Mutabaruka's name comes from the Rwandan language and translates as "one who is always victorious".
21 Facts About Mutabaruka
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Mutabaruka was born and raised in Rae Town, Kingston, Jamaica, in a household with his father, mother and two sisters.
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Mutabaruka attended the Kingston Technical High School, where he trained in electronics for four years, going on to work for the Jamaican Telephone Company until eventually quitting in 1971.
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Mutabaruka was drawn into the black awareness movement of the late 1960s and early '70s.
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Mutabaruka stopped combing his hair and started growing dreadlocks, changed to an ital diet, and even stopped wearing shoes as he became a Rastafari.
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Mutabaruka adopted the name Mutabaruka, a term from the Rwandan language, Kinyarwanda, meaning "one who is always victorious".
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Mutabaruka left Kingston in 1971, relocating to the Potosi Hills, where he lived with his wife and two children in a house that he built himself.
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Mutabaruka was among the new wave of Jamaican poets that emerged in the early 1970s.
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Early work by Mutabaruka was first presented in the magazine Swing from 1971.
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Mutabaruka received attention for "Wailin'" in 1974, a work referencing songs by The Wailers, and in 1976 released the collection Sun and Moon.
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Mutabaruka had a hit record in Jamaica the following year with "Outcry", backed by Cedric Brooks' the Light of Saba.
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Mutabaruka became known internationally after his performance at Reggae Sunsplash in 1981, the first of several performances at the festival.
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Mutabaruka curated the 1983 compilation album Word Sound 'ave Power, released by Heartbeat Records, and in 1984 Shanachie Records released his album The Mystery Unfolds.
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Mutabaruka went on to record collaborations with both Gregory Isaacs and Dennis Brown, on "Hard Road to Travel" and "Great Kings of Africa" respectively.
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Mutabaruka continued to record and perform, and in the mid-1990s began presenting a late night talk show on radio station Irie FM called The Cutting Edge, and quickly became one of Jamaica's most sought-after and controversial radio personalities.
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Mutabaruka performed on the side stage for parts of the 1993 Lollapalooza music festival.
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Mutabaruka had further hits in the latter half of the 1990s, including "Wise Up" and "Psalm 24".
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Mutabaruka gave a lecture at Stanford University in 2000 on the difference between education and indoctrination, In 2001, he served as narrator for filmmaker Stephanie Black's Life and Debt, a documentary about the impact of global economic policy and the IMF on the economy and people of Jamaica.
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Mutabaruka has lectured and performed at many establishments in Jamaica and the United States.
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In 2008, Mutabaruka was featured as part of the Jamaica episode of the television programme Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.
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In February 2010, Mutabaruka was honoured by the National Centre for Youth Development and the Rotaract Club of Mandeville for over 30 years of outstanding work in the field of the arts.