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Wha'ppen? is the second studio album by the English ska band the Beat. It was released in 1981 on Go-Feet Records in the United Kingdom and Sire Records in the United States. After the critical and commercial success of I Just Can't Stop It, which mixed ska, reggae and punk rock with social lyrics, the band changed direction on Wha'ppen?, taking influence from many other musical styles, including African, steel band and dub music, while keeping reggae at its core. The fast pace of the band's previous work is put aside for a slower, mid-tempo pace. Accompanying the music are socially conscious, political lyrics. The band recorded at Roundhouse Studios with producer Bob Sargeant. Released in May 1981, Wha'ppen? was a commercial success, peaking at No. 3 on the UK Albums Chart, though its singles were the least commercially successful the band had released to date. Fans' reaction to the album was mixed, with some finding the band to have "mellowed out," though the album gave the band a larger American audience than before. Critics were generally favourable towards the album's musicianship and lyricism. From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wha'ppen?) under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
