Michael Prophet

Born Michael George Haynes in 1957 in Kingston, Jamaica, Prophet drew the attention of Yabby You, who recognized the singer’s distinctive crying vocal approach and arranged his first session at Channel One for the release of “Praise You Jah Jah.” His initial chart success arrived with “Fight It To The Top.” Working alongside Yabby, he completed several well-regarded roots albums that included contributions from the Gladiators and were mixed by either Scientist or King Tubby. Although Island Records issued Serious Reasoning in 1980, Prophet had already moved on to collaborate with Henry “Junjo” Lawes, whose productions introduced him to a wider dancehall following. His pointed response to that year’s turbulent Jamaican elections, “Gunman,” became his most successful single to date. After completing two albums with Lawes, he recorded for an array of other producers—Don Mais, Al Campbell, Sugar Minott, Winston “Niney” Holness, Soul Syndicate, and Winston Riley—while also cutting the album Blood Stain for Satta Blue. In 1986 he worked with Delroy Wright’s Live & Learn imprint before departing Jamaica for Miami, where he voiced material for Skengdon. Prophet settled in England in 1988 and, within two years, joined forces with Ricky Tuffy, the former Stur-Mars and Coxsone Outernational deejay. Their first collaboration, “Your Love,” topped the reggae chart in 1990 and paved the way for the following year’s commercially successful Get Ready, issued on the Brixton label Passion. The self-produced Bull Talk appeared in 1993. Since then Prophet has continued to release singles with a range of British producers, among them General Saint, Ruff Cutt, and Lloydie Crucial.