King Tubby (Osbourne Ruddock) pioneered dubplate by stripping vocals from reggae recordings, creating instrumental tracks that DJs could toast over — a technique that directly influenced hip-hop.
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At 29:14 · chapter starts 29:10
Before Kraftwerk and Devo were building machines to make sounds that didn't exist, King Tubby (Osbourne Ruddock) and Lee Scratch Perry were doing exactly the same thing in Kingston. Using cast-off recording hardware they repurposed into custom rigs, they stripped vocals from reggae tracks to create dubplate — instrumental versions layered with echo, reverb, and unconventional effects. [1] — Chuck "King Tubby built his own hardware from cast-off recording gear to strip vocals and create dubbed-out instrumental reggae — essentially inve…" 29:14 The result was dub music: reggae's psychedelic electronic twin. Josh adds Hopeton Lewis (aka Scientist) to the pantheon of great dub musicians, but the creative DNA of the whole movement was shared: take what exists, break it apart, and rebuild it into something unrecognisable. The dubplate these producers created gave DJs the canvas to toast over — a practice that would travel to the Bronx with DJ Kool Herc and emerge as hip-hop.
King Tubby built his own hardware from cast-off recording gear to strip vocals and create dubbed-out instrumental reggae — essentially inventing electronic music in Kingston before Kraftwerk did it in Germany. The dubplate he created became the raw material for DJs to toast over, seeding hip-hop.
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