Michael Prophet: biography of the roots reggae singer

Born in 1957, Michael George Haynes – aka Michael Prophet – grew up in the western Kingston ghetto of Greenwich Farm. He was discovered 20 years later by legendary producer Vivian Jackson, better known as Yabby U. Michael Prophet had a distinctive voice and became known for his unusual “crying” tenor vocal style.

Yabby You took him to Channel One for his debut single “Praise You Jah Jah”. Michael Prophet scored his first Jamaican hit with his version of The Heptones’ Studio One classic “Fight it to the top”. He made several acclaimed roots albums with Yabby, featuring the Gladiators and mixed by Scientist or King Tubby. In 1980, Island Records released Serious Reasoning with Yabby You, establishing Michael Prophet’s international reputation.

In the early 1980s, Prophet began recording with Henry ‘Junjo’ Lawes, a shift that had him adopting the dancehall sound. A comment on the year’s violent elections in Jamaica, ‘Gunman’, became his biggest hit. Michael Prophet worked with various producers, cutting tunes for Sugar Minott and Soul Syndicate – among others.

In the mid-1980s he left Jamaica for Miami and then relocated to England in 1988. He continued releasing hits, including Your Love, which in 1990 reached number one in the UK reggae chart. And he also appeared at various festivals with amazing performances.

Michael Prophet died in Bedford, England, in December 2017 following a battle with cancer. American author and documentary radio and film producer David Katz commented: “Michael Prophet was an important figure in many ways, especially because he bridged the gap between roots reggae and dancehall.”