Nkrumah Manley Thomas – a.k.a. Jah Thomas – was born in 1955 in Kingston, Jamaica, and grew up between the districts of Trench Town and Rose Town. He was named after Kwame Nkrumah, the African nationalist who secured Ghana’s independence from the British in 1957. After completing his education, Jah Thomas started working in a garage owned by one of Kingston’s Ford dealers. There, he learned the skills of a panel beater and welder.
I used to sing and deejay as I beat the panels. They used to call me the jukebox… and the more singing and deejaying I did, the happier I was.
[Interview on ReggaeCollector]
Jah Thomas began his journey as a dancehall deejay on a sound system called Burning Spear in Payne Land, Kingston. His early influences came from The Heptones, a harmony trio from Trench Town, and the pioneering deejay U Roy.
In 1976, Nkrumah Thomas began recording music with Ossie Hibbert, but his breakthrough hit came with producer Alvin ‘GG’ Ranglin. GG used to audition for new artists on a Monday, and when bass player Errol ‘Flabba’ Holt heard Jah Thomas, he was impressed by his talent, allegedly saying “This guy sounds good“. The following day GG took Jah Thomas to Channel One Recording Studio, where, backed by The Revolutionaries featuring ‘Sly’ Dunbar on drums and Robbie Shakespeare on bass, Jah Thomas recorded his hit “Midnight Rock”.
Over the next few years, Nkrumah Jah Thomas made hit records for renowned producers such as Joe Gibbs, Sonia Pottinger, and Henry ‘Junjo’ Lawes. In 1978, he signed a deal with Greensleeves and released his debut album, “Stop Yu Loafin”, cut at Channel One by Joseph Hookim.
In May 1979, Jah Thomas founded his own record label, named Midnight Rock after his first major hit. To ReggaeCollector, he said that:
After “The Girls Them Love Me”, I knew I could produce myself, and the first song was “Cricket Lovely Cricket” on a cut of “My Conversation” that Junjo had given to me.
Jah Thomas continued to make waves in the music industry with his chart-topping track “Shoulder Move,” his most commercially successful song, known for its catchy horn hooks.
As a producer, Jah Thomas worked with various DJs and singers, including Ranking Toyan, Early B, Tristan Palmer, Barrington Levy, Barry Brown, and Sugar Minott. He collaborated with the Roots Radics, who became synonymous with the energetic and innovative rhythm of the early ’80s dancehall era.
Jah Thomas also teamed up with the renowned dub originator King Tubby for some of his notable dub releases, such as “King Tubby’s Hidden Treasure,” “Jah Thomas Meets King Tubby in the House of Dub,” and “Jah Thomas Meets the Roots Radics Dubbing.” He also achieved success by collaborating with Hopetown Brown, aka Scientist, on albums like “Roots Splashdown” and “Jah Thomas Meets Scientist in Dub Conference.”
Jah Thomas was among the select few producers who played a pivotal role in transitioning reggae from its roots era to the modern dancehall era of the ’80s and early ’90s. Alongside U Brown, Josey Wales, and Charlie Chaplin, he represented a new wave of dancehall deejays who gained recognition through sound systems before making it onto the radio. In the 1990s, Jah Thomas maintained a low profile, although he contributed to sessions with Gregory Isaacs and Shabba. Nkrumah Thomas remains active in the industry, with his latest 12-song set released by Tad’s Record in 2023.
Credits:
Stephen Cook on allmusic.com
Harry Hawks on reggaecollector.com
reggaevibes.com
Photos from: clintonlindsay.com and last.fm