Jamaica, 1976, and reggae is attracting all sorts of attention as record label scouts from the UK arrive looking for the 'next Bob Marley'. But they're not the only interlopers arriving on the island. Prime Minister Michael Manley has refused Henry Kissinger's invitation to denounce Fidel Castro for sending Cuban soldiers to support Angola's liberation movement. Kingston is rife with rumours that the CIA is working to destabilise Manley's PNP government in Kingston. There are rumours that Marley is funnelling his earnings into support of black liberation movements, and CIA-sourced weapons start flooding into Kingston as the election approaches. Political violence floods Kingston as PNP and JLP gangs escalate the street warfare. The music reflects the changing atmosphere.
Studio One is losing its dominance: over at Channel One, the Hookim brothers have invested in new equipment and Channel One is beginning to assert itself as the studio of choice, with Sly and Robbie as the in-house rhythm section The Revolutionaries, laying down the four-to-the-floor rockers beat. It's militant music for militant times: The Revolutionaries are cutting tracks like MPLA, a shout of support for the Angolan rebels. Marley has supported Manley but now the Rastafarians are caught in a much bigger battle, with the Cold War being played out in the Caribbean. Marley releases Rastaman Vibration, which becomes his biggest seller to date, and sets the record straight: "Rasta don't work for no CIA."
