RAS Records, also known as Real Authentic Sound, is a 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...

 record label

Record label

In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

.

History

RAS Records was founded in 1979

1979 in music

See also:Record labels established in 1979* 1979 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1979.-January–February:*January 1...

 by Doctor Dread

Doctor Dread

Gary Himelfarb , aka Doctor Dread, is a reggae producer who founded RAS Records. He is notable for his respectful dedication to roots reggae artists; and in turn for helping spread their works and words throughout the world. He has recently launched the website -Biography:Himelfarb was born in...

. In his travels to Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

 he created a network within the reggae artist community there. By the early to mid 1980s RAS had signed artists such as Black Uhuru

Black Uhuru

Black Uhuru are a Jamaican reggae group formed in 1972, initially as Uhuru . The group has undergone several line-up changes over the years, with Duckie Simpson always maintaining group control and ownership...

, Inner Circle, Culture

Culture

Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...

, Junior Reid

Junior Reid

Delroy "Junior" Reid is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall musician, best known for the songs "One Blood" and "Funny Man", as well as being the man that replaced Michael Rose as lead vocalist for Black Uhuru.-Biography:...

, Yellowman

Yellowman

Yellowman is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay, widely known as King Yellowman...

, and Freddie McGregor

Freddie McGregor

Freddie McGregor has been variously a singer, musician and producer. According to Allmusic he is one of reggae's most durable and soulful singers, with a steady career that started in the 1960s, when he was just seven years old.-Biography:In 1963 he joined with Ernest Wilson and Peter Austin to...

. This allowed RAS to grow significantly throughout the world. To date the label has also signed artists like Luciano

Luciano (singer)

Luciano is a Jamaican second generation roots reggae artist and poet....

, The Wailers Band, Sizzla

Sizzla

Sizzla Kalonji, or simply Sizzla in are de reggae musician. He is one of the most commercially and critically successful contemporary reggae artists and is well-known for his above-average prolificacy...

 and Tony Rebel

Tony Rebel

Tony Rebel is a Jamaican reggae deejay. He was initially a singer, appearing as Papa Tony or Tony Ranking in local talent contests and on sound systems including Sugar Minott's 'Youth Promotion'...

.

Awards

Over the years, several RAS artists have been nominated for Grammy Awards. In 1996 Bunny Wailer

Bunny Wailer

Bunny Wailer, , also known as Bunny Livingston and affectionately as Jah B, is a singer songwriter and percussionist and was an original member of reggae group The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh...

 received an award for his tribute album Hall of Fame: A Tribute to Bob Marley

Bob Marley

Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...

's 50th Anniversary

Anniversary

An anniversary is a day that commemorates or celebrates a past event that occurred on the same day of the year as the initial event. For example, the first event is the initial occurrence or, if planned, the inaugural of the event. One year later would be the first anniversary of that event...

.

RAS artists

• Luciano
  Luciano (singer)
  Luciano is a Jamaican second generation roots reggae artist and poet....
  
  
• The Wailers Band
• Junior Reid
  Junior Reid
  Delroy "Junior" Reid is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall musician, best known for the songs "One Blood" and "Funny Man", as well as being the man that replaced Michael Rose as lead vocalist for Black Uhuru.-Biography:...
  
  
• Culture
  Culture
  Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
  
  
• Black Uhuru
  Black Uhuru
  Black Uhuru are a Jamaican reggae group formed in 1972, initially as Uhuru . The group has undergone several line-up changes over the years, with Duckie Simpson always maintaining group control and ownership...
  
  
• Inner Circle
• Don Carlos
  Don Carlos (musician)
  Don Carlos a.k.a. Don McCarlos is a Jamaican reggae singer and composer.-Biography:He was born and raised in Western Kingston, Jamaica in a very deprived district known as Waterhouse out of which came many talented reggae musicians. One such artist was King Tubby, one of the founders of Black...
  
  
• Yellowman
  Yellowman
  Yellowman is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay, widely known as King Yellowman...
  
  
• J.C. Lodge
• Freddie McGregor
  Freddie McGregor
  Freddie McGregor has been variously a singer, musician and producer. According to Allmusic he is one of reggae's most durable and soulful singers, with a steady career that started in the 1960s, when he was just seven years old.-Biography:In 1963 he joined with Ernest Wilson and Peter Austin to...
  
  
• Israel Vibration
  Israel Vibration
  Israel Vibration is a reggae harmony trio, originating from Kingston, Jamaica. Lascelle "Wiss" Bulgin, Albert "Apple Gabriel" Craig, and Cecil "Skelly" Spence all overcame childhood polio, and went on to be one of the most successful roots groups to form in Jamaica in the late 1970s...
  
  
• Steel Pulse
  Steel Pulse
  Steel Pulse is a roots reggae musical band. They originally formed at Handsworth Wood Boys School, in Birmingham, England, composed of David Hinds , Basil Gabbidon , and Ronald McQueen .-History:...
  
  
• Mad Cobra
  Mad Cobra
  Ewart Everton Brown , better known by his stage name of Mad Cobra or simply Cobra is a Jamaican reggae musician.-Biography:...
  
  
• Mikey Spice
  Mikey Spice
  -Biography:Spice sang in his father's church from age seven, and learned to play guitar, bass, drums, trumpet, piano, saxophone, flute, and harp as a youngster. Spice began a career as a reggae musician in 1985...
  
  
• Sanchez