Biography
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Born
1948
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Born In
Clarendon, Jamaica
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Died
12 April 2023 (aged 75)
Jah Shaka (born in Jamaica in 1948; died 12 April 2023), aka the Zulu Warrior, was a Jamaican reggae/dub sound system operator who ran a south-east London-based, roots reggae Jamaican sound system since the early 1970s. His name is an amalgamation of the Rastafarian term for God and that of the Zulu king Shaka Zulu.
One of the most important roots reggae and dub artists, he was a composer, musician, singer, mixing engineer, producer, record label owner, and sound system operator. He is remembered for sticking to his rastafarian beliefs in the 1980s whilst other soundsystems followed the Jamaican trend towards playing "slack" dancehall music. His refusal to compromise inspired a host of new UK reggae artists and soundsystems such as Eastern Sher, The Disciples, Iration Steppas, Jah Warrior, Conscious Sounds, The Rootsman and Abashanti-I. Non-reggae artists such as Basement Jaxx have also cited Jah Shaka as an influence during interviews.
On his own record label he released music from Jamaican artists such as Max Romeo, Johnny Clarke, Bim Sherman and Prince Alla as well as UK groups such as Aswad and Dread & Fred. He has released a number of dub albums, often under the Commandments of Dub banner.
Jah Shaka events were renowned for attracting a wide audience from all backgrounds, races and ages both in London and with occasional tours of the USA, Europe and Japan.
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