If Majek Fashek was the “Rainmaker,” Ras Kimono was the “Revolutionary.”
Born Ekeleke Elumelu in Delta State, he took the sounds of the Jamaican streets and colonized them with the struggles of the Nigerian people.
Before the solo fame, Kimono was a founding member of the group Jastix, alongside Majek Fashek and Amos McRoy Gregg.
While Majek was the rockstar, Kimono was the heartbeat of their reggae sound.
They spent years honing their craft at the legendary Floating Bukka in Lagos before Kimono went solo and changed the game forever.
When his debut album Under Pressure dropped in 1989, it didn’t just sell it exploded.
It is estimated to have sold over 600,000 copies in a very short time.
In an era before streaming, that meant almost every household in Nigeria with a cassette player was blasting “Rhumba Stylee” or “Under Pressure.”
Despite the “rasta” stereotype of the 80s and 90s, Ras Kimono was famously disciplined.
He was a strict vegetarian for over 30 years and, contrary to popular belief about reggae artists, he never smoked or drank alcohol.
He believed his “high” came from the music and the message.
Kimono was a master of using Jamaican Patois mixed with Nigerian Pidgin.
He called his style “Pangolo.”
By singing about “Gimme Likkle Sugar” and “Natty Get Jail,” he made the complex political struggles of the Babangida and Abacha years understandable for the man on the street.
He didn’t just sing about “Constant Chaos”; he lived his activism.
He was a massive critic of the “Apartheid” system in South Africa and used his platform to attack the “Massive Dread” of corruption in Nigeria.
He remained relevant until his passing in 2018 because his message never went out of style.
Ras Kimono taught us that you could be a superstar and still stand for the truth.
He didn’t just give us dancehall music; he gave us a mirror to look at our society.
“Under Pressure,” “Rhumba Stylee,” or “What’s Tiday?” which Ras Kimono track still makes you move your feet today?
Let’s celebrate the Rub-A-Dub Master!
