Macka B

Macka B
Macka B performing in the early 1990s
Background information
Birth name	Christopher MacFarlane
Born	c.1966 Wolverhampton, England
Genres	Reggae
Years active	Early 1980s–present
Labels	Ariwa, Jet Star, Pony Canyon
Website	mackab.com

Christopher MacFarlane, better known as Macka B, is a British reggae artist, performer and activist with a career spanning thirty years in the United Kingdom and Jamaica. According to AllMusic.com "Macka B was one of Britain's most influential dancehall toasters."

As a practising Rastafari, Macka B's music is based around the political and spiritual message of the religion, with an often light and humorous touch. Working with the Mad Professor, he combined dancehall and dub styles of reggae, although has avoided a more commercial crossover approach. He takes his name from the Judean rebels against the Greeks, the Maccabees.

Born in Wolverhampton to Jamaican parents, as a child Macka B was first impressed by the reggae of the Lord Barley sound-system playing at a blues party next to his parents' house, but also played violin and sang in the choir at school. He went on to take a technical apprenticeship at the Ever Ready factory. When the factory closed and he was laid off, he began to devote more time to practising his toasting skills, influenced by earlier Jamaican toasters U-Roy, I-Roy, Big Youth, and especially Prince Far I.

Soon Macka B formed the Exodus sound system with friends and became a Rastafarian. His 1982 trip to Jamaica galvanised his commitment to toasting and the following year he won a DJ-ing competition. After this Macka B began to feature on the radio as well as perform with local band Pre-Wax, who had a hit with "Maggie's Letter". He became a regular performer on Birmingham's Jah Wasifa sound system. He had a weekly slot on the television programme Ebony in 1984. He approached Neil "Mad Professor" Fraser with a view to recording and after submitting a tape of his work, the producer agreed to produce his first album, beginning a long association. Around the same time, a tape of his performance in a sound-system battle between the Jah Wasifa sound system and Saxon Studio International ended up with Fashion Records in London. The record label gave Macka B the opportunity to record his first solo single, "Bible Reader", which was released in 1985, the first of three singles for the label.