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| Prince Jazzbo | |
|---|---|
| Name | Prince Jazzbo |
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Linval Roy Carter |
| Birth date | 1943 |
| Birth place | Kingston, Jamaica |
| Death date | 2013 |
| Death place | Kingston, Jamaica |
| Genre | Reggae, Dub, Dancehall |
| Occupation | Deejay, Record producer |
| Years active | 1960s–2013 |
| Labels | Studio One, King Jammy's, Greensleeves Records, Trojan Records |
Prince Jazzbo
Linval Roy Carter, known professionally by his stage name, was a Jamaican deejay and record producer whose career spanned the formative eras of ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub and early dancehall. Active from the 1960s through the 2000s, he became noted for his prolific output, collaborations with major Jamaican studios and producers, and a vocal style that influenced generations of toasting artists. His work connected him with key figures and institutions across Jamaican music and international reggae scenes.
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Carter grew up amid the cultural ferment of Trench Town, Waterhouse and the surrounding communities that produced artists such as Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, Toots Hibbert and Desmond Dekker. He came of age during the rise of sound system culture dominated by crews like Coxsone Dodd's Studio One sound system, Duke Reid's Treasure Isle, and King Tubby's innovations in dub. Influences included Clancy Eccles, Joe Gibbs, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Prince Buster, The Skatalites and the social milieu shaped by post-independence Jamaica and events such as the 1966 World Cup celebration tours that boosted island popular music.
Carter began as a deejay during the late 1960s, recording on tracks produced by Coxsone Dodd at Studio One, Lloyd Daley, and Bunny Lee. Over decades he released singles and albums on labels including BBE, Trojan Records, Greensleeves Records, Rhino, Jamaican Gold and King Jammy's. He charted in the UK reggae scene that included artists such as Max Romeo, Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown, Delroy Wilson, John Holt, and Freddie McGregor. His career intersected with international festivals like Reggae Sunsplash, Rototom Sunsplash, and venues such as The Marquee Club and festivals in London, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds and Manchester.
Carter worked extensively with producers and musicians including Lee "Scratch" Perry, King Tubby, Scientist, Augustus Pablo, Bunny Lee, Gussie Clarke, Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, The Upsetters, The Wailers Band, The Revolutionaries, The Roots Radics, The Soul Syndicate, Studio One house band and engineers from Channel One. He recorded deejay-toaster cuts alongside U-Roy, I-Roy, Big Youth, Eek-A-Mouse, Yellowman, Sanchez and Kool DJ contemporaries, and his productions featured musicians from Aston Barrett to Lloyd Parks. Labels and distributors he worked with included Greensleeves Records, Trojan Records, Heartbeat Records, VP Records, Island Records, Rising Sun, Shanachie Records, Nighthawk Records, Zion and producers like Henry "Junjo" Lawes.
Carter's delivery drew from the toasting tradition established by earlier deejays such as U-Roy, Count Machuki, Sir Lord Comic and Dennis Alcapone, blending rhythmic speech, melodic phrasing and local patois. His lyrics often addressed street life in Kingston, social commentary relevant to events like the 1960s Jamaican independence movement and the struggle of urban communities exemplified by neighborhoods such as Trench Town, as well as themes common in reggae and dancehall shared with artists like Yellowman and Shabba Ranks. He employed dub techniques popularized by King Tubby and Lee "Scratch" Perry—echo, reverb and dropouts—similar to producers and engineers including Errol Thompson, Phil Pratt, Sylvan Morris and Harry J. His repertoire mixed party anthems, cultural chants and storytelling pieces in the lineage of Mikey Dread, Prince Far I, Ijahman Levi and Jah Stitch.
Carter's recordings influenced later generations of deejays, dancehall artists and producers in Jamaica and the United Kingdom's reggae scenes, impacting names such as Vybz Kartel, Busy Signal, Sean Paul, Shaggy, Sizzla, Capleton, Buju Banton, Beres Hammond, Chronixx, Protoje, Damian Marley, Stephen Marley and Jah Cure. His work is featured on compilations alongside major figures like Bob Marley and the Wailers, Burning Spear, Jimmy Cliff, Toots and the Maytals, Third World, Culture, Black Uhuru, Steel Pulse, Aswad and UB40. Academics and writers studying Jamaican music history—such as David Katz, Lloyd Bradley, Clinton Hutton and Hilary Beckles—cite him in discussions of the evolution from ska to rocksteady to reggae and dancehall.
Carter maintained ties to Kingston, Jamaica throughout his life, interacting with studios on Maxfield Avenue and communities linked to Sound System culture. He was contemporaneous with figures like Moses "Bobby" Smith and performers associated with The Skatalites and Studio One. He died in 2013 in Kingston, leaving behind recordings issued on labels such as Studio One, Trojan Records, Greensleeves Records and King Jammy's and a legacy preserved by collectors, DJs and historians in Jamaica, the United Kingdom, United States and beyond.
Category:Jamaican reggae musicians Category:1943 births Category:2013 deaths