The Comedy of Errors: Gospel Fish - Brush Dem (22 May 1992)

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“Sex sells” may be true of both advertising and art, but in the music world, conflict comes a close second.  However, just as the most glamorous and erotic looking imagery is often filmed with a cast of thousands trampling through in the background while the objects of our lust sip hot chocolate and gather round mobile heaters between takes, so conflict in music is more often than not manufactured. At the height of the Blur/Oasis battle in the mid 1990s, Marion singer, Jaime Harding was quoted as saying, “They might slag each other off but they all drink in the same pubs.”
“Beef” can be big business - never more so than in musical forms where confrontation isn’t just played out across the Internet or the music press.  In rap battles, hip-hop face offs and more pertinently here, sound-system clashes, you get to look your enemy right in the eye.  Music born out of combat, mano y mano, is what has given these forms their edge over many of the others.  At least that’s what we believe.  But Gospel Fish is having none of it, as he outlines in the first 10 seconds of this track.  It’s all a big pantomime.  But having got that disclaimer out the way, he spends the next 3 and a half minutes burying his rivals.  Among those on the Gospel Fish rollcall of in Brush Dem, we get namechecks for Cutty Ranks, Cobra, Capleton, Admiral Bailey, Tony Rebel,  Buju Banton, Charlie Chaplin and Baby Wayne.

It walks the tightrope of parodying the beef culture and backslapping “He’s been a close personal friend of mine for many years” entertainment cliche, while offering censure for bad behaviour towards women or irreligious behaviour.  It will be interesting to see if any “reply” records were cut by those mentioned in Brush Dem and whether they turned the spotlight back on to Gospel Fish in search of clay feet.

The first 3:40 of the video are the track itself.  The remaining time features a hip-hop remix.

Video courtesy of K Gold