U Roy AKA Ewart Beckford, Hugh Roy. Born in 1942, Kingston, Jamaica, West I… Read Full Bio ↴U Roy AKA Ewart Beckford, Hugh Roy. Born in 1942, Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies.

began as a sound system DJ in 1961, spinning records for the Doctor Dickies set, later known as Dickies Dynamic, in such well-known Jamaican venues as Victoria Pier, Foresters Hall and Emmett Park. His inspiration was the DJ Winston Count Machuki, who worked for Coxsone Dodd and subsequently on Prince Buster's Voice Of The People sound system. By the mid-60s he was DJ for Sir George The Atomic, based around Maxfield Avenue in Kingston. Around 1967 he began to work with King Tubby as DJ for his Home Town Hi-Fi. From this association developed the whole modern DJ style; Tubby's work at Duke Reid's studio, where he was disc-cutter, led him to discover dub. He found that by dropping out the vocal track and remixing the remaining rhythm tracks he created new �versions� of much-loved tunes. He began to record a series of special acetate recordings or dub plates for exclusive use on his sound system. The space left by the absent vocal tracks enabled U-Roy to improvise his own jive-talk raps or toasts when the sound system played dances. The effect in the dancehall was immediate and electrifying. In 1969 U-Roy was invited to play for Dodd's Down Beat sound system, playing the number 2 set; the number 1 set had King Stitt as DJ. U-Roy became dissatisfied with playing the latest Coxsone music only after Stitt had first exposed it to dance patrons, and returned to Tubby's. He then began his recording career in full, recording two discs for Lee Perry, Earth's Rightful Ruler and OK Corral, before moving to producer Keith Hudson, for whom he made the outstanding Dynamic Fashion Way.

U-Roy then began recording for Duke Reid, using as backing tracks Reid's rocksteady hits from 1966-67; their success was unprecedented. His first record for Reid, Wake The Town, which used Alton Ellis� Girl I've Got A Date as backing, immediately soared to the top of both Jamaican radio charts. His next two releases, Rule The Nation and Wear You To The Ball, soon joined it. These three releases held the top three positions in the Jamaican charts for 12 weeks during early 1970. Other sound system DJs were quick to follow U-Roy, including Dennis Alcapone and Scotty. The radio stations refused to play DJ music just to give singers a chance, so big was the demand. U-Roy recorded 32 tracks for Reid, in the process versioning almost every rocksteady hit issued on the label and releasing two albums. By 1973 he was recording for other producers, including Alvin Ranglin, Bunny Lee, Glen Brown and Lloyd Charmers as well as self-productions. However, the rise of the next DJ generation including Big Youth signalled the partial eclipse of U-Roy. In 1975 he made a series of albums for producer Prince Tony Robinson which were leased to Virgin Recordsin the UK, wherein the DJ revisited Reid's earlier hits in the then prevalent rockers style. He appeared at the London Lyceum in August 1976, backed by a band featuring Channel One stalwarts Sly Dunbar (bass) and Ansell Collins (organ). He operated his own sound system, Stur-Gav, featuring Ranking Joe and selector Jah Screw. When they left after the sound system was broken up during the turbulent 1980 Jamaican election, it was rebuilt with new DJs Charlie Chaplin and Josey Wales, and Inspector Willie as selector. U-Roy continued to record sporadically throughout the '80s, recording Hustling, a single for Gussie Clarke, in 1984, and two excellent albums for DJs turned producers Tapper Zukie and Prince Jazzbo, in 1986 and 1987 respectively. In 1991 he played a successful �revival� concert at the Hammersmith Palais, London. U-Roy is the man who is responsible for putting the DJ on the map, both as recording artist in Jamaica and as a major indirect influence on the US rappers. As such his importance is immense. source: http://u-roy.20m.com/

Up Up Up
U Roy Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Pressure, pressure
Pressure

No I never can understand it
The way the system plan
There's no hope, no chance, no loophole
No escape for a suffering man
'Cause every time I lift my head above water

And try to save myself from drown
There's an overnight scheme all worked out
Designed to keep ah me down, still I'm

Putting up a resistance
I'm ah gonna work it out
You know I'm
Putting up a resistance
I've got to work it out

Blow wind blow, blow wind blow
I want to stay home tonight
I long to spend some time with the family
But staying home won't make it right
Sometimes the pressure make me feel like bawling
When every sign says no way out
Breaking my back to make an overtime dollar
That just goes from hand to mouth

Still I'm
Putting up a resistance
I'm gonna work it out
You know I'm
Putting up a resistance
I've got to work it out
Lord I'm
Putting up a resistance
I'm ah gonna work it out
You know I'm
Putting up a resistance
I'm gonna work it out, Lord!

Got to fight
Got to fight

No I never can understand it
The way the system goes
I don't know how they do it
There's only one way things flow
'Cause every time I lift my head above water
And try to save myself from drown
There's an overnight scheme all worked out
Designed to keep ah me down

Still I'm
Putting up a resistance
I've got to work it out
You know I'm
Putting up a resistance
I'm gonna work it out, whoa
Putting up a resistance
I'm gonna work it out, now
Putting up a resistance
I've got to work it out

Blow wind blow, blow wind blow
I want to stay home tonight
I'd like to spend some time with my family
But staying home won't make it right
Sometimes the pressure make me feel like holler
When every sign says no way out
Breaking my back to make an overnight dollar
That just goes from man to mouth

Still I'm
Putting up a resistance
I'm got to work it out
You know I'm
Putting up a resistance
I'm gonna work it out
Putting up a resistance
I'm gonna work it out

You know I'm
Putting up a resistance
Got to work it out

You know I'm
Putting up a resistance
Putting up some fight, got to fight
Putting up a resistance
I'm gonna work it out right now
Putting up some resistance now, now
Putting up resistance
Ooh, no

Putting up resistance
Putting up the fight, fight, fight, sight, survival

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of U Roy's song "Up Up Up" convey a sense of frustration and determination in the face of a system that seems designed to keep the singer down. The opening lines express the inability to comprehend how the system functions and the lack of hope or escape for those who are suffering. Despite the challenges, the singer resists and strives to work it out, refusing to be defeated. The mention of staying home highlights the desire for a peaceful and fulfilling personal life, but the pressure and hardships of the system make it difficult to attain.

The repeated refrain of "Putting up a resistance" emphasizes the singer's determination to overcome the obstacles, to fight against the system that keeps them down. The lyrics convey a sense of resilience and a refusal to be resigned to one's circumstances. The pressure and struggles may be stifling, but the singer remains steadfast in their fight for a better life.

Overall, "Up Up Up" is a rallying cry against systemic oppression and a call to persevere in the face of adversity. It speaks to the universal experience of feeling trapped by societal structures and the need to resist and fight for a better future.

Line by Line Meaning

Pressure, pressure
Feeling overwhelmed and burdened

No I never can understand it
Unable to comprehend the system's plan

The way the system plan
The strategy the system employs

There's no hope, no chance, no loophole
No possibility of escape or improvement

No escape for a suffering man
No way out for someone who is struggling

Cause every time I lift my head above water
Whenever I try to improve my situation

And try to save myself from drown
And attempt to rescue myself from hardship

There's an overnight scheme all worked out
A plan devised to keep me oppressed

Designed to keep ah me down
Intended to keep me suppressed

Still I'm putting up a resistance
Nevertheless, I continue to fight against it

I'm ah gonna work it out
I will find a way to overcome it