Australian producer Monkey Marc is teaming up with Turbulence, the reggae veteran who gave us the smash hit Notorious in 2006, and exciting Jamaican artists, Blvk H3ro and Yeza, for the new single, Rebel Code, which also features fellow Australian Mista Savona (Havana Meets Kingston) on keys.

The track is an upbeat and driving reggae tune, with an inspiring message of empowerment and a collective call for revolution.

Rebel Code is the lead single from Monkey Marc's new album, Vital Sound.

Monkey Marc tapped 300K, Jamaica-based director, cinematographer and filmmaker, for Rebel Code's  visual treatment. Hailed by Billboard as “one of Jamaica’s most in-demand music video directors", the director looked to cult classic "Mad Max" as a springboard to explore themes of Black empowerment, revolution and legacy.

The lyric video and artwork is created by acclaimed Jamaican artist Robin Clare.

MONKEY MARC

“Monkey Marc is a producer’s producer; staunchly independent and probably Australian electronic music’s best-kept secret. His music channels the spirit of punk, original dubstep, Public Enemy, modern beats and electronic culture, and the heaviest of Jamaican riddims all at once.” - VICE

Monkey Marc is one of Australia’s leading producers, who spent years roaming the Australian desert as an activist and guerrilla environmentalist. He works out of a solar-powered shipping container music studio in Brunswick and produces music on zero carbon emissions.

FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM / SOUNDCLOUD / BANDCAMP / YOUTUBE / WEBSITE / SPOTIFY

TURBULENCE

Turbulence is a Jamaican reggae veteran and a member of the Rastafari movement. He has released a number of albums including I Believe, United, Notorious, Songs of Solomon, Triumphantly, Join Us and Hail The King. Considered a singjay, he combines ragga, hip-hop and R&B in a unique style as a powerful singer as well as a hardcore dancehall DJ.

FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM / YOUTUBE / SPOTIFY

BLVK H3RO

Blvk H3ro (pronounced Black Hero) is a Jamaican singer-songwriter hailing from the historic community of Waterford, popularised by iconic deejay Vybz Kartel. This eclectic performer first started playing drums at the age of 8, and singing in a choir by the time he was 13. He started recording music in 2012, with a smash hit on Major Lazer‘s riddim for ‘Get Free’ entitled ‘My Story’, released by Major Lazer to 500,000 plays in a matter of days. Blvk H3ro released his debut album ‘The Immortal Steppa’ in 2019 and recently released his latest album ‘New Millenium’, a collaboration with Wayne J.

FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM / YOUTUBE / WEBSITE / SPOTIFY

YEZA

Yeza was born and raised in the east Kingston community of 8 mile, Bull Bay. She studied history at University of the West Indies and beautifully merges her street smarts, community upbringing and Black consciousness to create extraordinary lyrics and beautiful melodies that she dubs 'rude girl roots'. Yeza performs with her band The Xolani Nation and is now completing her mixtape to be released soon, produced by Rory StoneLove.

FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM / YOUTUBE / SPOTIFY

MISTA SAVONA

Mista Savona is an Australian pianist, composer and producer, and the musical director of the Havana Meets Kingston project. He has worked with dozens of Jamaican artists, including releasing the standout album ‘Born A King’ with Sizzla on US electronic label Muti Music. On the Havana Meets Kingston project, he has worked alongside legendary Cuban and Jamaican musicians for a world-first album and film project set in Havana, Cuba. The project toured Europe including a concert at the Royal Albert Hall for The BBC Proms.

FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM / YOUTUBE / SPOTIFY

LYRICS

Turbulence:
Monkey Marc
Dutty Babylon cyaan give we nuh talk
Babylon vex, tell dem we care zero
Turbulence, Yeza and Black H3ro

Yeza:
And we nah play with nobody
Black soldiers coming in like a buffalo
Try nah get inna we way
Rebel dem a take over yuh place

Blvk H3ro:
In comes the lyrical miracle spiritual
Trapped inna di physical
Ain’t talking ‘bout the cynical or the typical, listen to me
We trod from Nazareth through valleys of death
Over seas hazardous
We fought for what we had
So mother, father, sister, brother must set a
plan inna Babylon
From you get a choice
Better double check it twice
Many youths alive
Just know their hands are tied
And many youths are dying
Mama she scream and cry

Turbulence: Empress!

Yeza:
Memba Marcus Garvey tell yuh say
When you wake you haffi spread yuh bed
Disagree dem call you terrorist
Hey dis ya message have a code like wifi
Mind like sky dive
Everyday mi see another black youth pon mi timeline
Yow I swear sometimes mi wonder when a my time
Say dem serving justice but mi nah go join nuh long line
It doesn't matter where you are, oh black men
You've got something that they want
And they keep coming for more
Dem haffi come fi mi when mi company have di telescope
Vision 2020 Goddess haffi represent
Still a rude gyal Bangle Lady a mi genesis
From di youths nah know di truth still haffi count the deficit
We see di racists, dem waan erase we
So we a go lace dem
High up pon di trellis and mi haffi grow mi lettuce
Cah mi nah go take no poison from di hands of mi enemy
Careful of di program weh you watching on di Tele V
Internet sensations a turn you inna waste man
When you see di rebels, no it's not a playground
And we coming in yuh city with di red ones
With di flood and with di rain inna yuh stadium

The rebellion must come

(Turbulence: Di rebellion is alive)

