Bad Brains: A Rasta Rock Band

http://www.da.wvu.edu/XMLParser/printstory.phtml?id=24754

Friday Nov 10, 2006
Michael Witherel
Correspondent

If there ever was a racial barrier surrounding rock 'n' roll, heavy metal and punk rock that seemed to make it exclusively "white" music, then that wall was smashed in the late '70s by Bad Brains. Bad Brains did a lot for the American Hardcore scene, which was a reaction to the British Punk Invasion of the mid to late '70s, and they may be credited with the beginnings of East Coast Hardcore.
Four black friends from suburban Washington, D.C., musically surpassed all other bands in the genre at that time. Not only did they have the speed and volume in their music, but they hit all the notes and showed the rest of the rock 'n' rollers up. It was one of the first bands to mix Rastafarianism and reggae with music like The Ramones and The Clash, something that Sublime would do years later.
Its first self-titled album has been considered by those among the scene to be one of the best hardcore albums ever. The album comes on with a wall of sound and doesn't stop until the CD is over. However, it also show its range and influences when it goes into traditional Reggae dub songs found throughout the album that sound like they should be on a Bob Marley record.
Its shows were wild, and after getting banned in pretty much every club in D.C., the band moved to New York City and immediately ruled the scene.
Totally committed to Rastafarianism, they were a sight to see, four black men with long dreadlocks and armed with electric guitars. They were fast and aggressive. Listening to songs like "Banned in D.C." and "Don't Need It", one can hear the passion that musicians had at the time, something that is rare in the bands today.
The Bad Brains are gone now, and we're all poorer from it. I was lucky to see the band in one of its last incarnations called Soul Brains when I was in high school. But by that time, the band was about done creatively and had committed to exclusively playing strictly Rasta music, which was only a part of what made it great.
Bad Brains should have been huge, but like many other great bands, it just wasn't meant to be. So it go.

Legend Continues.. Bob Marley Son: Stephen Marley

Solo Jamaica debut for Stephen Marley

published: Friday | November 3, 2006
Jamaican Gleaner

Stephen Marley on stage at Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest '05 in Montego Bay, St. James. - photo by Nagra Plunkett

Is Bob Marley reincarnated? Many who have seen son Stephen 'Ragga' Marley in performance seem to think so.

In fact, favourable comparisons to his legendary father are commonplace with Stephen, the uncanny similarity in vocal sound not the least of them.

But Jamaica, the country of birth of the legendary 'Gong', has never witnessed Stephen in performance alone.

Until now.

Stephen Marley will make his debut solo performance in Jamaica on Friday, December 22, on the 'Welcome to Jamrock' show along with brother Damian. The full line-up is a week away from being finalised, according to Jerome Hamilton, publicist for the event and head of Headline Entertainment.

Stephen, 34, has spent more time being a musician than an entertainer. His diverse talents - singing, deejaying, writing and producing - have earned him credits for seven Grammy awards, the latest of which was with Jr. Gong's Welcome to Jamrock album on which he worked as executive producer. Yet, he remains a "reluctant entertainer", according to Hamilton.

This fact, however, seems to belie his stage persona. Though Hamilton admits that he has never seen Stephen perform solo, and it is within reason that few from Jamaica have, he notes that all of Marley's performances have been followed with rave reviews.

The Boston Herald, in the article published August 26, 2006 entitled 'Reggae fans enjoy bong show', dubbed Stephen's performance at the Roots Rock Reggae Festival, a month long tribute to his father, "thrilling, electrically charged". "...The younger Marley evoked the original Tuff Gong without mimicry, but with passion and feel that can't be taught or learned."

And www.rootzreggae.com, in speaking of his performance at the same festival, this time in Philadelphia, said: "On stage, Stephen has the total persona of Bob Marley, with all the slurs, phrasing and timing of the Reggae Maestro himself."

But on an average concert day the Jamaican crowd is a tough one. When you are a Marley the expectations are even higher.

Stephen is set to perform a 35 - 45 minute set on the show which should include songs from his father's catalogue and his upcoming debut album, Mind Control. The album, which features the single Traffic Jam with Damian and Buju Banton, is set for release in February 2007.

Luciano's New Album

GOOD TIDINGS

BY DAVINA MORRIS
Published: 06 November 2006



LUCIANO: Spreading the message

Luciano on his album and how he earned his moniker

Sometimes it pays to go against the grain. After all, who says every artist wants to follow a generic record company formula in order to gain maximum commercial appeal? Reggae star Luciano certainly isn’t one to follow fashion.

More interested in spirituality than ‘slackness’, Luciano - real name Jepther McClymont - has sustained a solid career and reputation for over a decade, thanks to his thoughtful and uplifting messages - which earned him the title, ‘The Messenger’ - as well as his unique baritone vocals. Most recently, he returned with his latest album, Child of A King, of which he was happy to tell us more.

“This album is another great achievement from The Messenger,” he says confidently. “I give thanks for the culmination of efforts from all those who were involved in the making of this album. Once again, I comment on social issues that affect the people and try to deliver a positive message. But I think this album is more mature than my last albums. There’s a real growth on this one.”

Indeed, album tracks like the popular This One Is For The Leaders and Brother Man highlight the devastation that war and violence cause, while New World in the Morning encourages people to strive for success now - and not wait for ‘tomorrow’.

