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.
Smokey Room
Max Romeo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You feel the rhythm? (you feel the rhythm?)
You like the rhythm? (you like the rhythm?)
This ya rhythm (dis ya rhythm)
A jah jah rhythm (a jah jah rhythm)
You feel the rhythm? (you feel the rhythm?)
You like the rhythm? (you like the rhythm?)
Dis ya rhythm (dis ya rhythm)
Fire burning bright and the ashes is white (ashes is white)
The dry is long and the weed is strong
Strong, strong, strong
I plant the seed and grow the weed
Buy da the weed da columbian weed, (the somai weed)
You feel the riddim? (you feel the rhythm?)
You like the riddim (you like the rhythm?)
Then move to the riddim (move to the riddim)
Groove to the riddim (groove to the riddim)
Rock to the riddin (rock to the riddim)
Roll to the riddim (roll to the riddim)
Dis ya riddim a jah jah riddim
(?)i-tal rhythm (i-tal rhythm)
(?) fital rhythm (fital rhythm)
Irie rhythm (irie rhythm)
The somai riddim (the somai riddim)
Dubbn in a smokey room (smokey room)
Smoke from me nose cover me like gloves (cover me like gloves)
The dry is long and da weed is strong
Strong, strong, strong
I plant the weed and grow the seed (the somai weed)
Move to the riddim (to the riddim)
Groove to the riddim (groove to the riddim)
Rock to the riddim (rock to the riddim)
Roll to the riddim (roll to the riddim)
Dis ya riddim (dis ya riddim)
I-tal rhythm (i-tal rhythm)
Fital rhythm (fital rhythm)
Dub to the riddim (dub to the riddim)
Rub to the riddim (rub to the riddim)
Scrub to the riddim (scrub to the riddim)
Do it to the riddim (do it to the riddim)
Anything to the rhythm (anything to the rhythm)
Max Romeo's song "Smokey Room" is an ode to marijuana and the culture that surrounds it. The lyrics are straightforward: fire burning bright, the ashes are white, the dry is long, and the weed is strong. Romeo is talking about the high-quality marijuana that he is consuming in the smokey room. He is enjoying the rhythm that he feels, and encourages others to feel it too. The rhythm that he refers to is the reggae rhythm that is playing in the background. The song is a tribute to the connection between reggae music and marijuana culture.
Romeo uses metaphors and imagery to describe the experience of smoking marijuana. The smoke from the weed covers him like gloves, suggesting that he is fully immersed in the experience. He talks about planting the seed and growing the weed, which is a poetic way of describing the cultivation of marijuana. The reference to Columbian weed and Somai weed shows that Romeo is well-versed in the different strains of marijuana, and he has a preference for the best quality. Overall, "Smokey Room" is a celebration of marijuana and the culture that surrounds it, with a nod to reggae music and the importance of rhythm in this culture.
Line by Line Meaning
Fire burning bright and the ashes is white (ashes is white)
The fire is burning very strongly and the ashes produced are white in color.
The dry is long and the weed is strong
The drought lasts for a long period of time and the marijuana grown is potent.
Strong, strong, strong
The potency of the marijuana is emphasized by repeating the word 'strong.'
I plant the seed and grow the weed (the somai weed)
Max Romeo grows and cultivates marijuana from seeds, specifically the Somai strain of marijuana.
You feel the riddim? (you feel the rhythm?)
Max Romeo is asking if the listener can feel the rhythm of the music he is playing.
You like the riddim? (you like the rhythm?)
Max Romeo is asking if the listener enjoys the rhythm of the music he is playing.
Then move to the riddim (move to the riddim)
Max Romeo is encouraging the listener to start moving to the rhythm of the music he is playing.
Dubbn in a smokey room (smokey room)
Max Romeo is playing his music in a room that is filled with smoke.
Smoke from me nose cover me like gloves (cover me like gloves)
The smoke in the room is very thick and it feels like it is covering Max Romeo's face like a pair of gloves.
Dis ya riddim a jah jah riddim
Max Romeo's rhythm is a spiritual rhythm, connected to the Jamaican deity, Jah.
I-tal rhythm (i-tal rhythm)
Max Romeo's rhythm is natural, pure, and free of any unnatural additives, like in the Rastafarian tradition.
Fital rhythm (fital rhythm)
Max Romeo's rhythm is healthful and energizing, in accordance with the Rastafarian philosophy.
Dub to the riddim (dub to the riddim)
Max Romeo is producing a dub remix of his music, adding special effects and mixing techniques.
Rub to the riddim (rub to the riddim)
Max Romeo is expressing that people can rub and massage their body in tune with the rhythm of the music.
Scrub to the riddim (scrub to the riddim)
Max Romeo is suggesting that people can scrub and clean their body in time with the rhythm of the music.
Do it to the riddim (do it to the riddim)
Max Romeo is encouraging people to do whatever they want, as long as it is in accordance with the rhythm of his music.
Anything to the rhythm (anything to the rhythm)
Max Romeo is emphasizing that anything can be done in time with the rhythm of his music.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BROWN, LEE PERRY, MAX ROMEO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind