One of Jamaica's most distinguished singers, as a member of
Black Uhuru Michael Rose was one of the foundation stones of the roots movement, before launching a successful career in the modern dancehalls. His work with
Uhuru helped bring the group a Grammy, while his distinctive vocals launched an entire musical style -- the Waterhouse sound. The Kingston neighborhood of Waterhouse is where
Rose was born, on July 11, 1957. There,
Rose grew up with a love of music, and began his career when barely into his teens competing in talent contests, and then working the North Coast hotel circuit. At 15, he returned to the capital and cut his first single, a DJ version of Andel Forgie's "Woman a Gineal fe True" for producer
Newton Simmons. That barely hinted at what was to come. Soon after,
Rose linked up with childhood friend
Sly Dunbar, who brought him to meet producer
Niney Holness. The singer cut a number of songs for
Holness during 1972: "Clap the Barber," "Love Between Us," "Freedom Over Me," and best of all, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner." Although, none of these songs fired the charts,
Rose was already putting into place a sound and vision that would shake the music world. Through
Holness,
Rose also came to cut a song for
Lee Perry, "Observe Life"; it too did little.
However,
Dunbar encouraged his friend to keep writing, which
Rose did while the drummer toured with
Peter Tosh. Upon his return,
Dunbar brought the singer to
Prince Jammy.
Jammy then introduced
Rose to Ducky Simpson, who was trying to reconstitute his vocal trio,
Uhuru. With the enlistment of former-Jayes frontman Errol Nelson, Black Sounds Uhuru was born. The trio recorded their 1977 debut album, Love Crisis, for
Jammy, later remixed and given an international release as
Black Sounds of Freedom. Nelson quit the band soon after, and Puma Jones was brought in.
Black Uhuru was now complete. With their subsequent albums overseen by
Sly Dunbar and his partner
Robbie Shakespeare, and accompanied by the pair's band, the Revolutionaries,
Black Uhuru led the roots movement into the international arena.
Across a glittering career of classic singles and masterful albums, the trio reached a new pinnacle of success in 1985, when Anthem won the first ever Grammy in the newly instituted Reggae category. It was at this point that
Rose opted to leave the group, and dropped off the international radar. Buying land in the Blue Mountains, the former city boy threw himself into country life, and set up a coffee farm. He continued recording during this period, releasing a stream of Jamaican-only singles. Many of them were hits, and a number reunited him with
Sly & Robbie, including "Monkey Business," "Visit Them," "One a We Two a We."
In 1990,
Rose began his return to the international scene, with the release in Britain of his solo album Proud. Two years later, Japan was treated to
Bonanza, which was followed by 1994's King of the General. The next year, the Taxi label released Sly & Robbie Presents Mykal Rose: The Taxi Sessions, which compiled up recordings from earlier in the decade. During this time, the singer had Ethiopian-ized his name, and his Jamaican singles were usually credited to Mykal Rose. In the States, the VP label released
Voice of the Ghetto, an album overseen by Anthony Deheny and
Bunny Gemini. And in the U.K., Ruff Cut released the Junjo Lawes-produced Last Chance, whose title track was a huge club hit. By now,
Rose had come to the attention of the American Heartbeat label, who signed the singer, and put him back in the studio with producer
Holness. The result was
Rose's eponymous album, his third release for 1995. The track "Short Temper" was also spun off as a single. 1996 brought the Nuh Carbon album, which was released in the States by the RAS label, but actually featured older recordings, overseen by
Jah Screw. Heartbeat, meanwhile, offered up the brand new, self-produced
Be Yourself, which spun off the club hit "Rude Boys (Back in Town)." The album created quite a firestorm, as it included two classic
Uhuru songs, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" and "I Love King Selassie." A dub counterpart of the album also appeared,
Big Sound Frontline.
Rose also moved into production and launched three labels, Grammy Rose, Ruff Roze, and Imaj, as homes for his own music and productions.
The singer took to the road in 1996, as part of Heartbeat's Culture Splash Tour. He continued touring during 1997, and live appearances from this period were featured on the
Party in Session -- Live album, released later that year. It was a busy time, and a new studio album in 1997, the Mafia & Fluxy-produced Dance Wicked, accompanied by its dub companion
Dub Wicked, soon appeared. Meanwhile, British fans were treated to Selassie I Showcase, overseen by Frenchie and Fashion, and rounding up
Rose's Maximum Sound hits including "Rush on the Tonic" and "Jah Is my Shepherd," featuring
DJ Cutty Ranks. Of course, this wasn't the first time
Rose had joined forces with a DJ, he also had a huge hit paired with
Shabba Ranks on a new version of the
Uhuru classic "Shine Eye Gal," while "Burn Down Rome" united
Rose with his
Black Uhuru replacement
Junior Reid. Later, the singer also cut a new version of "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" with African artist
Dr. Alban, retitled "Karolina."
The singer continued to place singles regularly into the European and Jamaican charts, although few of these releases turned up in the States.
Rose's large international following was treated to another world tour, and thus it wasn't until 1999 that his next album,
Bonanza, appeared. The record created a new controversy by its inclusion of love songs. That same year, the Tabou label released X Uhuru, on which
Rose and
Sly & Robbie resurrect and reinvent classic
Black Uhuru hits. The singer has continued touring and recording, and in 2001 his
Never Give It Up album was released. An American tour followed in the new year. ~ Jo-Ann Greene