Ras Shiloh
Artist. Roots
- Active
- 1984-present
- Sunrise
- January 6, 1975, Brooklyn, New York
- Also known as
- Thomas Williams
Ras Shiloh is a roots singer based in New York whose tenor, in the Rough Guide's account, shows more plainly than any other the enduring influence of Garnett Silk.
Born Thomas Williams in Brooklyn, he began performing as a child in 1984, as "Big Belly Youth" for a sound called Golden Touch. In the 1990s he was one of the young singers of the Rasta renaissance who followed in Silk's footsteps, with Jahmali, Daweh Congo, Morgan Heritage and Bushman. He recorded for Tony Rebel's Flames label, formed late in 1996, as one of its "compatible rootical talents," and the Rough Guide also names him among the talented singers in its account of Fatis Burrell's Xterminator label. His albums include From Rasta to You (2002) and Only King Selassie (2007). His breakthrough was "Are You Satisfied" in 1996, and Donovan Germain produced "Child of a Slave" in 1998. A cousin of the soul singer Betty Wright, he has named Super Cat and Tenor Saw among his influences alongside Silk. He recorded a tribute, Ras Shiloh Remembers Garnet Silk, in 2020, and See It Deh appeared in 2024.
Last updated November 5, 2026
Connections
- Fatis Burrell (producer)
- Tony Rebel (producer)
Notes
- Steve Barrow and Peter Dalton, The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd ed. (London: Rough Guides, 2004), 362, 368.
- "Ras Shiloh," artist page, AllMusic, accessed October 21, 2026, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ras-shiloh-mn0000403758, which gives his birthplace as "Stuyvesant, New York." "Ras Shiloh," Wikipedia, accessed October 21, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ras_Shiloh, which gives the date.
- Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 355, 362, 366-67.
- "Ras Shiloh."
- Howard Campbell, "Ras Shiloh on the Move," Jamaica Observer, August 24, 2024, https://jamaicaobserver.com/2024/08/24/ras-shiloh-move.
