He left home at the age of 14 and worked on a sugar plantation outside Clarendon, cleaning out irrigation ditches, before winning a local talent competition when he was 18; prompting a move to the capital, Kingston, in order to achieve a successful musical career.
In 1965 he joined up with Kenneth Knight and Lloyd Shakespeare in The Emotions, whilst also working as a record plugger for Ken Lack's Caltone label. The group were unsuccessful in auditions for other producers, but Lack offered them an audition after overhearing Smith singing to himself as he worked one day. In 1966, the group had their first hit, with the Lack-produced, "Buy You a Rainbow". The Emotions went on to have several hit singles and by 1968, the singer, by this point known as Max Romeo, felt confident enough to launch a solo career. Working with producer Bunny Lee, the young star recorded a number of pop songs, mainly love ballads, but they failed to be popular and so he returned to The Emotions, now recording for Phil Pratt. During this time he began work as a sales representative for Bunny Lee and did some recording with The Hippy Boys, which would later became The Upsetters.
Later on in 1968, Romeo wrote new lyrics for the rhythm track of Derrick Morgan's "Hold You Jack" and handed them over to Lee. Morgan, who was due to add his vocals to the track, ultimately gave it a miss, as did several other vocalists (including John Holt and Slim Smith), leading the producer to turn to Romeo to sing the lyrics he had written. The result, "Wet Dream", was an instant hit in Jamaica, although in the UK it was met with a BBC Radio ban, despite Romeo's somewhat-disingenuous claim that the song was actually about a roof that has a leak. Still, the ban only made it more popular and the single charted in the Top Ten, in the UK Singles Chart, spending almost six months therein, before featuring on his LP, A Dream, which included several follow-up singles in a similar vein, such as "Mini Skirt Version", "Fish in the Pot", "Belly Woman", and "Wine Her Goosie". A UK tour also met with Romeo being banned from performing at several venues, although many allowed him to play, the singer staying in the UK for eighteen months.
In 1970, Romeo returned to Jamaica and set-up Romax, an unsuccessful record label and sound system. Following which, he recorded several singles, mainly with old producer Bunny Lee, before going on to work a host of other producers including Niney Holness. This was followed by a period of which saw the release of a series of politically charged singles, most advocating the democratic socialist People's National Party (PNP), which chose his song, "Let The Power Fall On I", as their campaign theme for the 1972 Jamaican general election. Romeo joined the PNP Musical Bandwagon, travelling around Jamaica, playing on the back of a truck. After this, Romeo recorded a number of religious songs, until he worked with producer Lee "Scratch" Perry, producing the classic singles "Three Blind Mice" (an adaptation of the nursery rhyme with lyrics about a police raid on a party), "Sipple Out Deh", and "Chase the Devil". A remixed version of "Sipple Out Deh", entitled "War Ina Babylon", was another popular track in the UK, the first fruits of his deal with Island Records, and was followed by an album of the same name, and a follow-up single "One Step Forward". Shortly after this the pair fell out, leaving Romeo to self-produce his follow-up album, Reconstruction, which could not match the success of its predecessor. Perry's animosity towards Romeo was demonstrated by his single "White Belly Rat", with Perry also writing the word 'Judas' over a photograph of Romeo on the wall of his Black Ark studio.
He moved to New York City in 1978, where he co-wrote (with Hair producer Michael Butler) the musical, Reggae, which he also starred in. In 1980 he appeared as a backing vocalist on "Dance" on The Rolling Stones album Emotional Rescue. In 1981, the favour was returned when Keith Richards (of The Rolling Stones) co-produced and played on Romeo's album, Holding Out My Love to You. The rest of his output during the decade went practically unnoticed, with Romeo finding work at a New York electronics store. He returned to Jamaica in 1990, and began touring and recording more regularly.
He visited the UK again in 1992, recording the albums Far I Captain of My Ship and Our Rights with Jah Shaka. In 1995 he recorded Cross of the Gun with Tappa Zukie, and he joined up with UK rhythm section/production team Mafia & Fluxy in 1999 for the album Selassie I Forever.
His music has been sampled by other artists; The Prodigy sampled his track "Chase the Devil" for their 1992 UK Top Ten hit "Out of Space". Kanye West has also used samples from it to produce Jay-Z's hit song "Lucifer", which appeared on Jay-Z's 2003 release - The Black Album.
"Chase the Devil" is featured on the reggae radio station K-JAH Radio West in a popular videogame Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, released in October 2004. Romeo's single "Sipple Out Deh" appeared in John Peel's Record Box.
