Country: Jamaica
Linval Thompson (born Leval Alphonso Thompson on 12 October 1954 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a renowned Jamaican roots reggae vocalist, dub musician, and record producer. He grew up in Kingston but spent part of his youth in Queens, New York City, with his mother. Thompson began his recording career around the age of 20 with the self-released single “No Other Woman” in Brooklyn, New York. Returning to Jamaica in the mid-1970s, he recorded with Phil Pratt and later studied engineering in New York before fully committing to his music career in Jamaica. In Jamaica, Thompson worked with legendary producer Lee “Scratch” Perry at the Black Ark studio, recording tracks like “Kung Fu Man”. He also collaborated with Bunny Lee, which led to his debut album, Don’t Cut Off Your Dreadlocks (1976). As he developed as an artist, Thompson began producing his own material, releasing notable albums such as I Love Marijuana (1978) and its dub counterpart Negrea Love Dub. He became an influential producer in the late roots and early dancehall era, working with artists including Dennis Brown, Cornell Campbell, The Wailing Souls, Barrington Levy, and Trinity, while establishing his own labels, Strong Like Sampson and Thompson Koos. Thompson’s early works have had a lasting impact on reggae and dub music. In 2000, Steve Barrow and Mick Hucknall reissued his rare Bunny Lee vocal and dubwise recordings on Ride On Dreadlocks 1975–77, introducing his music to a new generation. His productions also served as the foundation for some of Scientist’s best-known dub albums, and he produced material for artists such as Eek-A-Mouse, Freddie McGregor, Ranking Dread, and The Viceroys. Today, Linval Thompson is remembered as a key figure in bridging roots reggae, dub, and early dancehall, both as a performer and as a producer.
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