Hugh Mundell / June 14, 1962 - Oct 14, 1983

Happy born day to Jamaican roots singer Hugh Mundell, most famous for the classic "Africa Must Be Free By 1983". Born in East Kingston, Jamaica, he grew up with Earl Sixteen, Winston McAnuff and Wayne Wade. He cut an unreleased tune for Joe Gibbs, after which Mundell hooked up with Augustus Pablo for a bunch of productions from '75-78, becoming his Africa Must Be Free album. Mundell wrote all the tracks and two of them were recorded at Lee Perry's Black Ark studio.

He performed just a handful of concerts in the Caribbean, US, UK and France. He also worked the sound systems and recorded under the alias of Jah Levi. He produced several of his own recordings, as well as those of his protege Junior Reid, who was in the backseat of the car when Mundell was shot to death at 21. His first album remains an all-time roots classic.