Thompson was raised in Kingston, Jamaica, but spent time with his mother in Queens, New York, and his recording career began around the age of 20 with the self-released "No Other Woman,"recorded in Brooklyn, New York.Returning to Jamaica in the mid 1970s he recorded with Phil Pratt, only to return to New York to study engineering. Returning again to Jamaica, he worked with Lee "Scratch" Perry at his Black Ark studio, recording "Kung Fu Man", and recorded with Bunny Lee, which resulted in his debut album, Don't Cut Off Your Dreadlocks, in 1976.