Born Manley Augustus Buchanan and raised in Kingston, Big Youth rose to local fame as the deejay on the Lord Tippertone sound system. His records, an unavoidable presence throughout the ‘70s, helped define both the sound and politics of roots-oriented Rasta reggae, combining languid lyrics about subjects like the Ital diet ("Natty Cultural Dread") and life in urban Jamaica ("Dread in a Babylon") with bass-heavy beats dripping with reverb. The reverb in particular would help make him one of the first voices of dub. Big Youth’s cover of Ray Charles' "Hit the Road Jack" helped define this new sound, setting the old-soul lyrics amid a slippery new soundscape.