Ras Double D & The Dub Family - Ooh Wah!!! EP (Self-published)

Among his chief inspirations he not only cites Oku Onuora and Mutabaruka, but also Linton Kwesi Johnson, alongside vocalists such as Kiddus I and Cedric Myton.

For the musical backing, Ras Double D joins forces with his regular backing band The Dub Family, themselves Waasland veterans, built around the core of brothers Mustafa (drums), Abby (keys) and Nordine Ketami (percussion, melodica), and complemented by Luc Foulon on bass and Bart Mulders on guitar.

On 'Ooh Wah!!!' the focus is entirely on conscious, militant and socially critical lyrics, as evidenced by opener 'Freedom Fighter':

We don't want to be ruled by Babylon ministry 
Too long we have been fooled wid lies and trickery 
Dem takin advantage of the masses 
And separate us into different classes 
Divide and rule their game 
More power their aim 

Life it no funny 
When it's all about the money 
We are victims of a system 
Full of ism and skism 
Nah sell yourself as a prostitute 
Fe material substitute 
Be no voluntary slave 
But stand up tall and brave 

Be a fierce freedom fighter 
A truth and right defender 
Be a fierce freedom fighter 
Who never surrender 
So take action 
Change your situation 
Embrace the vibration 
Of mental liberation 

The problems that we face 
Are clouded in a foggy haze 
Words are quickly spoken 
Promises easily broken 
For Babylon a smooth operator 
A wicked manipulator 
Down wid this damn dictator 
Be a peoples liberator 

Be a fierce freedom fighter 
A truth and right defender 
Be a fierce freedom fighter 
Who never surrender 
So take action 
Change your situation 
Embrace the vibration 
Of mental liberation

When dem talk be aware 
When dem walk take good care 
It is crystal clear 
They're on a path that leads nowhere 
So don't you follow them like cattle 
But write your own history 
For the harder the battle 
The sweeter the victory!

The EP's title, currently available on CD only, is lifted from 'Listen Me', where the chant-like refrain goes: "Ooh wah, ooh wah, ooh wah, ooh wah… So listen, and hear me well, nah dispel what I&I have to tell!".

What Ras Double D brings on 'Ooh Wah!!!' is certainly not groundbreaking, yet all three tracks can easily be regarded as Belgian textbook examples of the dub poetry genre. A noteworthy discovery.