Down in Kingston, Jamaica, Ras Michael (Michael Henry) is known as a supreme rootsman. Translated, that means a couple of very important things. It means that Ras Michael is highly regarded among Rastafarian elders. They consider him and his band, the Sons Of Negus, as sort of musical mouthpieces to carry the Good Word as expounded in the teachings of His Imperial Majesty, Haile Selassie, Lion of Judah and King of Kings. It a/so means that Ras Michael can cruise the Kingston ghetto as a man on a mission would. Ras Michael has practically attained the status of reggae holy man, and like the Rasta elders, most ghetto folk pay him reverence, too. Finally, being a supreme rootsman means that Ras Michael is a musician who carries on a powerful tradition in reggae that musicologists have traced back to Jamaican slaves, and ultimately, Africa. A roots drummer—in fact, the roots […]

August 1986 Issue