LUCIANO: Spreading the message
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.
“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.”
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
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