The group formed in the Waterhouse district of
Kingston in 1972, initially called “Uhuru" (the
Swahili word for freedom), with a line-up of
Garth Dennis,
Don Carlos, and Derrick "Duckie" Simpson. Their first release was a
cover version of
The Impressions' "Romancing to the Folk Song", which was followed by "Time is on Our Side"; Neither song was a success and they split up, with Carlos pursuing a solo career, as did Dennis, before joining
The Wailing Souls. Their
Prince Jammy-produced debut album,
Love Crisis, was released in 1977. Nelson returned to The Jayes in late 1977, and was replaced the following year by
Sandra "Puma" Jones, a social worker from
South Carolina, US, who had previously worked as a dancer for
Ras Michael and the Sons of Negus, and as a member of the group Mama Africa. The band now took on their most familiar name, Black Uhuru. The group's second album
Showcase drew on these singles, and the band cemented their status with a performance at the 1980 Reggae Sunsplash Festival. who issued the
Sinsemilla album to an international audience in 1981. In 1989, their album
Red was ranked No. 23 on
Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 greatest albums of the 1980s." Their next studio album,
Anthem, appeared in 1984, and won the first ever
Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album the following year. Despite this success, Rose left the group in 1984 to resume his solo career after falling out with Simpson, A legal battle over the name followed, won by Simpson in 1997. Carlos resumed his solo career, while Simpson formed a new line-up of Black Uhuru with Andrew Bees and Jennifer Connolly. Bees went back to pursue his solo career in 2003. In February 2004, it was announced in the Jamaican press that Simpson and Michael Rose had reunited under the name "Black Uhuru feat. Michael Rose". Together with the female background vocalist Kaye Starh they released a single, "Dollars", and performed at several concerts including "Western Consciousness 2004" on 28 April in Jamaica, of which a live video was released shortly thereafter. A new album was reported to be in progress, although it was never released. The group toured throughout Europe in 2006. In 2008, Simpson took on lead vocal duties with Kaye Starh with interchangeable female vocals as they toured Brazil in 2010. With collaborative efforts from Kaye Starh, Duckie Simpson recorded the new album,
As the World Turns, with guest appearances from Aterciopelados and Jarabe De Palo, although this was still unreleased a year later due to the mastering files configuration issues. A 25th Anniversary Edition DVD of their
Live in London concert was released in June 2008. Derrick "Duckie" Simpson, Andrew Bees, and Kaye Starh has been touring the US, Europe and North and South America and also the Caribbean performing at Moonsplash in Anguilla. Andrew Bees returned to the group in 2010 and he along with Duckie Simpson and Kaye Starh performed at a festival in Puerto Rico. Later that year Duckie Simpson, Kaye Starh and Andrew Bees performed at Bonnaroo in 2011 with a successful East Coast tour sharing stages with
Shaggy. Following the success of the East Coast tour of the following year, Black Uhuru featuring Duckie Simpson, Kaye Starh and Andrew Bees went on to do another successful East Coast tour sharing stage with
Sean Paul and a West Coast tour with a performance at The BB King Blues Club in New York in 2012. The band closed that tour at the Red Lounge in Philadelphia. In 2012, Black Uhuru was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award in music by the IRAMA and were also given The Key For The City of Las Vegas, which made 31 August officially Black Uhuru Day in Las Vegas. The band, composed of Duckie Simpson, Kaye Starh and Andrew Bees, was invited to take part in a red carpet event representing the continent of the Caribbean in a Broadway musical dubbed
Loving The Silent Tears in 2012, which was held at The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The band returned to Jamaica then went on a European tour in 2013. In 2014, Jojo Mac joined the group, but left in 2016 to continue with her solo career. Black Uhuru undertook a US tour in 2016 with Andrew Bees on lead vocals and Elsa Green on backing vocals. Singer Onesty opened for the band. Black Uhuru undertook a US tour in 2016 with Duckie Simpson, Elsa Green on backing vocals and Andrew Bees as the lead and the singer Onesty opened with her band. Black Uhuru re-recorded the album
As the World Turns with collaborative efforts from Kaye Starh. This was released in September 2018. On 29 June 2025, the band played at the
Glastonbury Festival for the first time since 1989, on the West Holts stage, with the set being available via BBC
iPlayer. Writing in
The Guardian,
Jason Okundaye said, "And they look impossibly cool. ... it's the older international Black acts who are able to project the fresh, snazzy and authoritative aura that other acts, legacy or otherwise, could only dream of." == Selected album discography ==