King Tubby's Prophesy Of Dub 

Reggae music is the message of the world now,
so that people can turn from them corruption
and turn to righteousness, for Babylon shall go down
Yabby U 

Vivian Jackson aka Yabby U had been issuing records since 1972 on his 'Prophets' label, leading a vocal group that included members Alrick Forbes, Richard 'Dada' Smith, Bobby Melody and the Ralph Brothers. Starting out with cuts like Conquering Lion, Love Thy Neighbours and Love Of Jah, he soon established a reputation as a premier exponent of roots music, offering a wholly uncompromising vision of the world and the role of black people in it. 

After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the Þrst voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. 
REVELATION Chapter IV, Verse I 
And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? 
REVELATION Chapter V, Verse I,II 
And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, 1 the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
REVELATION Chapter V, Verse V 

This vision was inspired by Yabby's readings of the Bible, particularly the Psalms and the Revelation of St John the Divine, the last book of the Bible. This book, with its vision of the Armageddon and the New Jerusalem, has had a deep and pervasive influence on much roots-orientated music. Although scholars have interpreted this book in varying ways, Yabby uses it as direct prophecy of events to come: 
"It did prophesize, everything that has to happen has been prophesized. It's just a repeating of history. He did prophesy the happening of the closing of the dispensation, and the beginning. When you see all the wars going on now, Sodom and Gomorrah, and the eagle that flies within the heavens, and him create war, war, war. This is the time of them now. 
Him say 'When we hear of war and rumours of war, nation against nation and kingdom against kingdom, earthquake from one place to another, food shortage, plagues and pestilences, rejoice and look up for your redemption draweth nigh.'" 
"We is the only nation under the sun, the moon and the stars that is in captivity, we is slave descendants. The spirit that we get - a sheep spirit can't go within a goat, a goat spirit can't go within a sheep - we've been suffering for such a time under this bondage, and now the time has come for us to be free. 
Him say we must rejoice, when we see this going on. While them in fear, we rejoicing. The end - no man know, not even the angel, not even Jesus Christ. No man know it, only Jah himself. But these things mark the signs of the end of the system of things. They're going to destroy themselves. Reggae music now, it suppose to teach our people. It's supposed to be the scroll, like in those days the prophets used to have scroll, wax upon stone. The words was unto them, the chief musicians. Them record them history and leave it in caves, and the indivisible hand of the Almighty make men discover it, and translate it to Bible. The Bible was until Revelation. When it reach Revelation, it need a new Bible. Them never know about atomic energy, them never know about digital system, computer and all them things. These are the days of great tribulation, such as never been before, and will never be after this time. So we have to live through this time now, and gain our experience, and make a Bible for the next generation coming. 
Our Bible is music. It is wax upon record, like how theirs was wax upon stone. Everything that happened to them happened to we. It's like it's in me that the Father put His wisdom to show others. If you want I show you, I can show you, you can write about it and get the secret of them things there." 

And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains and the mighty men and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? 
And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. 

Whilst pursuing his vision and releasing a series of superb albums like Conquering Lion 1975, Deliver Me From My Enemies 1977, Chant Down Babylon 1978 and Jah Jah Way 1980, Yabby also found time to discover and train newer talents. 
He recorded Wayne Wade in 1976, then only thirteen years old, as well as Michael Prophet and Patrick Andy. He cut music with former African Brother Tony Tuff, and produced Willie Williams. He also recorded some of the best deejays of the period, including Trinity, Dillinger, Tappa Zukie and Jah Stitch, as well as lesser-known toasters like Prince Pompidoo, Ranking Magnum and King Miguel. 
He worked extensively with the late King Tubby, releasing several dub albums, beginning with this current reissue and continuing with the similarly-named Prophecies Of Dub 1976, mixed by Pat Kelly at Tubby's, Beware Dub 1978, and Yabby U & Michael Prophet Meet Scientist At The Dub Station 1979. 
In an interview with reggae historian Dave Katz, Yabby said of Tubby that:
"Tubbs name me-hear what happened. First when me start doing it, I never want people to ask after me. So when I start doing it first, I make up my mind to say, well, me a go privately and do it, and if it flop, me just take me losses and nobody won't know. I never know it would sell. I said I would just go round all of the Rastaman and beg them to buy one. When it did start to sell, here comes one of Tubb's number one dubs. Me tell them it's Tubby's me sell the record for. So them always wonder who this group is. Then me do a song name Love Of Jah, and it come up same way. Me do Jah Vengeance, Run Come Rally and Warn The Nation. When we do Warn The Nation Tubbs tell them seh a me. Him use to tell them seh, the group name Yabby U...when them find out it's me, them jus' keep calling me so. Tubbs say to them one day 'See Yabby U deh ?'" 
This reissue, representing as it does the meeting of two great talents, is that rare thing, a true classic. It combines the heavyweight rhythms of the roots master Yabby U with the innovative studio genius of the late Osbourne Ruddock aka King Tubby. 
Included are cuts to some of Yabby's classics, like Jah Vengeance (Version Dub), Conquering Lion (Conquering Dub), Run Come Rally (Hungering Dub), and Michael Rose's Born Free (Rock Vibration). The whole album reveals the two main protagonists at the height of their powers, and still sounds as righteously vital today as when it was first released. 
As Yabby himself says:
'If you read Psalms 159 and Psalms 150, it says 'We must praise Him in the dance'. Him say 'Blow the trumpet in the new moon, the high sound Him cymbal, the stringed instrument, the tambourine, the singers'. Reggae music is the only spiritual music that has all those things, flute, trumpet, and everything. Reggae music is the message of the world now, so that people can turn from them corruption and turn to righteousness, for Babylon shall go down.' 
That message is surely more relevant today than it ever was. 
Steve Barrow, November 1994 

And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the stream of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
REVELATION Chapter XXII, Verse I,II 
Pleased is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. 
REVELATION Chapter XXII, Verse VII 
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Pleased are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. 
I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
REVELATION Chapter XXII, Verse XII - XVI 
For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of prophecy of this book. 
REVELATION Chapter XXII, Verse XVIII