Roots Archives Forum

I agree there should be no king after marley. But the greatest living reggae singer, the one who has done the most for the music, would have to be Toots, with Burning Spear a close second and truly in a category of his own when it comes to the mystic and religious side of the music. The only others in their class, with Marley and Tosh and Dennis Brown gone, would be Bunny and Gregory Isaacs. But Gregory ruined his voice with drugs and hasn't made great music in a long time.

As for the younger generation, there is no question that Luciano is the greatest rasta singer. I've heard many of the younger reggae singers say so themselves.

scientist king of dub...macka b king of english roots...a great englishman..thats macka b..in a 81 style...

Still around and great DJ that almost every curent DJ got some form of influence. Internationally known and performed all over the world.

Burning Spear is possibly in tie for this nomination but you don't hear all current artists say that he influenced them.

Burning Spear is such a great artist.

There should be a Int'l poll taken from fans to see who votes for who. Spear undoubtedly is currently most respected SINGER in reggae music and his work should never be overlooked.

These artists careers spanned decades and generations so their earliest and most in demand work will never compare to recent releases from the 2 top reggae artists in the world.

Jah Guide

I don't know, but I think Dennis Bovell should be more recognised within the UK scene. His contribution to the development of black music in the UK is immense. He crafted a totally unique sound.

reggae have a king already Bob Marley, but i believe someone in that status of royaltie nowadays is burning spear.

Someone who is far under recognized is Leonard Dillon of The Ethiopians. After Bob Marley he is my favorite song writer in all of Jamaican music. He is still writing songs and touring, and he still sounds great (I know, The Expanders have backed him 3 times in the last year.) All of the recent re-issues on Trojan like "Everything Crash" and "Reggae Hit The Town" are pure roots hits without exception. Everywhere he plays he steals the show.

I also love Justin Hinds and The Gladiators. All reggae royalty.

for many years the first rasta reggae artist to hit Europe and america was big youth .long before the world knew about Bob Marley .bob made wonderful contribution and took the music to a wider listening audiance . but each man must be recognized for their part .

big youth introduced the world to rasta and "raw" raggae sound . he introduced the world to righteous lyrics without going to church .

i do believe his just reward will come . he should have been ,a long time ago rasta raggae king .

joan porteous wrote:for many years the first rasta reggae artist to hit Europe and america was big youth .long before the world knew about Bob Marley .bob made wonderful contribution and took the music to a wider listening audiance . but each man must be recognized for their part .

big youth introduced the world to rasta and "raw" raggae sound . he introduced the world to righteous lyrics without going to church .

i do believe his just reward will come . he should have been ,a long time ago rasta raggae king .

Then you should thank big youths producer coz big youth didnt make the music.

michael rose stills doin good music

SIZZLA KALONJI!!!