Golden Genre Series: Caribbean with Don Carlos

A singer whose lyrical messages echo the spiritual side of the late Bob Marley, Don Carlos has led the cause of conscious reggae for more than three decades. Born Ervin Spencer, he grew up in the impoverished Waterhouse district of Western Kingston, Jamaica, along with other future reggae greats including King Tubby, King Jammy, and Junior Reid. Carlos started popular Jamaican vocal trio Black Uhuru in 1973, then left for a solo career in the ’80s and ’90s that began with his solo album debut, “Suffering,” along the way joining a reunion of the original members of Black Uhuru in 1992. For most of his life Carlos has been an influential singer of conscious lyrics – songs of peace, love, politics, understanding, freedom – all driven by the classic reggae sounds and dance rhythms he helped popularize in such albums as “Day to Day Living” and “Them Never Know a Natty Dread.”

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