Lee "Scratch" Perry's Wild World: Watch a Clip From 'The Upsetter'

Lee "Scratch" Perry is the psychedelic godfather of reggae, the mad scientist of dub and the producer of Super Ape and Bob Marley's early hits to the Clash's "Complete Control." His music and antics are the stuff of legend, and in the new documentary The Upsetter, filmmakers Ethan Higbee and Adam Bhala Lough take a never-before-seen look at the artist Rolling Stone calls "Reggae's Mad Scientist" in our current issue. In addition to interviews with Perry, The Upsetter features extensive archival footage from the musician's own collection.

In the exclusive sneak peek above, watch Perry lobby for the legalization of weed and take part in a religious ceremony that involves a bonfire — in his own living room. It's footage like this that backs up Perry's claims that he burned down his famed studio the Black Ark to rid it of its evil spirits. "I needed to be forgiven of my sin," Perry tells Rolling Stone. "I burned my sin, and I am born again." The Upsetter, which is narrated by actor Benicio Del Toro, charts Perry's journey from Jamaica to his current home in Zurich, Switzerland, and all the music in between.

"You could never put your finger on Lee Perry — he's the Salvador Dali of music," Keith Richards tells RS. "He's a mystery. The world is his instrument. You just have to listen. More than a producer, he knows how to inspire the artist's soul."

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Song Stories

“I'm Yours”

Jason Mraz | 2008

Jason Mraz re-emerged after his disappointing second album with this lead single, a Jack Johnson-esque ditty about giving yourself fully to someone else. The success of the reggae-tinged song (it earned two Grammy nods and a spot on the Billboard singles chart for well over a year) was something the folk-pop singer never predicted when he wrote it in 15 minutes at home. "I played a happy-hippie chord progression that would probably work without 50 different Bob Marley songs," he told Rolling Stone. "I thought, 'It's too novelty. This is a nursery rhyme,'" concluding that "you can never guess what's gonna be a hit."

More Song Stories entries »

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