Rastafarian elder and Nyahbinghi drummer Ras Michael will be among presenters at a forum on the history of reggae, at the Grammy Museum, in Los Angeles on September 4.

Ziggy Marley and famed drummer Carlton ‘Santa’ Davis (of Soul Syndicate Band and Peter Tosh fame) will also participate.

Founder and leader of the Sons of Negus group, Ras Michael stressed the importance of relating the lineage of Jamaican music to younger fans.

“You have new people eager to find out about the music, an’ as a man who been it for over 50 years, I glad to pass on the knowledge,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

Ras Michael, 73, has lived in Los Angeles for 20 years and is an influential figure in that city’s reggae community. In July, he performed at the Dub Club alongside singer/guitarist Mamadou Kelly of Mali at the venue’s ‘Reggae Meets Africa’ show.

Even as he chronicles reggae’s history, Ras Michael is keen to win over new fans. The Dub Club gig was an opportunity for him to reach out to the youth.

“Dem full up di place! Wi have to find dem Ras ’cause is dem buying di music an’ dem want to know ’bout real reggae,” he said.

Ras Michael also appears in the video for Scars On My Feet, a song by Stephen Marley and American rapper Waka Flocka Flame. It is from Marley’s new album, Revelation pt II: The Fruit Of Life.

Born Michael Henry in St Mary, Ras Michael grew up in Trench Town where there was a vibrant Rastafarian movement led by Mortimo Planno.

In 1969, he formed the Sons of Negus, a group similar in sound and direction to the trailblazing Count Ossie and The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari.

During the 1970s, the Sons of Negus recorded a number of well-received songs, including New Name and The Lion of Judah, as well as the groundbreaking Dadawah album.

Ras Michael — who was awarded the Order of Distinction by the Jamaican government in 2015 — is scheduled to tour the United States West Coast late this year.

— Howard Campbell