- Albums:
A Dream (1970) Trojan
Let The Power Fall (1972) Dynamic
Revelation Time (1975) Black World
War Ina Babylon (1976) Island
Reconstruction (1979) Island
I Love My Music (1979) Wackies
Rondos (1980) King Kong
Holding Out My Love to You (1981) Shanachie
Transition (1989) Rohit
Fari - Captain of My Ship (1992) Jah Shaka
Our Rights (1992) Jah Shaka
Cross or the Gun (1995) Tappa Zukie
Selassie I Forever (1999) Mafia & Fluxy
Love Message (1999) Warriors
Something is Wrong (1999) Warriors
In This Time (2001) 3D (Max Romeo & Tribu Acustica)
Pocomania Songs (2007) Ariwa Sounds
- Compilations:
Max Romeo Meets Owen Gray At King Tubby's Studio (1984) Culture Press (with Owen Gray)
Max Romeo and the Upsetters (1989)
Wet Dream (1993) Crocodisc
McCabee Version (1995) Sonic Sounds
Open The Iron Gate (1999) Blood & Fire
The Many Moods of Max Romeo (1999) Jamaican Gold
Pray For Me: The Best of Max Romeo 1967-73 (2000) Trojan Records
Perilous Times (2000) Charmax
On The Beach (2001) Culture Press
The Coming of Jah (2002) Trojan
Ultimate Collection (2003) (compiled by David Katz)
Holy Zion (2003) Burning Bush
Wet Dream: The Best of Max Romeo (2004) Trojan
Crazy World of Dub (2005) Jamaican Recordings
One of Jamaica's most provocative lyricists, a singer who gave us such enduring songs as 'Chase The Devil' (which was sampled in the song 'Out of Space' by The Prodigy and the song 'Lucifer' by Jay-Z), 'Public Enemy Number One', 'One Step Forward' and 'Three Blind Mice'. It was Romeo who first introduced Britain to the concept of rude reggae with 'Wet Dream', which, despite a total radio ban, reached number 10 in the UK charts in May 1969.
In 1972 Romeo began working with producer Lee "Scratch" Perry. 'Babylon Burning', 'Three Blind Mice' and 'The Coming Of Jah' all maintained his star status in Jamaica between 1972 and 1975. Revelation Time was one of the best albums of 1975, and 1976's War Ina Babylon was hailed by the rock press as an all-time classic reggae album. Two outstanding contributions that will remain classic recordings from the so-called ‘golden age’ of Jamaican reggae music.
Milk and Honey
Max Romeo Lyrics
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Jah Jah bring forth milk and honey, don't stop
Let the news man write, what they wanna write
Let the wicked believe, what they wanna believe
Jah Jah bring forth honey, don't stop
Jah Jah bring forth milk and honey, don't stop
Let the sufferers be always strong
Give dread natty the power
To be true and strong
Jah Jah bring forth honey, don't stop
Jah Jah bring forth milk and honey, don't stop
We don't care for dunny, no Jah
We don't care for dunny, no Jah
Jah Jah bring forth honey, don't stop
Jah Jah bring forth milk and honey, don't stop
Let the wicked believe, what they wanna believe
And give dread natty the power
To be true and strong
Jah Jah bring forth honey, don't stop, no!
Jah Jah bring forth milk and honey, don't stop
Bring it out, yeah!
Jah Jah bring forth honey, don't stop
Jah Jah bring forth milk and honey, don't stop now
The lyrics of Max Romeo's song Milk and Honey are a call to God, or Jah Jah, to bring forth the goodness of life - honey, milk, and all things sweet and nourishing. The repetition of this phrase underscores the singer's emphasis on the message, and how important it is that people acknowledge and appreciate these gifts. There is also a sense of defiance towards those who would try to undermine this belief - "Let the news man write, what they wanna write/Let the wicked believe, what they wanna believe." This could be interpreted as a reminder that even if the world is full of negativity and cynicism, individuals can choose to hold onto their faith and positivity.
The song also addresses the idea of strength in the face of suffering. This is exemplified in the lines "Let the sufferers be always strong/Give dread natty the power/To be true and strong." The reference to "dread natty" likely relates to Rastafarianism, with "dread" being a term for a person who has dreadlocks and has embraced this way of life, and "natty" meaning natural. The idea here is that those who have suffered, or who are going through struggles, can draw on their inner strength and faith to sustain them.
Overall, Milk and Honey is a song that celebrates the good things in life, and encourages listeners to stay true to themselves and their beliefs, even in the face of adversity.
Line by Line Meaning
Jah Jah bring forth honey, don't stop
God, provide sweet things without pause
Jah Jah bring forth milk and honey, don't stop
God, give us abundance and prosperity continuously
Let the news man write, what they wanna write
Let journalists publish whatever they want, whether true or not
Let the wicked believe, what they wanna believe
Allow evil people to hold false beliefs if they wish
Let the sufferers be always strong
Encourage those who are in pain to be resilient and persevere
Give dread natty the power
Empower the Rastafarian community
To be true and strong
To be sincere and unbreakable
We don't care for dunny, no Jah
We have no desire for corrupt power or wealth
Let the wicked believe, what they wanna believe
Allow evil people to hold false beliefs if they wish
And give dread natty the power
Empower the Rastafarian community
Jah Jah bring forth honey, don't stop, no!
God, never cease to bless us with good things
Jah Jah bring forth milk and honey, don't stop
God, provide abundance and prosperity without end
Bring it out, yeah!
Rejoice in God's blessings
Jah Jah bring forth honey, don't stop
God, keep providing us with sweet things
Jah Jah bring forth milk and honey, don't stop now
God, keep bestowing abundance and prosperity on us
Contributed by Arianna P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.