Jah Shaka, Dub and Roots Reggae Legend, Has Died

Jah Shaka, the London roots reggae legend whose soundsystem influenced generations of artists, producers, and DJs, died on Wednesday, April 12, his management has confirmed. A cause of death was not provided.

Born in Jamaica in the mid-20th century, Jah Shaka, also known as Zulu Warrior, began working as a soundsystem operator in the 1970s. He became a major player in the second wave of British soundsystemsalongside the likes of Dennis Bovells Sufferers HiFiplaying roots reggae to a young, primarily Black British audience. The soundsystems represented a righteous, home-grown rebel stance at a time of encroaching American influence, Lloyd Bradley wrote in Bass Culture: When Reggae Was King.

In 1980, Jah Shaka starred in the landmark film Babylon, playing himself in a climactic soundclash with the fictional crew Ital Lion. To this day you can go to a Jah Shaka show and that is what you will see, singer Brinsley Forde told The Guardian in 2008, for a Babylon retrospective. You get the soundsystem in its natural form.

In the 80s and beyond, Jah Shaka continued to work as a composer, musician, singer, mixing engineer, producer, and label owner of Jah Shaka Music. As dubs influence morphed alongside explosions of rave, jungle, and trip-hop, he released solo LPs (starting with 1983s Revelation Songs) and collaborated with Horace Andy and Mad Professor. He also founded the Jah Shaka Foundation, providing educational and medical supplies to children in Jamaica, Ethiopia, and Ghana. His soundsystem was a London fixture until his death; to earn a play remained a point of pride for aspiring artists.