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roots

John Holt

On an island renowned for its superb vocalists and composers, John Holt still stands head and shoulders above the rest as one of Jamaica's sweetest singers and enduring songwriters. He has voiced and penned so many of the country's classics that in a way, Holt has defined the island's sound. Born in the Greenwich Farm area of Kingston, Jamaica, on July 11, 1947, the young Holt took his first steps into the music business via the talent show circuit. Talent shows have always had a massive popularity in Jamaica and the top ones were initially broadcast live on radio and later on television.

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The Fumes

1.) Compelling Sydney two-piece, The Fumes burst onto the scene in 2004. The Fumes deliver multi-facetted stylistic raw blues tunes mashed with healthy rock riffs and snappy beats. Steve Merry (Vocals, Guitar) spent 12 months in the U.S where he took on some mentoring from Bob Brozman and an opportunity to immerse himself with many styles of music. It helped define and develop The Fumes. The Fumes complete with the addition of Joel Battersby, who had been drumming with members of The Beautiful Girls, proceeded to churn out an 8-track demo.

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Ijahman levi

Ijahman Levi was born Trevor Sutherland in Jamaica in 1946 and is a reggae musician. His first album, Haile I Hymn, was released on Island Records in 1978. He became Ijahman Levi after a religious conversion to the Rastafari movement in prison where he was between 1972 and 1974. It and the three following records preached Rastafari movement as well as Twelve Tribes of Israel doctrine. * 1978 : Haile I Hymn - Mango Records
* 1979 : Are We a Warrior - Mango Records
* 1983 : Tell It to the Children - Tree Roots

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Junior Murvin

Junior Murvin (born Murvin Smith Jr. in Port Antonio, circa 1949) is a Jamaican reggae artist. He is best known for the classic single "Police and Thieves", produced by Lee "Scratch" Perry in 1976. Murvin's soaring voice and the infectious rhythm made "Police and Thieves" into an international hit during the summer of 1976. The song was so influential that it was recorded by the punk rock pioneers The Clash on their debut album the following year.

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The Twinkle Brothers

The Twinkle Brothers hail from the north coast of Jamaica in the ghettos of Falmouth, the Parish of Trelawny. The two brothers, Norman and Ralston Grant, were baptized in the church of Anglican Diocese. They started singing in the Sunday school choir and concerts at the age of six and eight respectively. At that time they started to make their own instruments since they could no afford to buy them. They made guitars and drums from various tin cans (garbage can, sardine, milk, etc.) and fishing line.

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Jah Shaka

Jah Shaka is one of the most important roots reggae and dub artists. He's a composer, musician, singer, mixing engineer, producer, record label owner, and the operator of the heaviest roots/dub sound system in the world!
His name is an amalgamation of the rastafarian term for God and that of a zulu warrior. Jah Shaka has been operating his roots reggae soundsystem since the early 1970s. Shaka is perhaps best known for sticking to his rastafarian beliefs in the 1980s whilst other soundsystems followed the Jamaican trend towards playing "slack" dancehall music.

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