Roydel Anthony Johnson (born 12 April 1943), better known as Congo Ashanti Roy is a Jamaican

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 best known as a member of

The Congos The Congos are a reggae vocal group from Jamaica which formed as the duo "Ashanti" Roy Johnson (tenor) (b. Roydel Johnson, 1947, Hanover, Jamaica) and Cedric Myton (falsetto) (b. 1947, Saint Catherine Parish, Jamaica), later becoming a trio ...

but who also recorded solo and as a member of

Ras Michael Michael George Henry OD (born 1943), better known as Ras Michael, is a Jamaican reggae singer and Nyabinghi specialist. He also performs under the name of Dadawah. Biography Henry was born in Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica, where he was raised in ...

's Sons of Negus.

Biography

Johnson was born in 1943 in Kendal,

Hanover Parish, Jamaica Hanover is a parish located on the northwestern tip of the island of Jamaica. It is a part of the county of Cornwall, bordered by St. James in the east and Westmoreland in the south. With the exception of Kingston, it is the smallest parish ...

, and attended Kendal School with

Lee "Scratch" Perry Lee "Scratch" Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry; 20 March 1936 – 29 August 2021) was a Jamaican record producer, composer and singer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production style. Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development o ...

, their mothers also being friends.Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall'', Greenwood Press, , p.160 At the age of sixteen he moved to Kingston to live with an aunt, and began hanging around recording studios, where he was taught guitar by

Ernest Ranglin Ernest Ranglin (born 19 June 1932) is a Jamaican guitarist and composer who established his career while working as a session guitarist and music director for various Jamaican record labels including Studio One (record label), Studio One and I ...

. In 1964 he was recruited to the US Peace Corps to work at the naval base in Guantanamo Bay, where he worked for the next five and a half years. In 1966 he took leave to return home for

Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...

's visit to Jamaica and became a committed

Rastafarian Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control ...

from that point on. Being a family man Johnson always cared for his 7 children; Marie Johnson, Christopher Johnson, Miriam Johnson, Tamara Johnson, Negus Johnson, Coretta Johnson & Garet Johnson. In the early 1970s, Johnson's ambitions turned once again to music and he hung around Kingston recording studios trying to get someone to record him. Lee Perry was the first to take a chance on him, although his version of "Standing on the Hill" was passed over in favour of that by Chenley Duffus. With nobody prepared to record him as a singer he concentrated on the guitar, and worked as a member of the Sons of Negus in the early 1970s, as well as The Righteous Brothers (led by Vivian "Yabby You" Jackson and also featuring Albert Griffiths of The Gladiators).Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, , p.65 In 1977 he met Perry again, who after hearing Johnson play "Row Fisherman Row", invited him to his

Black Ark The Black Ark was the recording studio of reggae and dub producer Lee "Scratch" Perry, built in 1973 and located behind his family's home in the Washington Gardens neighborhood of Kingston, Jamaica. Despite the rudimentary set-up and dated eq ...

studio to record the song. Jackson arrived at the studio with

Cedric Myton Cedric Constantine Myton (born 1947) is a Jamaican Rastafari reggae musician who was a founding member of the roots reggae band The Congos. Career Myton was born in Old Harbour, Jamaica. He began his singing career with the group The Bell Sta ...

and they would record together as The Congos for the next few years, his

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

complementing Myton's

falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous ed ...

.Katz, David (2000) ''People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee "Scratch" Perry'', Canongate, , p.281-2Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p.139 When the Congos split up, Johnson began recording as Congo Ashanti Roy, and worked with

Adrian Sherwood Adrian Maxwell Sherwood (born 20 January 1958, London, England) is an English record producer specialising in the genre of dub music. He has created a distinctive production style based on the application of dub effects and dub mixing technique ...

on his

Singers & Players Singers & Players were a reggae collective made up of vocalists and musicians associated with Adrian Sherwood's On-U Sound Records. They recorded five albums between 1981 and 1988. Including artists such as Bim Sherman, Prince Far I and Mikey Dr ...

project and

Prince Far I Prince Far I (23 March 1945 – 15 September 1983) was a Jamaican reggae deejay and producer, and a Rastafarian. He was known for his gruff voice and critical assessment of the Jamaican government. His track "Heavy Manners" used lyrics about ...

, the latter producing his debut solo album, ''Sign of the Star'' in 1980. Johnson contributed to Far I's '' Showcase in a Suitcase'' album the same year. A second album, ''Level Vibes'', followed in 1984, this time produced by Sherwood. In 1997 he rejoined Myton in the Congos for a live performance, and in 2002, he appeared on

The Slackers The Slackers are an American ska band, formed in Manhattan, New York in 1991. The band's sound is a mix of ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub, soul, garage rock, and jazz. The Slackers' notability is credited to their prolific career, tours of Nort ...

' ''Slackers and Friends'' album along with

Glen Adams Glen Adams (27 November 1945 – 17 December 2010) was a Jamaican musician, composer, arranger, engineer, producer, based since the mid-1970s in Brooklyn, New York City. Career Adams' mother was from Kingston and his father from St. Vincent; ...

Cornell Campbell Cornel Campbell aka Don Cornel or Don Gorgon (born 23 November 1945 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a reggae singer, best known for his trademark falsetto voice, and his recordings at Studio One in the late 1960s and his later work with Bunny Lee ...

, and

Ranking Joe Ranking Joe Little Joe (born Joseph Jackson, 1 July 1959, Kingston, Jamaica) is a reggae deejay who rose to prominence in the 1970s and had continuing success in the 1980s. Biography Jackson was initially inspired towards a musical career by h ...

. In 2003, Johnson moved into production and set up his own Lion's Den recording studio in Christian Pen, Gregory Park, St. Catherine, and his own Koto Koto Music label.Walters, Basil (2004)
Ashanti Roy aims to reunite Congos
, ''

Jamaica Observer ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica. The publication is owned by Butch Stewart, who chartered the paper in January 1993 as a competitor to Jamaica's oldest daily paper, ''The Gleaner''. Its founding editor i ...

'', 13 August 2004 In 2004, The Congos, including Johnson, announced plans to tour the world, and in 2006 they toured Europe and Asia.Walters, Basil (2007)
The Congos rise again
, ''

'', 9 December 2007

Discography

*''Sign of the Star'' (1980) Pre *''Level Vibes'' (1984) Sonic Boom *''Big City'' (1994) Jah Power/ Jet Star *''Light Up the City'' (1995) Jah Power

References

External links

Congo Ashanti Roy
at Roots Archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Roydel 1943 births Living people Jamaican reggae musicians Jamaican singer-songwriters People from Hanover Parish