Tell dem say we kick off di roof long time
Cause we’ve gotta rise

Turbulence:
Aye dutty Babylon kuff!
Size 10 inna yuh face
Run up inna yuh place and prosecute yuh case
Aye, look how much innocent lay to waste
All because of you, give dem a taste (yow)
Stay vigilant, assertive and firm
Make we kick off di door and make di table turn (aye)
Mama you nah cry fi yuh son again
Light up di fire you hear, Babylon a burn
We nah like how dem a gwaan
Why you terrorize di poor?
Mind you make we take to di streets with arms
And shub yuh cabinet out di door
Dem a rapist and pedophile, predator, leggo mi child
Mi nah like yuh style, you vile, Scud missile
Fi di wicked fi di wild, hypocrite and parasite, you’re soiled
Pagan a fire tire and oil

Blvk H3ro:
Who knows the feeling, we feel it
God knows we live it, streets bleeding
Like woah
Riverton is all we breathe in
Who knows the feeling, yeah mi feel it
God knows we live it, streets bleeding
Like woah, oh!
This corruption is hard to breathe in

Yeza:
Plastic masks a take over di planet overnight
Black people dem a push up a di front of every fight
Cyaan live if dem still a make a mockery of wi life
Who a sleep you better check yuh pulse if yuh alive
Formation a time now fi line up
When di weapon's not a gun, it's saliva
And nuff of dem a suicide fi designer
Black king with yuh black queen beside you

Blvk H3ro:
The way how we trod
An how we handle it
Beast yeah we’re trampling
System we’re dismantling
The devil yeah we’re strangling
Jah energies we’re channelling
Living remote in dem system
Because mi tired of the anger, the blame
The hurt and the shame
See my people protesting over and over again
And nothing nah change
From I was a kid
Yow it made up in my brain
These things they must change
So young Jedis, find the force inside, bruh
Light that sabre
Keep the furnace bright and burning
Keep it bright and blazing
Sidestep haters
Plant some acres
Keep the dreams and the goals dem going up and up
Just like vapours
Make the right choices, proper sacrifices
Throw away the vices
Cos many youths alive
Just know their hands are tied
And many youths are dying
and Mama scream and cry

Turbulence:
They want us to give in and cry and die
We’re so over all your promises and lies
David will always slew Goliath, no surprise
Victory
Jah forces will survive
Jah forces will survive

Yeza:
The rebellion must come
And tell ‘em say fi kick off the roof long time
Cause we've gotta rise
And some will say that we must wait in vain
But we haffi live wi life, energize, everything prophecy

Aye

Turbulence:: Oh, Babylon falling down

300K

MUSIC VIDEO DIRECTOR

Hailed by Billboard as “one of Jamaica’s most in-demand music video directors," 300K is a self-taught, director, cinematographer and filmmaker with a desire to show a more textured Jamaica in his visual work.

Having created music videos with afrowave, reggae, dancehall, soca, R&B and UK rap artists, he is steadily working towards expanding his portfolio by collaborating with talent from different genres and geographies.

300K’s clients includes Koffee, Popcaan, Afro B, Busy Signal, Kabaka Pyramid, Jesse Royal, Aidonia, Nailah Blackman, Stalk Ashley, Jada Kingdom, Govana, Dre Island, Munga Honourable, Tommy Lee, Kiprich, Shaneo, Charly Black, Neeqah and more.

ROBIN CLARE

VISUAL COLLABORATION

Robin Clare has been a practicing visual artist for the past 15 years and gained international recognition as one of the leading proponents of Jamaican visual culture.

Her work explores broader themes of cultural identity and place, especially as it overlaps with music, dance and creative expression. Her art uses vibrant colours and a focus on movement and expression. 

Robin Clare has participated in major group exhibitions held in galleries and art festivals across the world including The Kennedy Center, Washington DC, the Puma headquarters for the 2012 London Olympics, The National Gallery of Jamaica and National Gallery West, The Museum of Latin American Art in Los Angeles, Art Basel in Miami, Vivid Sydney, Art Space in Auckland, NZ and many more.

She has collaborated with global brands including Adidas, Stussy, Sony Records, ROC Nation, Pitchfork, Red Bull, Google and many more, to develop and deliver capsule clothing collections, album artwork, music video animation, and illustration and visual storytelling.

She has worked closely with Jamaican dance communities both on the island of Jamaica and worldwide, documenting a 50 year period of Jamaican dance using the mediums of painting, surface design, animation, installation and print media.

He work has been credited with having a wider impact of helping to promote Jamaican culture globally and enable cross-cultural conversations and exchanges.

VITAL SOUND
Monkey Marc
Release date: 13 November 2020
Label: Digikillaz / DubShot
Listen

“Monkey Marc is a producer’s producer; staunchly independent and probably Australian electronic music’s best-kept secret. His music channels the spirit of punk, original dubstep, Public Enemy, modern beats and electronic culture, and the heaviest of Jamaican riddims all at once.” - VICE

Born in Cardiff, Wales, Monkey Marc is an Australian music producer who works from his fully solar-powered Melbourne recording studio in a shipping container. He has released on labels including Jahtari, Renegade Masters, Elefant Traks and Glastonbury Festival’s Uncommon Records.

Rooted in a punk background, Monkey’s passion for music and social change has taken him across remote regions of Australia and the world. Originally working as a geologist in outback Australian gold mines, Monkey got his name from the mining jobs that required him to climb high up into dangerous areas of mineshafts to safeguard them for the miners. 

After several near-death accidents, he switched to a life of music and political agitation, spending years roaming the Australian desert as an activist and guerrilla environmentalist. He ran a solar-powered sound system (transported by a vegetable-oil powered van) throwing renegade parties at the frontline of forest blockades and protests around Australia.

He has worked in indigenous communities with young people and indigenous elders across Australia for over 15 years.

His activist background drives him to make music with a message. Monkey says, “I believe in the power of music to educate, inspire and change people’s perspectives”.

Monkey Marc won the Music Victoria Award for Best Reggae and Dancehall Act 2018.

Read more about Monkey Marc here.