“a legend, a teacher and a pioneer of reggae dancehall music in the UK and worldwide” – Julian Marley
Spanning an impressive 40+ year career in the music industry, Stick To My Roots charts Tippa Irie’s incredible story – from his trailblazing beginnings in Saxon Sound International to the Grammy Award-nominated “Hey Mama” with the Black Eyed Peas.
Titled after his 2010 hit single, this autobiography moves from the first sign of talent in Irie as a child in Brixton, South London and family members encouraging him to enter local talent competitions, to making his first record, connecting to his roots home in Jamaica as well as the wider reggae legacy across the Caribbean and the African continent and becoming the powerhouse and Reggae-scene legend he is now.
It is a memoir full of dreams, music and hope, but also the deep traumas and tribulations that Tippa experienced throughout his life.
Spanning an impressive 40+ year career in the music industry, Stick To My Roots charts Tippa Irie’s incredible story – from his trailblazing beginnings in Saxon Sound International to the Grammy Award-nominated “Hey Mama” with the Black Eyed Peas.
Titled after his 2010 hit single, this autobiography moves from the first sign of talent in Irie as a child in Brixton, South London and family members encouraging him to enter local talent competitions, to making his first record, connecting to his roots home in Jamaica as well as the wider reggae legacy across the Caribbean and the African continent and becoming the powerhouse and Reggae-scene legend he is now.
It is a memoir full of dreams, music and hope, but also the deep traumas and tribulations that Tippa experienced throughout his life.
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Reviews
A powerful book from one of Britain's top MCs who has blended the music genre of Jamaican roots and British identity as a fusion of the Black lived experience covering joy, pain, resilience and identity. This is book is a powerful story of sufferation and resilience as a child of the Windrush Generation.
A powerhouse, an icon. The OG - original groundbreaker - is instrumental in carving a foundation for young Black British youths of my generation. This heartfelt and honest window into Tippa Irie's historic rise to fame is the blueprint of a pioneer's life. Stick to my Roots shows how hardship, sheer talent and community link the founding generations of Black British culture to the vibrant, world changing artists who produce work today.
This book is a ground-breaking piece of work. Not only does Tippa Irie take us on a fascinating journey of personal and musical encounters, but he also gives us a history lesson. The world is already aware of his musical greatness, but now we can experience his brilliance as a writer. This is Tippa. He is Irie.
In Stick to my Roots, Tippa Irie really tells his truth. His autobiography is engaging, enlightening, honest, accessible, and at times poetic. Even his book makes you want to dance.
Tippa irie is one of the greats, a legend, a teacher and a pioneer of reggae dancehall music in the UK and worldwide
I remember the very first time I heard Tippa Irie's music, it was from my brother in law Handel McNeish, Tippa's cousin. I know that Tippa is a conscious artist doing the work of the most high. His lyrical content and written testimony verifies this and gives hope.
I embrace and support his work of consciousness for positive change through music. We need more Artist like Tippa to write, sing, and perform. His words and work may encourage those that are going through darkness.
Tippa's written story will let them see him as the example, that if they continue with determination they too can persevere through all obstacles to obtain their goals. His written words will lend an ear to those who may be feeling despair and lost. I endorse and encourage readers to imagine.
Tippa and I have been tight for the longest time, bona fide family. He is an original MC performer in his own right.
His love of music comes first-he has no choice. Music is his heartbeat, drawing him in like a magnet. He can't live
without the fire, and music is the fire. I share that very same fire. You may turn away for a while, but the fire will call
you back, saying "You can't go anywhere without me."
This is a great read for our generation as it embodies, what life was like for black kids up and down the country during the 70s. I always remember, seeing him, driving through Birmingham in his VW Cabriolet convertible. He has taken his toasting talents around the world representing his upbringing and culture, truly a pioneer for toasting about 'Roots and Culture' but from a British-Jamaican aspect rather than the other way round. This book, is a must-read for anyone growing up in Britain in the inner cities of all cultures.