The legacy of late Raggae legend Toots Hibbert, leader of Toots & The Maytals, was honored by label Controlled Substance Sound Lab in newly released, never before seen footage in video for “Too You.” It was released on Hibbert’s birthday.
“Too You” is from the Grammy nominated album The Final Battle: Sly and Robbie vs. Roots Radics. The project serves as an all-star game for Reggae music. Recorded all over Jamaica, the album is a Reggae Woodstock that unites two of the finest Jamaican bands ever, playing behind a once-in-a-lifetime assembly of the music’s foundational creators performing all new classics composed for the event. Singing and smiling, this is perhaps the last time Toots will make an appearance in a music video. A perfect opportunity for a longtime fan to garnish some closure to a genre defining icon.
With his genre defining career now bookended by his unfortunate battle with COVID-19, Hibbert will always be remembered for his 1968 hit single “Do the Reggay” which cemented the phrase “Reggae” to forever be synonymous with the style of music that Hibbert crafted so well. He passed on September 11 and would have turned 78 this year.
More than 50 years after that monumental single, Toots returned to the studio to reunite with one of the genre’s landmark rhythm sections to document what would unknowingly act as a coda in his musical legacy. A legacy that saw his name under Grammy nominated lists on seven occasions, with his recent album Got to Be Tough set to contend in the 2021 ceremony.
For more on Toots & The Maytals, check out there cover of Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds.”
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