Kiddus I

Born Frank Dowding in St. Mary, Jamaica, West Indies, Kiddus I grew up in a middle-class household and first embraced a hippie existence before embracing Rastafari. Early in the 1970s he launched an ital food shop in Kingston that drew musicians active in local studios, among them Jacob Miller, Zap Pow, Third World and Gregory Isaacs. Isaacs urged him to turn professional, though Kiddus I had already cut a session for Joel Gibson in the first years of the decade. He subsequently joined Ras Michael And The Sons Of Negus as lead vocalist and appeared on their Jamaican hit “Non A Jah Jah Children,” included on the 1975 album Rastafari produced by Tommy Cowan. In 1976 he was asked to set up interviews with leading Jamaican artists for the book Reggae Bloodlines, one of the first volumes to bring the island’s music to a broader U.S. audience. The next year he scored modest acclaim with “Graduation In Zion,” a track later heard in the film Rockers and on its soundtrack album. Additional singles he issued comprise “Security In The Streets” and “Cry Wolf.” In 1999 Kiddus I shared the stage with Jamaica’s heavy metal king Gibby at Kingston Muzik Night, an event showcasing the island’s varied musical styles and staged by Reggae Sunsplash promoters Synergy.