Jah Thomas
Encyclopedia
Nkrumah "Jah" Thomas is a reggae
deejay
and record producer
who first came to prominence in the 1970s, later setting up his own Midnight Rock and Nura labels.
n nationalist leader Kwame Nkrumah
, he adopted the stage name Jah Thomas and began deejaying in the mid-1970s, working with producers such as Alvin Ranglin
, who released his single "Midnight Rock", which topped the Jamaican chart in 1976. Thomas's debut album, Stop Yuh Loafin gained international recognition via a release on the newly-formed Greensleeves Records
label. Further deejay albums appeared in the late 1970s, before Thomas began concentrating on producing other artists, such as Robert Ffrench
, Anthony Johnson, Triston Palmer
, Johnny Osbourne
, Michael Palmer
, Barry Brown
, Barrington Levy
, Sugar Minott
, Early B
, Ranking Toyan, and Robin Hood, at the same time setting up the Midnight Rock record label, one of the most successful performer-owned labels of the period. Midnight Rock soon had a hit record in the shape of Thomas's "Cricket Lovely Cricket". Thomas would often use the mixing talents of Scientist
, and the Roots Radics
band. He later also set up the Nura label.
He is the father of Jamaican reggae sensation, Da'Ville
.
Dance On The Corner (1979) Midnight Rock
Nah Fight Over Woman (1980) Tad's
Black Ash Dub (1980) Trojan
(with The Revolutionaries
)
Tribute to the Reggae King (1981) Midnight Rock
Dance Hall Connection (1982) Silver Camel
Dance Hall Stylee (1982) Daddy Kool/Silver Camel
Shoulder Move (1983) Midnight Rock
Jah Thomas Meets Scientist In Dub Conference (1996) Munich
Triston Palmer Meets Jah Thomas In Discostyle (1996) Munich
Jah Thomas Meets King Tubby Inna Roots Of Dub (1997) Rhino
Jah Thomas Meets The Roots Radics Dubbing (1999) Trojan
Jah Thomas meets Barrington Levy inna Dancehall Style Culture Press
King Tubby's Hidden Treasure(1999) Trojan (Jah Thomas & The Roots Radics)
Lyrics For Sale Rhino
Prophecy Of Dub Abraham (Jah Thomas & The Roots Radics)
Jah Thomas Meets King Tubby In The House of Dub Majestic Reggae
Roots Dancehall Party (2003) Silver Kamel
Big Dance A Keep (2005) Silver Kamel
Big Dance Dub (2005) Silver Kamel
Liquid Brass (2005) Silver Kamel
Jah Thomas Presents... (2007) Ras Sta Reggae
Jah Thomas Meets... (2007) Ras Sta Reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
deejay
Deejay
A deejay is a reggae or dancehall musician who sings and toasts to an instrumental riddim .Deejays are not to be confused with disc jockeys from other music genres like hip-hop, where they select and play music. Dancehall/reggae DJs who select riddims to play are called selectors...
and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
who first came to prominence in the 1970s, later setting up his own Midnight Rock and Nura labels.
Biography
Named Nkrumah after AfricaAfrica
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n nationalist leader Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1952 to 1966. Overseeing the nation's independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana...
, he adopted the stage name Jah Thomas and began deejaying in the mid-1970s, working with producers such as Alvin Ranglin
Alvin Ranglin
Alvin 'GG' Ranglin is a Jamaican reggae singer and record producer.-Biography:Ranglin started to sing in public in his teens with an Adventist Church background. As a radio and television technician involved in the jukebox industry, he soon acquired his own sound system he named "GG"...
, who released his single "Midnight Rock", which topped the Jamaican chart in 1976. Thomas's debut album, Stop Yuh Loafin gained international recognition via a release on the newly-formed Greensleeves Records
Greensleeves Records
Greensleeves Records & Publishing is a record label specialising in dancehall and reggae music. The company was founded by Chris Cracknell and Chris Sedgwick and started as a small record store in West Ealing, London, in November 1975 and is based in Britain....
label. Further deejay albums appeared in the late 1970s, before Thomas began concentrating on producing other artists, such as Robert Ffrench
Robert Ffrench
-Biography:Robert Ffrench grew up in central Kingston and attended Kingston College. He recorded his first singles in 1979, at the age of 17. He achieved success in 1984 with his performances at the Festival Song Contest and the Reggae Sunsplash festival. He had a combination hit with deejay...
