In the vibrant world of reggae music, the legacies of iconic artists often extend beyond their earthly presence through posthumous releases that echo their profound musical contributions. Here are five reggae albums released after their singers’ untimely death.
- Dennis Brown recorded over 70 albums in his 32-year career. Known as the “Crown Prince of Reggae,” he passed away in 1999 due to a collapsed lung. The album “Let Me Be the One” was released posthumously in 2000 by VP Records. As with much of Brown’s canon, the album balanced message-oriented material and love songs.
- Jacob Miller, lead singer of Inner Circle, passed away in 1980 in a car accident. The album “Who Say Jah No Dread” was released posthumously in 1992 by Greensleeves Records. It had six vocal cuts and six super-heavy melodica-led dubstrumentals from the great Augustus Pablo.
- Reggae deejay and producer Prince Far I died in 1983 after being shot at his home in Kingston during a robbery, allegedly relating to a dispute over money. He had been working on his album” Umkhonto we Sizwe” (Spear of the Nation), engineered by Overton “Scientist” Brown and Sylvan Morris, and later released in 1984.
- Billy Boyo, one the most prolific of the early-1980s child DJs, passed away in 2000 when he was only 31 due to a brain tumor. The “Zim Zim” album was released in 2002 and was the issue of the previously unreleased 1983 album.
- “Confrontation” is the thirteenth and final studio album by Bob Marley & the Wailers and the only one to be released posthumously in May 1983, two years after Marley’s death. The songs were compiled from unreleased material and singles recorded during Marley’s lifetime.