I Benjahman

I.Benjahman was born Alex Robertson in London in 1958. His musical influences were The Wailers, Jimmy Cliff, Justin Hinds and Rico. A 1979 trip to Jamaica solidified his Rastafarian faith. His first recording was a song called “How Long”. He teamed up with the band Zabandis. He never learned to play an instrument and that was the reason why he used his friend Tunga from Zabandis to write out the songs and chord structures. Seeking higher standards he turned to Tony King, who run a studio in West Kensington. With engineer Sid Bucknor, drummie Horsemouth, Tony Asher and bassie Tony Silvera he cut the tunes “Sweet Reggae Music”, “Give Love A Try”, “She Got To Know”, “Natural Forces” and “Jah Nation”. These tunes, and the ones he did with Zabandis, were used for the 1983 LP “Fraction Of Jah Action”. After a long period of inactivity, because of a strong pull towards his domestic life, he resurfaced in 1997 with the “Rasta 2000” album.