, Anthony Johnson, Triston Palmer
Triston Palmer
Triston Palmer aka Triston or Tristan Palma is a reggae singer/deejay active since the mid-1970s.-Biography:...
, Johnny Osbourne
Johnny Osbourne
Johnny Osbourne is a popular Jamaican reggae and dancehall singer, who rose to success in the late 1970s and mid 1980s. His album Truths and Rights was a notable roots reggae success, and featured "Jah Promise" and the album's title track, "Truths and Rights"...
, Michael Palmer
Michael Palmer (musician)
Michael Palmer , als known as Palma Dog, is a Jamaican reggae musician who released several albums in the 1980s.-Biography:Born in the Maxfield Park area of Kingston in 1960, Palmer began his career performing with sound systems such as Stereophonic Sound with General Echo in the late 1970s, taking...
, Barry Brown
Barry Brown (singer)
Barry Brown was a Jamaican reggae singer, initially coming to prominence in the 1970s with his work with Bunny Lee, but remaining popular throughout his career.-Biography:...
, Barrington Levy
Barrington Levy
Barrington Levy is a reggae and dancehall artist from Jamaica.-Career:In 1976, Levy formed a band with his cousin, Everton Dacres, called the Mighty Multitude; the pair released "My Black Girl" in 1977...
, Sugar Minott
Sugar Minott
Lincoln Barrington "Sugar" Minott was a Jamaican reggae singer, producer and sound-system operator.-Biography:...
, Early B
Early B
Earlando Arrington Neil, better known by his stage name Early B, was an early dancehall and reggae deejay whose lyrics had a cultural bent, noted mainly in his hits Visit of King Selassie, History of Jamaica and Wheely Wheely, the latter an ode to bicycle-riding in Jamaica.-Biography:Earlando was...
, Ranking Toyan, and Robin Hood, at the same time setting up the Midnight Rock record label, one of the most successful performer-owned labels of the period. Midnight Rock soon had a hit record in the shape of Thomas's "Cricket Lovely Cricket". Thomas would often use the mixing talents of Scientist
Scientist (musician)
Scientist, born Hopeton Brown in Kingston, Jamaica, 1960 , was a protégé of King Tubby , one of the originators of dub music.-Biography:...
, and the Roots Radics
Roots Radics
The Roots Radics Band was formed in 1978 by bass player Errol "Flabba" Holt and guitarist Eric "Bingy Bunny" Lamont. They were joined by many great musicians. As a combined force the Roots Radics became a well-respected studio and stage band, which dominated the sound in the first half of the 1980s...
band. He later also set up the Nura label.
He is the father of Jamaican reggae sensation, Da'Ville
Da'Ville
Da'Ville is a reggae singer. Born Orville Thomas on January 24, 1978, Kingston, Jamaica.-Biography:Orville Thomas was the first child of Jah Thomas and Cleopatra Wright. He was raised primarily by his grandmother Ms. Feama who instilled in him the principles of education and religion...
.
Discography
Trojan Records
Trojan Records is a British record label founded in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. The name Trojan comes from the Croydon-built Trojan truck that was used as Duke Reid's sound system in Jamaica...
(with The Revolutionaries
The Revolutionaries
The Revolutionaries is a Jamaican reggae band.-Career:Set up in 1975 as the house band of the Channel One Studios owned by Joseph Hoo Kim, The Revolutionaries with Sly Dunbar on drums and Robbie Shakespeare on bass, created the new "rockers" style that would change the whole Jamaican sound The...
)
Culture Press
Culture Press is an independent record label from UK specialized in Jamaican music. Many of their releases are of questionable legality and are often titled incorrectly.-LP Discography:*VSLP5000 - Bob Marley - Interviews...