Tamoki Wambesi Dove Records

20/11/2025

Reggae History!

Legendary Singer/Producer Roy Cousins speaks on his experiencewith Gussie Clarke, Yabby You & Prince Lincoln Thompson.https://www.discogs.com/artist/352402-R...

20/11/2025

HOT OFF THE PRESS LIMITED COLLECTORS EDITION!!! SPECIAL BLACK CD VERSION OF THE ABSOLUTE LEGEND THAT IS SYLVAN MORRIS. Inbox or email [email protected] for further details.

23/10/2025

Big thanks to Kay Jones, Fin Young

for all of your support! Congrats for being top fans on a streak 🔥!

17/10/2025

Roy Cousins 🖤💛💚

17/10/2025

Another Wambesi artist. Rest in power Ken 🖤💛💚

Kenneth L. Farquharson (23 February 1948 – 22 February 2025), known professionally as Ken Parker, was a Jamaican musician who first recorded in the 1960s.
Parker was born in Darliston, Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica on 23 February 1948. Like many of Jamaica's singers of the era, Parker began by singing in church, where his father was a preacher. He formed a group called the Blues Benders in the mid-1960s, and their first recording was "Honeymoon by the Sea". The group arranged to audition for Coxsone Dodd, but due to a misunderstanding, Parker was the only member to turn up, so he auditioned as a soloist, impressing Dodd sufficiently to launch his solo career. While at Studio One, he recorded singles such as "Choking Kind", "Run Come", and "My Whole World is Falling Down", and an album, Keep Your Eyes on Jesus, followed in 1968. He moved on to work with Duke Reid, who produced hits including "Jimmy Brown", "Help Me Make it Through the Night", and "Kiss an Angel Good Morning".[3] His popularity continued to grow and he recorded for other producers including Bunny Lee ("Guilty"), Rupie Edwards ("Talk About Love"), Byron Lee and Karl Pitterson ( Ada R. Habershon's "Will the Circle be Unbroken"), Lloyd Charmers and Brad Osborne (for whom he sang a cover version of The Techniques' "Queen Majesty"), also versioning Sam Cooke's " You Send Me" and recording for Joe Gibbs ("Only Yesterday").
By 1972, however, Parker had become disillusioned with the recording industry and ceased recording, relocating to England in 1973 after spending two years in New York City.In the late 70s-early 80s, Ken Parker also recorded some contemplative, spiritual roots reggae discomixes for Roy Cousins record labels, Uhuru, Tamoki, Wambesi, Dove & Tamoki-Wambesi/Tamoki Wambesi Dove, backed by the Roots Radics on tunes like “What Kind of World,” a compassionate meditation on poverty and the vanity of materialistic prisms on life. He continued to perform occasionally but did not return to recording until the early 1980s, setting up his own record label and production company, releasing gospel records. He later moved to Florida. In April 2014, he performed to a sold-out show at the International Ska and Reggae Festival in London.
Parker died on 22 February 2025, a day before his 77th birthday

17/10/2025

Released his debut album on Tamoki Wambesi 🖤💛💚

OCTOBER 13
HAPPY EARTHSTRONG CHARLIE CHAPLIN !!
🇯🇲🎙️🔥✨
Today we celebrate the Earthstrong of Charlie Chaplin, born Richard Patrick Bennett on October 13, 1960, in Jamaica — a legendary deejay whose name became synonymous with cultural dancehall, lyrical upliftment, and sound system mastery. While many deejays of the era embraced slackness and provocation, Charlie Chaplin stood firm as a Rasta educator, delivering truth, history, and spiritual guidance over the heaviest riddims of the 1980s.
His career began in the early 1980s with U-Roy’s Stur-Gav Hi-Fi, one of the most respected sound systems in Jamaica. Alongside fellow mic giants like Josey Wales and Brigadier Jerry, Chaplin helped define the live deejay style — commanding crowds with rapid-fire delivery, conscious lyrics, and charismatic stage presence. His nickname, borrowed from the silent film legend, became ironic: Chaplin was anything but silent — his voice rang out with clarity and conviction.
His early recordings for producers like Roy Cousins, George Phang, and Tamoki Wambesi led to a string of classic albums:
• Red Pond (1981) — his debut, named after his Kingston neighborhood
• Chaplin Chant (1982) — a showcase of lyrical dexterity and roots themes
• Fire Burn Them Below (1984), Que Dem, Free Africa, Dancehall Rockers — militant, spiritual, and socially aware
• Two Sides of Charlie Chaplin (1989) — blending cultural and party vibes
• Cry Blood (1991) — a deep meditation on suffering and redemption.

Chaplin’s lyrics often addressed African history, Rastafari, education, and social justice, earning him the nickname “The Principal”. He was a favorite of sound systems like Killamanjaro, Black Iniverse, and People’s Choice, and his dubplates were prized for their lyrical sharpness and spiritual power.
He also collaborated with Yellowman and Josey Wales on The Negril Chill (1987), a landmark album that balanced slackness and culture, showing Chaplin’s ability to hold his own in any lyrical arena. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, he remained active on stage and in studio, mentoring younger artists and defending the roots of dancehall.
In recognition of his contribution to Jamaican music and culture, Charlie Chaplin was awarded the Order of Distinction by the Jamaican government — a rare honor for a deejay, and a testament to his impact.

ROOTS WARRIOR SOUND salutes CHARLIE CHAPLIN : You are the Principal. A teacher of truth. A cultural general of the dancehall.
Happy Birthday, Charlie Chaplin, your chants still burn Babylon below.

17/10/2025

Back to do a project with the great 40 years since our last project the album. Can’t believe it’s been 40 years. #2023

17/10/2025

History 🖤💛💚

The Royals were a Jamaican roots reggae vocal group formed in 1964 by Roy Cousins. They continued to record, with a varying line-up until the mid-1980s.
The earliest line-up of the group featured Cousins along with Bertram Johnson and Errol Green, initially under the name The Tempests. Green had been the lead vocalist, but departed to be replaced by Errol Wilson, who worked with Cousins at the Jamaican Post Office. They recorded in the mid-1960s for producers including Duke Reid, Lloyd Daley, and Coxsone Dodd (the original version of "Pick Up the Pieces" (1967), which Dodd rejected at the time), but their first release was not until 1968, with "Never See Come See" for Joe Gibbs. After a few more well-received singles, Cousins disbanded the group and took a 2-year break, saving money from his Post Office job. Cousins then set up his own Tamoki, Wambesi, and Uhuru labels, issuing "Down Comes The Rain". In 1971, The Royals re-recorded "Pick Up the Pieces", with Lloyd Forest temporarily replacing Wilson, its success prompting Dodd to issue the original version (still credited to The Tempests), which was also popular, its rhythm being used by several other artists since. More releases in a similar vein followed during the 1970s, these later collected on the album Pick Up the Pieces in 1978, released by Mo Claridge's newly formed Mojo distribution. The line-up changed again in 1975, with Cousins recruiting new members to replace his former colleagues who moved to Channel One Studios and recorded as The Jays. The success of Pick Up the Pieces led to a deal with United Artists, with two more studio albums (Ten Years After and Israel Be Wise) following, but Cousins then increasingly concentrated on producing other artists. Pick Up the Pieces was reissued in 2002 by Pressure Sounds.