Yabby You: the biography of Vivian Jackson, the "Jesus Dread"

Yabby You was one of the most unique figures in Jamaican music, beginning from the fact that he was a committed Christian yet wore dreadlocks and lived amongst one of the most militant Rastafari communities of Kingston’s ghettos. This is how he got his ironic nickname “Jesus Dread”. His music was characterized by sublime lyrics with apocalyptic spiritualism and uncommon arrangements.

He was born Vivian Jackson in 1946, and raised with six siblings in a poor household in western Kingston. His mother was a devout Christian, and his father was a staunch follower of the radical Marcus Garvey. This combination led to the religious fervour and political radicalism that marked out Vivian’s life and work. He began working at a metal foundry at the early age of 12, when he also left his house to discuss religious doctrines with Rasta communities.

By the time he was 17, Vivian Jackson was so malnourished that he had to be hospitalized. His disorders included pneumonia, brain fever and an ulcer. After a long time in the hospital, he eventually left with severe arthritis and partially crippled legs.

Vivian Jackson’s musical career would begin nine years later, in 1972, when he founded the harmony trio ‘The Prophets’ with Bobby Melody and Alaric Forbes. According to David Katz, in 1969, Vivian had heard angels singing “Be you, yabby yabby you” during a thunderstorm that occurred after an argument with his friends about Haile Selassie’s alleged divinity.

Vivian would eventually imitate the chorus on his first iconic song, Conquering Lion, mixed by the famous dub engineer King Tubby, who ultimately led him to adopt the moniker Yabby You. The recording was possible because Yabby You convinced musicians such as the bassist Aston “Family Man” Barrett, drummer Leroy “Horsemouth” Wallace and guitarist Earl “Chinna” Smith to provide backing for free.

Yabby You’s debut album was named Conquering Lion. It included some songs recorded at Lee Perry‘s Black Ark studio, where You produced Wayne Wade’s Black Is Our Colour, one of the most notable releases of 1975. In fact, in addition to his work with the Prophets, Yabby You helped initiate the careers of several early dancehall innovators, including Trinity, Tony Tuff and Michael Prophet. He also began producing the early recordings of such performers as Willie Williams and Half Pint.

During the 1970s, Yabby You (sometimes spelled Yabby U or Yabby Yu) released other great albums like Chant Down Babylon Kingdom and Deliver Me From My Enemies, each containing works of fearsome religious and political retribution, peppered with the occasional love song. He also released powerful dub albums with King Tubby and Tommy McCook.

Although Yabby’s output waned after the 1980s, he continued to issue music sporadically in the ’90s and into the new millennium, including a collaboration with Mad Professor. Yabby You died of a stroke in 2010, at 63.