Reggae legend Max Romeo dies at 80

Max Romeo, the legendary Jamaican reggae artist known for classics like “Chase the Devil” and “War Ina Babylon”, has died at the age of 80. Romeo passed away on April 11, 2025, in a hospital in Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica, from heart complications.

His death comes just months after he filed a landmark US$15 million lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG) and Polygram Publishing, alleging nearly five decades of unpaid royalties, according to World Music Views.

Romeo had taken to Instagram earlier this year to publicly share the details of the case, which he said involved 47 years of missing payments for some of his most iconic recordings. The lawsuit had begun drawing renewed attention to long-standing issues of ownership and compensation within the reggae industry.

Born Maxwell Livingston Smith in St. D’Acre, St. Ann, Romeo left home at 14 and started working on a sugar plantation in Clarendon. After winning a local talent competition at 18, he moved to Kingston to pursue music. His early career included a stint with The Emotions, a vocal trio, before he launched a solo path in 1968.

Romeo first stirred international controversy—and success—with his risqué hit “Wet Dream”, banned by the BBC but still a Top 10 single in the UK. By the mid-1970s, he had firmly established himself in the roots reggae movement, especially through collaborations with legendary producer Lee “Scratch” Perry. Their 1976 album War Ina Babylon is widely considered a cornerstone of conscious reggae, featuring the widely sampled anthem “Chase the Devil.”

A supporter of Jamaica’s People’s National Party, Romeo’s music often blended political commentary and Rastafarian themes. His track “Let the Power Fall” became the party’s anthem during the 1972 general election. Later in his career, Romeo experimented with musical theater in New York, collaborated with The Rolling Stones, and eventually returned to Jamaica, continuing to release music into the 2010s—including a family project with his sons and daughter.

Despite decades of influence and a rich discography, Romeo’s battle for recognition and fair compensation persisted into his final years, culminating in the high-profile lawsuit against UMG. While his passing marks the end of an era, it also underscores a larger conversation in the music industry about legacy, rights, and justice for foundational artists like Max Romeo.