given his vivid memories of ’80s-era JA and his bold fashion sense, we tapped our dude for a tribute to Tiger, the dancehall sensation who burst onto the scene in the mid ’80s with game-changing, animalistic style of deejaying and some of the wildest fashions even Jamaica had ever seen.
Hearing this song reminds me of my childhood years in Jamaica, running around my hood barefoot, flying kites, playing marbles and soccer with the neighborhood chaps. It was the song of the year when it came out, I would say, and Tiger’s breakout tune. All of Jamaica was taken by his unconventional style and flow. Tiger was never the best deejay, lyric for lyric, but he was certainly the most entertaining. Plus, his swagger was phenomenal. He really brought something fresh to dancehall.
“No Wanga Gut” was a song about people who are gluttonous and downright greedy and piggish. It was one of the first dancehall videos. We were all glued to the TV set when the video came on. No one had ever seen such an outfit before. He literally wore a tiger suit! I am talking tiger stripe suit with a fannypack. Tiger had the Jeremy Scott fashion sense, way back when Jeremy was still a kid. The video actually had a scene where a “wanga gut” man gets poisoned. I would ward off greedy friends that would always want to have a piece of my patty and coco bread by quoting the lyrics to “No Wanga Gut.” A craven dog will forever lose his bone.