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Thanks for visiting Stubborn Records!  Stubborn is a real, honest-to-goodness, truly independent DIY label with deep roots in the east coast ska and reggae scenes. We are a small operation totally supported by you, our favorite people-- true fans of Jamaican and Jamaican-inspired music from around the world.

King Django says:

I started Stubborn Records in 1992. I was a die-hard ska and reggae fan and my heroes growing up were people like Prince Buster, Coxsone Dodd and Lee Perry. It was only natural for me to start a label to release both my own recordings and those of my talented friends. Jamaican music and its many offshoots are what originally inspired me to become a musician. The mid '90s were great times in NYC for that, and it was like a dream come true to be able to champion the cause of this very special music.

The first release on the label was Skinnerbox Tales of the Red in CD and cassette(!) formats. Over the next 7 years, we were able to release 10 CDs and a pile of 7" vinyl records. Things didn't really hit a boil until the end of '96 when I began putting together the Version City Studio. Once that was in swing, we were cranking out some of the most fun records I have had the pleasure to work on. Since that time, I've been lucky enough to work on-stage and in the studio with so many of my favorite artists.  I've also been blessed enough to continue making my own music as well as steadily working in the studio producing, engineering and doing guest appearances for many other wonderful and talented artists.

In 2003 we started taking in a lot of outside product with the focus on classic ska, reggae, rocksteady, reggae and dub from around the world. This enabled us to spread the good word of our favorite music, and also to strengthen the label and support and develop local artists. During this time we had some great opportunities to do licensing deals and collaborations with our good friends at labels like Jump Up, Megalith and Asian Man.

In late 2006 I was privileged to start the Version City vinyl label in Kingston, Jamaica with the assistance of Mr. Bertram Brown who ran Freedom Sounds records there from the 1970s until his untimely passing in September of 2008. During that time we were able to release about nine 45s on the Version City label featuring Jamaican and American artists, as well as a number of singles which I co-produced for the Freedom Sounds label.

My goal for stubbornrecords.com is to continually seek out and bring back to you you the best in hard-to-find and underground music-- both old and new ska, reggae, dub, dancehall, punk rock and other cool interesting stuff from Jamaica, the US and around the world.

Please feel free to drop me a line any time at [email protected]

ONE LOVE

King Django

October, 2015