A little bit of history: In 1967, Jamaican reggae musician Dandy Livingstone recorded the original version of “A Message to You, Rudy,” a catchy rocksteady tune that would later be covered, in 1979, by British ska band The Specials, turning it into an international hit. Another ten years passed and in Argentina, ska en español pioneers Los Fabulosos Cadillacs sped-up the beat, translated the lyrics (“stop your messing around” infamously became “pará de boludear”) and introduced it to the Latin American mainstream audiences.
Fast forward another quarter of a century and here we have Mento Buru a Latin ska band based in Bakersfield, CA doing a cumbiafied (because, you know, everything sounds better with a cumbia güiro) version that mixes both Cadillacs’ and Specials’ adaptations, while still being respectful to the spirit of the original.
The song was recently released on the b-side of a beautifully packaged 7” vinyl single by Los Angeles-based boutique label Steady Beat, and it’s a fail-proof party starter.
