Folks working under various aliases only serve to further complicate the general JA discography. A few instances should be excused due the performer’s insane talent and the high quality of the resultant albums. George Nooks b.k.a. Prince Mohammed is one of these performers who gets a pass. It’s true, there’s really no ample explanation as to why Nooks felt the need to begin his career under the auspices of some stage name, but the early discs he released under that pseudonym are enough to pardon the singer from any perceived transgressions. And while the last decade or so has seen Nooks’ reemergence, this time under his own name, it’s the efforts from the late ‘70s and early ‘80s that could and should interest JA music enthusiasts.

Not having released a full length by ’78, Nooks, then performing as the Prince, went in on a split with General Echo. During the time that that disc – People Are You Ready? – was released straight singing wasn’t necessarily en vogue on the island. And tempering General Echo’s toasting style with his own, Nooks contributed to the beginnings of dancehall culture. The singer and toaster would go on, during the ‘80s and then again in the ‘90s, to incorporate a greater church influence over his music which included some plain, old tyme singing, but his best recordings from this early period really are detached from that.

The year following Nooks release of People Are You Ready?, the singer put out two full lengths before taking the rest of the year to concoct Inna Him Head. This time working with Joe Gibbs during the producers most productive period yielded a spaced out, dub affair with Nooks singing a bit more than General Echo may have liked, although, there’s still an overwhelming amount of toasting going on. It’s not quite an even split, but making use of the islands (then) present predilection for deejay style, Nooks crafted a disc that from beginning to end is nothing short of danceable for the stoned masses.

Using the same “Hooligan” rhythm that both John Holt and Bob Marley made classic, Nooks talks about the problematic gangsterism that was so pervasive on his island as Holt’s hook is left in tact. It’s partially the rhythm that makes the song work, but that’s only part of it. Nooks’ ability to weave in and out of the chorus – even occasionally bumping into it – makes for a hypnotic social discussion.

Inna Him Head probably isn’t going to be held up to some of the genre’s classics, but it could and the disc would fair pretty well. The glut of music that was released in JA during the latter portion of the ‘70s is probably the only thing that kept Nooks’ disc from becoming a part of ‘the canon.’ And while I despise using that phrase, it’s pretty applicable here. The singer’s acumen for changing tempo, cadence and topic all point to the fact that if the ‘80s weren’t a decade he spent away from music, Nooks might today be even bigger than he is.