One of the Legendary reggae pioneers, Max Romeo, passed away. According to reports, he died of a cardiac condition on Friday. He was eighty years old.
Over several decades, Max Romeo enjoyed chart success in both Jamaica and the United Kingdom. In addition to having many songs with the singing group The Emotions, he achieved his first solo success with the explicit song “Wet Dream” in 1968.
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He is also well-known for classic pieces like the highly regarded album Let the Power Fall. It featured several politically charged songs when it was released in 1971, the majority of which supported the democratic socialist People’s National Party (PNP), which selected his song Let the Power.
Romeo’s album War Inna Babylon, which was published in 1976, is regarded as his greatest effort. Along with the hit tune Chase the Devil, which would go on to become one of his most well-known songs, this album had profound political and theological topics. Romeo clarified that the devil represents anything bad in our thoughts in a 2010 BBC interview, saying that “the iron shirt is our strength of spirit that allows us to cast out the devil.”
Several artists, including Earl Sixteen, Madness, Dreadzone, and the UK band The Prodigy, have covered the song. Lucifer, a song by Jay Z from his 2003 album The Black Album, was produced by super-producer Kanye West using samples from Chase the Devil.
He sued Polygram Publishing, Inc. and Universal Music Group in 2023 for $15 million, alleging that he had not received royalties for his work for more than 50 years.
The eight-week voyage that was Max Romeo’s farewell tour in 2023 was organized by Free People Entertainment-Mediacom and comprised 50 shows in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, the UK, and Switzerland. The Ultimate Tour, his last tour, also included his son Azizzi Romeo and daughter Xana Romeo.
