The Bad Brains are one of the most underrated rock bands of last 15-20 years, notorious for breaking up right when it seems that they could conquer the world. The regulated, temperamental roar of their thrashier punk songs coupled with their radically contrasting junkets into dub and reggae have forever raised them to an untouchable, almost god-like musical plateau. The lofty convictions that often put off the masses from "hardcore" do not hold for the Bad Brains who get away with their Rastafarian and overtly political views. "PMA" (Positive Mental Attitude) is the overriding philosophy of the Bad Brains trip taken from the Napoleon Hill Book "Think and Grow Rich"- it can also be translated into standing up against wrongs that need to be righted. It goes without saying that the Bad Brains shattered musical, cultural and racial barriers.
The band started playing jazz fusion together in 1976 under the name Mind Power. In 1979 a friend (Sid Mc Cray) of the band introduced Darryl Jennifer to bands like the Dead Boys, Ramones, Sex Pistols and the Damned. This forever transformed the band. They coupled their new found love of the ëpunk rock' with their musical prowess and the underground has never been the same since. This radical transformation in 1979 became the ëOmega Sessions' in 1980, the band's first multi-track recording session. The Bad Brains introduction to punk would provide the seed that created one of the most important hardcore/punk scenes in history- Washington DC. This scene spawned first bands for Ian Mac Kaye (Minor Threat,later Fugazi) and Henry Rollins (SOA,later Black Flag then Rollins Band).
Vocalist HR shines with his reedy vocals and hardcore roar combined with an unpredictable, charismatic melody and rage. At times his vocal style often reflected in his personal life as seen in notorious incidents in Lawerence Kansas (HR split open the skull of a local skinhead with the mic stand) or on the Beastie Boys tour in Montreal where he attacked manager Anthony Countey and sent him to the emergency room. Dr. Know rages with his nitro guitar- perhaps the closest incarnation to Jimi Hendrix that we have known in the 80's and 90's. The percussion team of bassist Darryl Jennifer and drummer Earl Hudson was deft, thundering and hyper kinetic always- always precise and always in perfect synch.
In 1997 the Bad Brains legacy continues through some rather unlikely candidates. Last year Earl Hudson performed with No Doubt when they covered "Sailin' On" at the International Ballroom in Atlanta. No Doubt recorded the song for the "Music For Our Mother Earth" compilation. Dr. Know produced the last Warzone record "The Sound of Revolution". HR performed with Sublime at the "Enough Already" benefit concert in California. The track "Don't Bother Me" was recently featured on the Generation 1 compilation "A Punk Look At Human Rights". Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys has called the Bad Brains ..."the best punk/hardcore band of all time." The tracks on the Omega Sessions "I Against I", "Stay Close to Me", "I Luv I Jah", "At the Movies" and "Attitude" are classic Bad Brains songs that truly represent one of the most important bands of our times.
We must look to the almighty Jah, thank God who has raised man above all creatures and endowed him with reason and intelligence. We must at all times put our trust and faith in Him and he will not desert us or permit us to destroy ourselves or humanity that He created in His image. We must examine ourselves and look deeply in our souls. We must become something we have never been before. We must become bigger that we have been, greater in spirit, more courageous, and larger in our outlook. As His majesty said, we must overcome our petty prejudices, even if the weight of history is heavy, owing our ultimate dedication or allegiance not to any nation or country, but to our fellow men within the human community and become member of a new race, the true race: the human race.