Jah Shaka, popularly known as a legendary name in the reggae scene and was responsible for spreading the Jamaican sound around London, has passed away recently.
According to Daily Mail UK, the musician, also known as Zulu Warrior, was born in Clarendon in Jamaica. Later in life, he relocated in southeast London and has been living there since 1956.
The tragic news was confirmed by Benny III of Horsepower Production on Twitter, confirming that the reggae icon had died. As of this writing, his cause of death remains unknown.
Fans and friends of the singer immediately shared their tributes online, with François Kevorkian writing, "Crushed at the news of our hero Jah Shaka's passing. His uncompromising stance, dedication to inspire the community and legendary sound system dances were the standard everyone measured against. He remained our spiritual guiding light thru all he did."
Days before his death, the singer announced a tour date which was scheduled on August 19.
Jah Shaka Life Explored
Jah Shaka began his career on the Freddie Cloudburst Sound System as an operator. Later on, he decided to establish his own sound system and gained fans around the 1970s.
He has his own record label which featured other Jamaican talents such as Bim Sherman, Max Romeo, and many more.
Jah Shaka is not just popular in the United Kingdom, but also around the world as he regularly toured around the United States, Europe, and Japan.
In a previous lecture, the singer opened up about the importance of reggae, saying when people left Africa to move to the Caribbean, all they could bring was their music and memories from home. This is the main reason why people kept it through the years. (via The Guardian)
During the 50s and 60s, they used to hold house parties with limited guests because it helped them know other members of their community, which was "important at that time because the people were so forced to be segregated."
Jah Shaka Charity Works
Outside music, Jah Shaka is known for his charitable works as he established his own foundation to assist projects around Ghana.
His foundation already bought seven acres of land in Agri. They were also able to give away wheelchairs, library books, drawing materials, carpentry tools, and more, to schools, clinics, and radio stations to help out the community.
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