Yasus Afari

Yasus Afari (born John Sinclair, 1962) is a Jamaican dub poet.

Biography

Born in, Saint Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica, Sinclair was a childhood friend of Garnett Silk and collaborated with Silk on many of his best-selling recordings. Sinclair attended St. Elizabeth Technical High School, and worked as a repair technician for the Jamaican telephone company, before returning to school after receiving a scholarship to the College of Arts, Science and Technology. He became politically active while at the college, and was elected vice-president of the student council, although he declined the position.

While at the college, he began performing, appearing regularly at venues such as the University of the West Indies (UWI), a nursing school and a teachers college. His initial forays into recording were not commercially successful (his first release was "Anti-Litter Law" in 1986) but his career began to turn around after he teamed with Silk. His first combination release with Silk was a version of Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now".

Afari's style has been compared to that of Mutabaruka. As well as performing more traditional poetry readings, he also performs his poetry live over dancehall...

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