Spear of the Nation

Originally talked about this when I posted up Warzone by The Missing Brazilians.

From that post –

"One of the stalwarts of Adrian Sherwood's On-U Sounds Dub revival, Prince Far I, a man to grace any style with wisdom, a chanter to quake the walls of the city, a preacher to strike fear in the weak of heart, humble in the garden & proud in the city, was shot dead in Jamaica, September 15, 1983, one year short of his 40th birthday. "

(Prince) "Far I was close to completing a new album on the day of his murder. It was posthumously released under its working title Umkhonto We Sizewe (Spear of the Nation). Prince Far I's last session included the recording of a track called "Special Request" which "felt like he was saying goodbye" states Roy Cousins, lead singer of The Royals & producer of Far I's final recordings, who had been with Prince Far I that day in the studio. Cousins continues: "The next day I went to meet Prince at the studio but Jim Brown stopped me at Randy's Record Shop and told me that Far I had been shot last night and passed away. I was shocked and could not believe it, so I went to his home in Edgewater and found a large crowd, everyone filled with grief."

Roy made sure this final statement reached our ears. garychching from my blogging past (Always Searching For Music) made sure it reached my ears. Now I'm passing on the favor & hoping it reaches your ears.

Prince Far I – Umkhonto We Sizwe (Spear of the Nation),
Kingdom Records KVL9016, 1984.
decryption code in comments

Side One –

Survival

Ask Ask

African Queen

Side Two –

Stop the War

Jerry Doghead

Special Request

Prince Far I with Roots Radics Band & backing vocals by The Viceroys, Jah Lloyd, & Winston Jarrett. Recorded at Channel One, September 1983 by Hopeton Overton 'Scientist' Brown. 

All tracks contain Dub versions.

From the back of the cover "Prince Far I tragically died before completing these, his final works."

NØ