Michael Rose (born 11 July 1957) is a Grammy award-winning

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

singer from

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. He is known for a successful tenure with

Black Uhuru Black Uhuru is a Jamaican reggae group formed in 1972, initially as Uhuru ( Swahili for 'freedom'). The group has undergone several line-up changes over the years, with Derrick "Duckie" Simpson as the mainstay. They had their most successful per ...

from 1977 to 1984, and he has worked regularly with

Dennis Brown Dennis Emmanuel Brown CD (1 February 1957 – 1 July 1999) was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of lo ...

, Big Youth,

The Wailers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

Gregory Isaacs Gregory Anthony Isaacs OD (15 July 1951 – 25 October 2010)Thompson, p. 127. was a Jamaican reggae musician. Milo Miles, writing in ''The New York Times'', described Isaacs as "the most exquisite vocalist in reggae".Miles, Milo (1992),RECORDI ...

, Sly and Robbie, and others. He has also released more than twenty solo albums.

Career

Rose started his

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, r ...

career as a solo artist for record producers

Yabby You Vivian Jackson (14 August 1946 – 12 January 2010), better known as Yabby You (or sometimes Yabby U), was a reggae vocalist and producer, who came to prominence in the early 1970s through his uncompromising, self-produced work. Biography Jac ...

and

Niney the Observer Winston Holness, better known as Niney the Observer (born George Boswell, 1951, Montego Bay, Jamaica),Thompson, Dave (2002), ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, . is a Jamaican record producer and singer who was a key figure in the cre ...

. He joined

in 1977 after the departure of Don Carlos and

Garth Dennis Rudolph "Garth" Dennis (2 December 1949 – 9 December 2021) was a Jamaican musician who was a founder member of Black Uhuru, later a member of The Wailing Souls for ten years before returning to Black Uhuru in the mid-1980s, and also recorded ...

. As lead singer and a primary songwriter, Rose led Black Uhuru to international recognition in the early 1980s, and the group won the first-ever

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for

in 1985 for the album '' Anthem''. Rose left Black Uhuru in 1985 after falling out with group founder Duckie Simpson, and retired to the Blue Mountains in Jamaica to start a coffee farm. He released a string of singles in Jamaica, but nothing much was heard of him outside the island until 1989, when he was signed to

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

and released the strongly pop influenced album ''Proud'' in Europe and Japan. The deal with RCA was short-lived however, and Rose returned to Jamaica to record a new string of Sly and Robbie produced singles. He also recorded for other producers but the only albums during this period were the Japan only releases '' Bonanza'' (1991) and ''King Of General'' (1992). The Sly and Robbie produced singles were eventually released on the

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

only ''Sly And Robbie presents: Mykall Rose – The Taxi Sessions'' in 1995 also saw his American debut as a solo artist with the album '' Michael Rose'' on

Heartbeat Records Heartbeat Records is an independent record label based in Burlington, Massachusetts. The label specializes in Jamaican music. Founded by reggae music enthusiasts Bill Nowlin and Duncan Brown, the label's first release was a vinyl LP reissue of L ...

. The single "Short Temper" reached No. 2 on the Gavin reggae chart. In the period 1995–2004 Heartbeat Records released a total of nine albums including '' Party in Session: Live'' and a compilation entitled '' Happiness: The Best Of Michael Rose''. Next to these albums, a great amount of different recordings appeared on dozens of Jamaican vinyl singles and several albums, including "Last Chance" which was No. 1 on the UK reggae charts for several weeks. He also recorded "Michael Rows the Boat Ashore" in 2001. In 2002, Rose recorded two albums: ''Babylon 9/11 Tip Of The Iceberg'' (released on Love Injection in 2004), and a yet untitled album for African Star records. In August 2002, Rose was reported arrested in Miami Airport by

U.S. Marshals The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforce ...

in a case of mistaken identity. Although he was released, it resulted in Rose losing his U.S. work permit. Rose re-joined Black Uhuru in February 2004, and performed several concerts in Jamaica and Europe with the group. They also released a Jamaican single "Dollars" and reportedly have recorded a yet untitled and unreleased album. Yet, in spite of his reunion with Black Uhuru, Rose still tours, records and releases material as a solo artist. In 2007 he recorded the number 1 single "Shoot Out" for producer John John. His latest album was released early 2008 on the Rhythm Club record label, entitled ''Great Expectations''. In August 2019 he released the album ''Ska Ska Ska'', his first

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

album, recorded with Venezuelan musician/producer Dario Amarado. Rose was also an inaugural member of the Independent Music Awards' judging panel to support independent artists.

Name spelling

From about 1991 onwards, his name was often spelled 'Mykal Rose', which Rose has said is the Ethiopian way of spelling his name, which made it feel closer to home. Other spellings found on certain releases include 'Mykal Roze', 'Mikal Rose', 'Michael Roze' and so forth. This may have caused difficulty in tracking down releases.

Discography

Singles

*"Key of Keys" (Trojan Rockers TRO 9019) (1977) *"Short Temper" (6 song maxi-single) (1995) *"Rude Boys (Back in Town)" (6 song maxi-single) (1996) *"Are You Ready For Something New" (Rebel Cuts) (2006) *"Jump Nya Benge" (2006) *"Shoot Out" (2007) *"Light of Zion" (2018) *"Glory To Jah" (2022)Campbell, Howard (2022)
Mykal Rose gives Jah glory
, '' Jamaica Observer'', 15 February 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2022 Duet with Shabba Ranks in 2000,on the Dancehall hit: "Shine-eyed Gal"

Albums

*''Proud'' (1990) *''Bonanza (Japan)'' (1992) *''King Of General'' (1994) *''Voice of the Ghetto'' (1995) *''Michael Rose'' (1995) *''Rising Star'' (1995) *''Be Yourself'' (1996) *''Big Sound Frontline'' (1996) *''Nuh Carbon'' (1996) *'' Dance Wicked'' (1997) *''Dub Wicked'' (1997) *''Selassie I Showcase'' (1997) *''Party in Session: Live'' (1998), Heartbeat *'' Bonanza'' (diff from Japan 1992 release) (1999) *''X Uhuru'' (1999) *''Never Give It Up'' (2001) *''Live in San Francisco'' (2002), 2B1 – released in 2003 as ''Live at Maritime Hall'' *''Fire Fire Burning'' (2002) *''Happiness: The Best Of Michael Rose'' (2004) *''Babylon 9/11 - Tip of the Iceberg'' (2004) *''African Roots'' (2005) *''African Dub'' (2005) *''Babylon A Fight'' (2006) *''Warrior'' (2007) *''Passion Of Life'' (2007) *''Warrior Dub'' (2007) *''The Saga'' (2007) *''Great Expectations'' (2008) *''Dub Expectations'' (2008) *''Reggae Legend'' (2012) *''Showdown Inna Bloody Town'' (2012) *''Ska Ska Ska'' (2019), InnerCat

References

External links

Mykal Rose Official WebsiteLast.FM: Michael Rose PageMykal "Grammy" Rose Official Myspace page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rose, Michael 1957 births Living people Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican reggae singers Jamaican male singers Black Uhuru members Grammy Award winners Heartbeat Records artists Greensleeves Records artists