Everybody who has ever worked knows about the intoxicating effect of a paycheck. Pulses race at the thought of a big payout. There are few stimulants quite as effective as a big wad of cash. The trouble, as Grammy-nominated reggae superstar Barrington Levy might tell you, comes when we confuse purchasing power with personal power. Our self-worth becomes bound up in our bank accounts. Before we know it, we’re scheming and fiending for the number one drug on the street: money.
If you’re part of the modern Western world, it’s probably happened to you, too. Even if you don’t know you’re taking it, money is a drug we’re all hooked on – a substance more addictive than any chemical compound known to man. “Money Is The Drug,” Barrington Levy’s latest single, doesn’t point the finger at anybody — he feels the pull, too, and if you’re caught in a net made of cash, he’s sympathetic. He’s just doing what he always does: examining the topic he’s singing about with wisdom, compassion, and good humor.
Since it’s generally accepted that Levy is one of the true world legends of reggae, people listen when he’s got something to say — and he always has something to say. Since shaking up the scene with the Mighty Multitude in the late ’70s, the Clarendon, Jamaica singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur has always been a forthright, outspoken presence. He has topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, toured the world, rocked Glastonbury, collaborated with Snoop Dogg, Shyne, and Prince Paul, and made the Rolling Stone list of the greatest vocalists of all time. Through it all, he’s consistently made records that speak to the mind as well as the booty. He’s also been strongly endorsed by the hip-hop community, too, and many of Barrington’s songs have been sampled by major hip-hop artists. “Money Is The Drug” is another articulate expression of the reggae worldview, and like all of Barrington Levy’s tracks, it’s deeply rooted in reggae tradition that will be embraced by his multitude of existing reggae followers. Its contemporary sound will also appeal to a wider demographic who may not be familiar with Levy and his reggae music.
And just in case you don’t feel the full force of Levy’s observations, the “Money Is the Drug” video makes them astonishingly clear. Dollar bills rolled up and stuffed in a syringe make for a powerful, uncompromising visual metaphor. As junkies mainline money, and others take their cash from an I.V. drip, Barrington Levy strides through the frames, declaiming, shouting, preaching, laughing along, underscoring his message with every phrase. And it wouldn’t be Barrington Levy if there wasn’t a comic element. After a “treatment “in a clinic, a man finds himself with a briefcase full of cash. Excited, he detaches himself from the monitors and runs off with the money as fast as he can, trailing dollars as he goes. A nurse expresses concern as she watches him. But she doesn’t stop him. Instead, she picks up the loose bills and vanishes.
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