A veteran musician, Ness was one of the founders of the reggae group the Twelve Tribes of Israel in the 1970s, and started a band called Unity in 1975. He also worked with the band Herbs. He formed the Unity Reggae Band in 1985, but did not release an album until 2003. His struggles against injustice and problems faced growing up in New Zealand, featured on his album "From Street to Sky". A documentary of the same name about Ness was released in 2008.