Ras Allah

Ras Allah - Heaven Is My Roof - Stars - 1978

Keith Blake had been making roots records since the early '7O's, but it took the Tapper Zukie's production of 'Bosrah' in 1976 to really bring him forward. After that great works with Freedom Sounds and Joe Gibbs all added to his reputation as a excellent roots singer. 'Heaven Is My Roof' saw him once again working with Tapper. Included here are 'Bosrah' plus other big hits like 'Daniel' and 'Funeral'. While the new tracks like 'Gold Diver' and 'Go To School' both contain the same high quality singing and songwriting of earlier works.

Ras Allah/Prince Alla -Only Love Can Conquer -1976 -1979 -Blood & Fire -1996

Ras Allah, Prince Alla, its the same person -Keith Blake. A truly gifted singer -songwriter who had some big hits during the rockers era.Notably 'Lots Wife' and 'Bucket Bottom' both for the Freedom Sounds label. Both tunes can be found on this set.He had more than enough material for an album for the Greenwich Farm based label -yet his debut album came for Tapper Zukie's -Stars Label -in 1976.

'Heaven Is My Roof' is one of the classic albums from that time -containing hits like 'Daniel In The Lions Den' and 'Bosrah'.His Freedom Sounds recordings featured The Soul Syndicate band and they capture the sound of the seventies away from the Channel One sound of Sly & Robbie.It had a lot more emphasis on guitar and keyboard work. And when you know that the guitar player for the Soul Synidicate is Earl 'Chinna' Smith it makes sense.Bertram Brown the producer for Freedom Sounds retained that sound for all of the artists on the label, Earl Zero, and Sylvan White. And even carried it into the Dance Hall era with artists like Phillip Fraser and Sammy Dread.When roots music came back big time in the nineties -so did Allah working with a wide variety of producers in the UK and JA.