August 15, 2002 15:48

ROOTS MANUVA - MACCA IS DOPE!

The Mercury-nominated rapper tries to find an explanation for 'Yellow Submarine', which he has covered...

PANASONIC MERCURY MUSIC PRIZE-nominated UK hip-hop star ROOTS MANUVA is set to drag Paul McCartney back into the legalise cannabis debate by suggesting the former BEATLE
smoked "more weed than me".

Manuva was speaking ahead of the release of new mix album 'Badmeaninggood', an album that features a dub reggae reworking of The Beatles' 'Yellow Submarine'.

Explaining why he had chosen the track, Manuva said: "I've got this whole plan in my head for a label called Banana Clan, so this is the theme song. And The Beatles
are a band I've got a lot of respect for. Paul McCartney used to smoke more weed than me so I'm sure we can identify with each other on a certain level."

[a][/a] has been busted several times for marijuana possession, the most famous occasion coming in Japan in 1980. Arriving in the country for a tour with Wings, officials discovered almost half a pound of marijuana in his hand luggage.

"I didn't try to hide [the pot]," he said at the time. "I had just come from America and still had the American attitude that marijuana isn't that bad. I didn't realise just how strict the Japanese attitude is."

And as early as 1967 he had campaigned for marijuana to be legalised, taking out a full-page advert in The Times newspaper to spread his message.

In recent years, he has been less vocal in his support for the drug. A serious conviction for possession would make it near impossible to get a visa to perform in America, a highly lucrative market for Macca now. His 'Driving Rain' tour earlier this year grossed a whopping $52.8million (£33.9million).