Upbeat numbers include a remake of Nina Simone’s Young Gifted and Black. And George Michael would probably relate to International Cannabis, on which Luicano claims that the herb “soothes my mind and relaxes my nerve”. Totally unfazed by the commercial hype of dancehall and having steered well clear of having his name soiled in the tiresome ‘reggae promotes homophobia’ debate, Luciano’s focus remains firmly on promoting spirituality - something he feels there is not enough of in the reggae industry.

SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE

“The industry is too consumed with promoting dancehall and slackness instead of the roots and culture that the people really need. The people need the word of God and they need encouragement and they need spiritual guidance. If everyone were to jump on the dancehall bandwagon, I think the world would be lost. The Bible says there will always be a comforter - someone to provide comfort and encouragement in times of trouble. That is what I try to do through music, so I’m not interested in jumping on any other bandwagon. I’ve been through difficult times in my life and the music of people like Bob Marley and Dennis Brown provided comfort to me when I needed it. So I think it’s only right that I try to do the same with my music.”

Interestingly, though Luciano is deeply spiritual, he doesn’t claim to be of any particular religious persuasion. While some may assume his locks are a representation of Rastafarianism and others might guess that his church upbringing would have stayed with him in adulthood, Luciano himself claims no one faith.

“When it comes to religion, I think I have a bit of everything in me. I was raised in the church and that’s actually where I discovered I could sing. I was part of the choir and everything. But after a while, I think I was almost seen as a threat because I started to question things about the faith. I feel that my duty is to highlight the truth and to me, truth comes from many sources. Within Christianity, there’s a certain amount of truth, but there’s also a certain amount of falsehood.

And that’s the same in all religions.

So I think it is my duty to try and source the truth and deliver that to the people.”

Born in Davey Town, Jamaica in 1974, Luciano moved to Kingston in his earlier years to pursue music professionally.

After working with prominent reggae producers like Herman Chin-Loy and labels like Aquarius and Sky High, producer Homer Harris of Blue Mountain music group decided to give the singer a new name.

“Homer Harris was my first manager and producer.

He saw a star in me and thought my vocal ability and strong lungs were like those of [opera singer] Luciano Pavarotti, so he gave me the name and I was happy to take it.”

PROPHETS

One of his earliest hits was Give My Love A Try, for producer Castro Brown. He went on to work with producer Phillip ‘Fatis’ Burrell, who produced Luciano’s first two UK hits, Chant Out and Poor And Simple in 1993. Subsequent hits included Shake It Up Tonight, It’s Me Again Jah and the classic tune, Sweep Over My Soul. Often likened to late reggae singer Garnett Silk, a comparison he regards as “an honour”, Luciano has established himself as one of modern-day reggae’s greatest prophets. No surprise then, that he’s not bothered about fame and riches particularly as fame has a down side. “For one, you have a lot of people who are jealous of you,” he says. “And there are also people who want to try and challenge you to test how good you are and try to take your title. I really don’t have time for all that. Another down side can come, if you get too caught up in fame and start to neglect the important things in life. I don’t ever want that to happen to me.”

He continues: “All the wealth that success can bring can just as easily be taken away. All those things aren’t important. My aim with my work is to spread a message to this generation and many generations to come. That’s how I measure my success.”

• Child Of A King is out now on VP Records

Issue: 1243

Rasta Big Up in Zimbabwe

http://allafrica.com/stories/200611010460.html

Zimbabwe: Rastafarians to Mark Selassie's Coronation

The Herald (Harare)

November 1, 2006
Posted to the web November 1, 2006

Sifelani Tsiko
Harare

THE Rastafari community in Zimbabwe will from today celebrate the 76th anniversary of Haile Selassie's coronation at Madzimbahwe Rastafari House on the outskirts of Glen Norah, a few kilometres west of the capital.

Ras Ancient Amos, the vice chairman of the National Rastafari Council of Zimbabwe, told The Herald that the Rastafari followers would gather at the hills for three days and three nights to celebrate the coronation of Selassie.

"This is one of the most sacred days on the Rastafari calendar," he said.

"We are celebrating the coronation of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I which was made on November 2 1930. It's a great day for us and we are inviting all the Rastafari community to come."

Ras Amos said the main houses of the Nybinghi Order, which will be represented, were the Chaminuka Rastafari House of Chitungwiza, Mwenemutapa Rastafari House (Kwekwe), Khami Army Rastafari House (Bulawayo) and the host, the Madzimbahwe Rastafari House.

During the festivities to mark the coronation of Selassie, there will be reasonings (teachings of Selassie and from the Bible), chanting and praises and an annual meeting to elect new leaders of the local chapter of the Rastafari sect.

Selassie is said to be a descendant of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba and is widely regarded as the messiah of the Rastafarian faith.

He is also revered as the Conquering Lion of Judah, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

The name Rastafari is taken from Ras Tafari which was Selassie's name when he was a young prince.

After his coronation as king, he became known as Haile Selassie which means the Power of the Trinity.

In 1936, Selassie was forced to flee Ethiopia after the invasion by Italian troops but he regained his throne in 1941 when his troops, with the support of the British army, repulsed the Italians.

He was one of the founding fathers of the Organisation of African Unity, now the African Union, in May 1963.

Selassie was deposed in a military coup led by a Marxist army officer Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1974 and died under mysterious circumstances in 1975.

His remains were re-intered in 2000.

Emperor Selassie's importance to the Rastafarians stems from their belief that he was a messiah, an African king sent to lead his people to their destiny.