![]() ![]() In the same period he ran a three-storey community hub in New Cross, known as the Culture Shop, which acted as a focal point for local black youth and housed a record store, a Caribbean food outlet and a Rastafari-oriented hair salon.Īlthough his record productions did not achieve much mainstream success, they were consistently popular with his core audience, and, more importantly, the uniqueness of his sound system would ultimately inspire acolytes such as Iration Steppas and Zion Train, as well as various sound system operators across the world. He went on to produce reggae vocalists such as Bim Sherman, Johnny Clarke, the Twinkle Brothers, Max Romeo and Horace Andy, and released an impressive series of dub albums, including collaborative works with Aswad and Mad Professor. ![]() With a backing band he dubbed the Fasimbas after a local activist group established in response to the discriminatory treatment of black children in the British school system, from 1980 Shaka also produced original music with upcoming unknowns such as African Princess and Sister Audrey, as well as self-produced work. Jah Shaka, left, with Norman Grant of the Twinkle Brothers at the Albany Empire, Deptford, London. ![]() British sound systems inevitably embraced the new style, but Shaka opted to become a lone voice in the wilderness that kept the roots reggae flame burning, advancing an up-tempo homegrown variant that became known as UK Steppers. Jamaican reggae subsequently underwent dramatic changes during the mid-80s as the dancehall style came to the fore, its output largely preoccupied with lasciviousness, violence and frivolity. Broader audiences became aware of his importance when he appeared in Franco Rosso’s evocative 1980 urban drama film Babylon, playing himself at a south London sound system session as the action draws to a climax. He reinforced this shamanistic persona by not revealing his given name or other details of his personal life.Īn integral part of the black community of his home base in Lewisham, south-east London, during the late 1970s, Shaka deployed a sonic wizardry that made a dramatic impact on the post-punk music of Public Image Limited and the Slits, whose members were then among the few white attendees of his dances. Through his masterful use of components such as a pre-amp, a syndrum and a homemade siren box, he made the sessions visceral and immersive, boosting the subsonic bass frequencies at regular intervals to create a transportive and transformative experience. ![]()
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