Rockers was made after the the stunning success of the independently made 1972 hit The Harder They Come, which introduced North Americans to reggae music and the Rastafarian lives of many Jamaicans. In the story, Leroy Horsemouth Wallace, who has been a drummer in reggae bands, decides to try and give his fellow musicians an even break by becoming a record distributor. When local gangsters rip him off and stop his budding music venture cold, his fellow musicians decide to rob the robbers. Practically everyone in this film, beginning with its star, were reggae musicians who were well known in Jamaica.