Ras Kimono

Born in Nigeria, Kimono devoted years to developing his skills on the domestic music circuit, sampling an array of genres before achieving his breakthrough as a reggae performer toward the close of the 1980s. In 1989 he issued his debut album, Under Pressure, with the Massive Dread Reggae Band. The record, supported by the popular single ‘Rum-Bar Stylee’, fused Jamaican and indigenous African elements, the latter most apparent in his patois phrasing modeled on Fela Kuti’s method of reaching the urban underclass. Its sharply polemical lyrics generated sales exceeding 100,000 copies and built an ardent following for his push toward social reform. What’s Gwan enjoyed still wider success, covering such themes as the legalization of marijuana and the necessity for Africans to intellectually resist colonialism along with the arbitrary tribal borders it had drawn. Most controversially, he did not hesitate to identify by name those holding power whom he regarded as embodiments of backdoor imperialism.