“The blatant disregard toward the black, and I would say minority of society, is something that needs urgent attention,” late reggae pioneer said
By ANGIE MARTOCCIO/RollingStone—
Trojan Jamaica/BMG has partnered with Until the Ribbon Breaks for a remix of Toots and the Maytals’ “Got to Be Tough,” donating all proceeds to Black Lives Matter.
The title track to Toots Hibberts’ final studio album, the video features footage of protests and police brutality, including figures Rosa Parks, Jesse Jackson, Andrew Young, C.T. Vivian, and Paul Robeson. Senator Corey Booker can be heard stating, “Everything about us is interwoven, it is interconnected, we are in relationship with each other” throughout the track, repeated through the beats and Hibbert’s own singing.
“The blatant disregard toward the black, and I would say minority of society, is something that needs urgent attention,” Hibbert said last year following the killing of George Floyd. “All people need acceptance in their space. Law and order must be observed, but enforcers must regard people’s space, regardless of color or creed.”
Hibbert died in September 2020 at the age of 77 due to Covid-19 complications. Got to Be Tough, the band’s first full-length LP in more than a decade, received a Grammy nomination for Best Reggae Album. A month before Hibbert’s died, he was featured in a Rolling Stone profile by editor Jason Fine. “He’s bigger than reggae,” Fine recalled in a tribute. “He’s one of the great voices of soul music.”
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