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The Guardian // Lifestyle

Max Romeo was a great social commentator, railing against inequality and discord

Sunday 13th April 2025, 4:55PM

The reggae singer best known for War Ina Babylon and Chase the Devil was most productive in the febrile political climate of 1970s Jamaica, but his influence remains undimmedJamaican reggae artist Max Romeo dies aged 80Max Romeo, who died on Friday aged 80 from complications related to a heart condition, was one of Jamaica’s most celebrated vocalists; critiquing the island’s pervasive class divides and wealth disparities with a distinctive tenor, he denounced punitive US foreign policy and detailed the turbulence of world affairs.Best known for War Ina Babylon, a playful commentary on the factionalism that blighted Jamaican society during the mid-1970s, and Chase the Devil, on which he vowed to banish Satan to outer space, Romeo enjoyed repeated chart success in Jamaica during his long and varied career. Collaborating with the Rolling Stones in the early 1980s, he later opened a recording studio at his home in the Jamaican countryside, helping a younger generation of artists to come to prominence, including his daughter Xana and son Azizi. Continue reading...

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