Brooks became a pupil at the renowned Alpha Boys School aged 11, where he learned music theory and clarinet.

[2] The duo released a series of instrumental singles for Clement "Coxsone" Dodd's Studio One label.

The pair would later form The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari, with Brooks acting as musical director and leader of the horn section.

After a single, "Demauungwani", the group recorded their first album for the Institute of Jamaica, From Mento to Reggae to Third World Music, a collection exploring the history of Jamaican music, incorporating mento, junkanoo, ska, rocksteady, and reggae.

[2][3] The following year, Brooks assembled a new band of musicians to record the United Africa album.