Trojan Records announces Funk The Reggae Beat reggae-funk compilation

Trojan Records turned its latest archive move into a proper collector’s event with the May 29 release of Funk The Reggae Beat on vinyl and CD through BMG. The compilation arrived as a 1-disc LP and a 23-track CD digisleeve, with retailers flagging a black-vinyl edition for the crate-diggers who still want the physical package to match the music.

The draw here is the music itself. Trojan’s own copy framed the set around the “funky reggae” style that grew when funk hit the global pop scene in the late 1960s and Jamaican musicians folded those influences into their own work through the early 1970s. That crossover is the spine of the compilation, and it gives the release a sharper edge than a routine reissue batch. This is reggae in conversation with funk, with soundtrack-era grooves and dancefloor pressure built into the sequence.

The tracklist makes that point fast. The vinyl and retailer listings include Look-Ka-Py-Py by Lloyd Charmers & The Hippy Boys, Funk The Beat by The Megatons, Cloud Nine by Carl Dawkins, Rock Steady by The Marvels, Groove Me by Dave Barker, Kill Them All by Lee Perry & The Upsetters, Shaft by Lloyd Charmers, Is It Because I’m Black by Ken Boothe, Soul Power by Nicky Thomas and Jungle Lion by Lee Perry & The Upsetters. Those are the kinds of cuts selectors know by feel, records that sit right at the seam between roots movement, heavy rhythm, and American funk influence.

The CD version widens the spread even further. Alongside the best-known titles, it adds cuts such as Popcorn by The Upsetters, Geronimo by The Pyramids, Down On The Farm by Freddie Notes & The Rudies, The Change by Greyhound, Kinky Fly by Bunny Scott, Splendour Splash by The Jay Boys and Soul Revival by Zap Pow. That extra run gives the set more of the scene’s range, not just its headline moments.

Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s presence gives the compilation added weight. As one of Jamaica’s key producers and an early dub innovator, Perry sits at the center of reggae’s studio culture, while Lloyd Charmers ties the set to the Hippy Boys and to landmark production from the late 1960s and early 1970s. Trojan, founded in 1967/1968 and long identified with ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub, has packaged that history into a release that feels built for collectors who want the groove, the era and the names in one run.

For anyone tracking how reggae absorbed funk without losing its own identity, Funk The Reggae Beat lands in the right lane, with Jungle Lion and Shaft doing exactly what a strong Trojan set should do: pull the past into the present and make it sound ready to spin again.