Watch: Haseeb Iqbal on Jah Shaka

Haseeb Iqbal discusses his love of the late soundsystem legend Jah Shaka.

"There is no other sound and no other frequency that I've ever heard in my life that has made me feel the way that Shaka's sound system made me feel. And the really beautiful thing about that is having met hundreds of people who have said the exact same thing, yet we can't quite describe why."

Haseeb Iqbal's latest Listening Session at 180 Studios traces the life and legacy of Jah Shaka — the man many consider the father of UK sound system culture.

Iqbal's session is a 90-minute journey through one of the most important and underappreciated stories in British music. Alongside key records from his personal collection, he traces the arc of a life that began in Clarendon Parish, Jamaica, in the mid-1940s, wound through the Windrush generation's arrival in Southeast London in 1956, and eventually gave birth to a sound system that would reshape British culture.

"Shaka really does resemble a true pillar, a foundation of UK sound system culture," says Iqbal, "and somebody that many would say is the father of UK sound system culture."

Born Vivian Logan, Shaka settled in New Cross and went to school in Telegraph Hill — a geography that would define him. He never strayed far. But his music, as Iqbal puts it, "changed British music, and many would say global music culture."

The session traces sound system culture back to its Jamaican roots — and further still, to the rhythm and blues records that first powered it. Under British colonial rule until 1962, Jamaican radio stations were only permitted to play British and American music. The result was an underground explosion: outdoor sound system parties, tickets sold at the door, food cooked by friends, and selectors spinning whatever they wanted, liberated from the restrictions of the airwaves.

"Suddenly these parties — sound system parties, sound system events — became these very innovative, profitable gatherings that united the community, but crucially allowed the Jamaican people to pick whatever music they wanted to hear, detached from the laws that underpinned what could be played on the radio."

What set Shaka apart from his contemporaries, from Lloyd Coxsone to Dennis Bovell's Just Sufferer, was the totality of his vision. He was the selector, the engineer, the MC, and the message, all at once. Rooted in the writings of Martin Luther King, Angela Davis and Malcolm X, he used his sound system as a platform for education and empowerment at a time of profound racial hostility.

"He was so inspired to use that sound system as a mouthpiece to educate all people about black history and to empower young black people to feel hopeful and positive and to move forward."

The session shares records including "English Girl" and "Faith Can Move Mountains" by the Twinkle Brothers, alongside "Jah Children Cry" — the first ever 12-inch on the Jah Shaka label, from 1980, featuring vocalist African Princess.

When Jah Shaka passed away a couple of years ago, the shock hit Iqbal hard. "I didn't realise how much he meant to me. Well, I knew, but it really hit me when he passed away." The last time they shared a space, Iqbal had just warmed up for him at an outdoor festival in Crewe. Shaka played barefoot. He signed a record for Iqbal — "Jah Love, Jah Shaka".

Haseeb Iqbal's Jah Shaka Listening Session was recorded at 180 Studios, London, on the Devon Turnbull sound system. Watch the full session above.