Prince Lincoln Thompson, known as Sax (10 July 1949
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 2 February 1999. Retrieved 16 February 2019 in Jonestown, Kingston, Jamaica – 14 January 1999 in London, England), was a Jamaican singer, musician and songwriter with the

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

band the Royal Rasses, and a member of the

Rastafari movement Rastafari is an Abrahamic 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 of the movement and much ...

. He was noted for his high falsetto singing voice, very different from his spoken voice.

Career

He began his recording career as a harmony singer along 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 St ...

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 tri ...

in 1967, in a band called The Tartans, who then split up in 1969. In 1971 he was taken on by

Coxsone Dodd Clement Seymour "Coxsone" Dodd (26 January 1932 – 4 May 2004) was a Jamaican record producer who was influential in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, 1960s and beyond. He was nicknamed "Coxsone" at school due to his talent ...

, and recorded three songs with him at Studio One called "Daughters of

Zion Zion (; ) is a placename in the Tanakh, often used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Israel as a whole. The name is found in 2 Samuel (), one of the books of the Tanakh dated to approximately the mid-6th century BCE. It o ...

", "True Experience" and "Live Up to Your Name". In 1974, he recorded the ''Humanity'' album with

, Clinton Hall and Keith Peterkin, and set up the

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

Sent label. He had two hit singles with "Kingston 11" and "Love the Way It Should Be". In 2010, the song, "Humanity (Love the Way It Should Be)" was covered by the American singer

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He began his musical career working behind the scenes for other artists, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Every ...

backed by the

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

band,

The Roots The Roots are an American Hip-hop, hip hop band formed in 1987 by singer Black Thought, Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and drummer Questlove, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''T ...

, and was featured on

Legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...

's album, ''Wake Up!''.Campbell, Howard (2012)
Prince Lincoln and the Royal Rasses: Unsung
, ''

Jamaica Observer The ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by ...

'', 24 August 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2012 Prince Lincoln received a record deal in 1978, he was signed up by Mo Claridge, who at the time ran Ballistics Records, a London offshoot of

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

, and who noticed his "eerie

falsetto Falsetto ( , ; Italian language, 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 ...

".
A single "Unconventional People" was released as a 12-inch single in March 1979 with the ''Humanity'' album following in May. In mid 1979, the Royal Rasses recorded a second Prince Lincoln album, ''Experience'', this time without Cedric Myton. This album contained more than just the traditional

drum and bass Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...

sound of most

. The band renamed themselves the Rasses to avoid confusion with fellow reggae band The Royals to record a further album called '' Natural Wild'' in 1980. This time the music was recorded in London. Prince Lincoln's decision to invite English rock musician Joe Jackson was controversial, and the album was a commercial flop. Thompson returned to Jamaica and re-set up the successful God Sent label, with the help of German company Juicy Peeple to produce his fourth album, '' Ride with the Rasses'' in 1982. This music was recorded at Tuff Gong and Channel One studios. Around this time he and his family moved to

Tottenham Tottenham (, , , ) is a district in north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, where he opened an

Ital Ital, also spelled I-tal (), is food often celebrated by those in the Rastafari movement. It is compulsory in the Bobo Ashanti and Nyabinghi mansions, though not in the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The word derives from the English word "vital", ...

shop called The Rasses Fish Mart and Grocery Store. In September 1983, he recorded ''

Rootsman Blues ''Rootsman Blues'' is a reggae album by Lincoln Thompson in London, England and released in September 1983. Track listing #Unite the world #Hail Shanti #Whopping good vibration #Rootsman Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that o ...

'' in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

studio in London. It was released by Target Records with only three musicians per track, giving the music the intimate quality of

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

. He released a final album, ''21st Century'' in 1997 after someone from the United States heard the music in Prince Lincoln's shop, and agreed to become a sponsor. This final album was also recorded in London. Thompson died in January 1999, in London, at the age of 49.

Discography

Singles

*"Daughters of

" (1971) *"True Experience" (1971) *"Live Up to Your Name" (1971)

Albums

*'' Humanity'' 1979 *''

Experience Experience refers to Consciousness, conscious events in general, more specifically to perceptions, or to the practical knowledge and familiarity that is produced by these processes. Understood as a conscious event in the widest sense, experience i ...

'' 1979 (The lyrics from "Walk in Jah light" and "Thanksgiving" have been used to explain the doctrine of physical immortality at

). *'' Harder na Rass'' 1979 *'' Natural Wild'' 1980 *'' Ride with the Rasses'' 1982 *''

'' 1983 also titled ''Unite The World'' *''

21st Century The 21st century is the current century in the ''Anno Domini'' or Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. It began on 1 January 2001, and will end on 31 December 2100. It is the first century of the 3rd millennium. The rise of a ...

'' 1997

References

External links

Biography

Interview with Cedric Myton about Prince Lincoln
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Lincoln 1949 births 1999 deaths Jamaican reggae musicians Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Performers of Rastafarian music Jamaican Rastafarians Roots Reggae Library