Prince Lincoln Thompson | 10 Things | Interview | Rare Press

PLUS RARE VINTAGE PRESS SCAN AND RADIO INTERVIEW!

I’ve been listening to nothing but Prince Lincoln an the Royal Rasses lately.  What a voice…What a vibe.  And the musicianship of the Rasses never ceases to amaze.  They have a very unique reggae sound

1.  He began his recording career as a harmony singer along with Cedric Myton of The Congos in 1967 in a band called The Tartans who then split up in 1969.

2.  In 1974 he recorded the Humanity album with Cedric Myton, Clinton Hall and Keith Peterkin, and set up the God Sent label in order to sell it.

3.  At 30 years old, Lincoln Thompson, who described his Jamaican living conditions as “sub-standard,” was living in a one-room shack in the Jamaican countryside with his family of eight when he recorded the Humanity LP with the Rasses.

4.  Two months after recording the Humanity LP, the destitute Thompson received his first royalty check which allowed him to take the Rasses on a European tour.

5.  Thompson took the stage to perform for the very first time while on tour in Europe to support Humanity.  It was also the first time he ever left his native Jamaica.

6.  The success of Humanity also allowed Thompson to move into a four-room house.

7.  The song “Humanity (Love The Way It Should Be)” was given new life when it was covered by American singer John Legend backed by Philly’s The Roots and is featured on Legend’s album, Wake Up!

8.  It was Thompson’s eery falsetto on his single “Kingston 11″ (God Sent) that initially caught the ear of Mo Claridge, who at the time ran Ballistics Records, a London offshoot of United Artists.  Claridge signed Thompson and immediately released the 12” single of “Unconventional People.”

9.  After recording the album Experience without Myton, Prince Lincoln an the Rasses went into a London studio in 1980 with pop musician Joe Jackson to record Natural Wild.  While a commercial flop, the album contains one of my favorite Rasses tunes “Mechanical Devices.”

10.  In 1982, Thompson moved his family to Tottenham, London where he opened an Ital shop called The Rasses Fish and Grocery Store.

A rare radio interview from Joey Jay’s Word, Sound and Power radio program on Kiss FM.  Big up Joey Jay and the Rootikal Sounds crew (www.rootikal.net) for sharing.

Here is a Prince Lincoln Vocals and Dubs Mix.  All selections by Jah Raver!

This article published in MELODY MAKER on 6 October 1979 finds Vivian Goldman in Amsterdam with The Rasses.