H.R.

Born in Liverpool, England to a Jamaican mother and American father stationed with the US Air Force in the UK, his family moved to the United States when he was a toddler, and proceeded to move around until finally settling in Washington, D.C. With his early love of music, he was a gifted athlete from an early age, competing in swimming and pole-vaulting.[2] He and his younger brother Earl both entered the local D.C. music scene as teenagers with their friends and future bandmates Dr. Know and Darryl Jenifer. H.R. was an early nickname that initially stood for "hunting rod", but which he changed to stand for "human rights".[3]

H.R. and his bandmates became Rastafari around 1979. This spiritual direction influenced the music of Bad Brains via his vocals, and inspired the creation of his reggae band, Human Rights (or H.R.).[4]

Although reggae is the main focus of his solo material, he explores rock and other musical genres. He has had numerous albums released on SST Records. While a Village Voice review of a Bad Brains concert described H.R.'s presence on stage: "like James Brown gone berserk, with a hyperkinetic repertoire of spins, dives, back-flips, splits, and skanks", in recent years his stage presence has become more subdued, primarily due to his spiritual development from the O.G. Punk/Rasta to more of a Rasta Elder, as well as his occasional playing of rhythm guitar.

H.R. has collaborated with the Long Beach Dub Allstars on their song "New Sun" on the Right Back album, and with P.O.D. on their song "Without Jah, Nothin'", on the album Satellite.

In recent years, H.R.'s Human Rights performances have become markedly more mellow and restrained, focusing primarily on reggae and rasta. This is a stark contrast to his wildly animated, aggressive stage performances of the late 1970s and 1980s.[5]

Interviews with H.R. feature prominently in the 2006 documentary American Hardcore, in which he discusses the early days of the hardcore scene in New York City and Washington D.C., and his association with peers like Minor Threat and the Cro-Mags. In particular, he recalls encouraging Ian MacKaye to fully articulate Minor Threat's emerging straight edge philosophy, to give young people a positive direction. As depicted in the 2012 documentary Bad Brains: A Band in D.C., H.R.'s bizarre behavior, such as wearing a motorcycle helmet during a performance and refusing to sing, caused friction with other members of the band.[6]

In late 2016, the film Finding Joseph I: The HR From Bad Brains Documentary premiered in Europe and the United States. Directed by James Lathos, the documentary features interviews with H.R., as well as other musicians, peers, and family member, while chronicling his life, struggles, and philosophies, particularly "PMA" (positive mental attitude).[7] The film's companion book was published by Lesser Gods in January 2017.[8]

H.R. has adult children from previous relationships and has been married to Lori Carnes since 2012.[2]

In 2016, H.R.'s wife, Lori, revealed that H.R. suffers from SUNCT syndrome, a rare neurological disorder which causes sporadic, excruciating headaches.[9] He underwent brain surgery in early 2017 to relieve the headaches.[10] He also suffers from schizophrenia.[3]

For H.R.'s discography with Bad Brains, see Bad Brains discography.

• It's About Luv (Olive Tree, 1985)
• Keep Out of Reach (Olive Tree, 1986)
• Human Rights (Olive Tree/SST, 1987)
• Singin' in the Heart (SST, 1989)
• Charge (SST, 1990)
• I Luv (1991)
• Rock of Enoch (1992)
• Our Faith (1992)
• Hey Wella (2007)
• Out of Bounds (D.I.A, 2012)
• HR in Dubb (D.I.A./Hamma, 2013)
• HR Live at CBGB's 1984 (Catch a Fire Music, 2017)
• Give Thanks (Hardline Entertianment, 2019)

• Official website
• Punkcast #1034 Live video at CBGB NYC, 10 September 2006. (RealPlayer, mp4).
• 30underdc.com Early biography of Bad Brains, includes interviews and flyers.