1. Jah Shaka's name is an amalgamation of the Rastafarian term for God and that of the Zulu king Shaka Zulu.
16 Facts About Jah Shaka
1. 2.
Jah Shaka was born in Clarendon Parish, Jamaica, an area which has produced numerous roots reggae stars, amongst them Toots Hibbert, Everton Blender, Barrington Levy and Freddie McGregor.
3.
Jah Shaka started out on the Freddie Cloudburst Sound System as an operator, before setting up his own sound system.
4.
In 1980 Jah Shaka played himself in the film Babylon, operating his Sound System in a soundclash at the climax of the story.
5.
Jah Shaka stayed true to his spiritual and distinct musical style during the 1980s when many other Sound Systems had started to follow the Jamaican trend towards playing less orthodox styles tending towards slack dancehall music.
6.
In 1989, Jah Shaka visited Jamaica and worked with many musicians there, including King Tubby.
7.
In 2002, Jah Shaka appeared before a large crowd in New York City's Central Park.
8.
Live footage of Jah Shaka is featured in the documentary All Tomorrow's Parties based on the musical festival, which was released in 2009.
9.
Jah Shaka released a number of dub albums, often under the Commandments of Dub banner.
10.
Non-reggae artists such as Basement Jaxx have cited Jah Shaka as being their best night out ever.
11.
Jah Shaka events are renowned for attracting a wide audience from all backgrounds, races and ages.
12.
Jah Shaka's dances attract numbers previously thought unthinkable for this genre of music.
13.
Jah Shaka believes it to be a testament to the quality of the message that he expounds in his choice of music and his Rastafarian beliefs.
14.
Jah Shaka's followers are known to be vocally ardent, and have developed dance steps that resemble African war dances.
15.
Jah Shaka's music has had a profound influence on genres in the UK like Junglist, a ghetto style born out of the UK soundsystem culture.
16.
Jah Shaka himself was actually a youth worker years ago, and has regularly been quoted encouraging youths to study geography and history so they know "what's happened, where it's happening and who's doing it".