Morgan Heritage

Morgan Heritage is made up of 5 out of the 29 children fathered by reggae star Denroy Morgan - who scored a gold-certified single with '81's "I'll Do Anything For You." Mr. Mojo, Lukes, Peter, Grandpa, and Unadelivers the message with a warm, inclusive spirituality that's as tangible as the band's muscular, rope-stretched-taut chops and fresh lyrical inspiration. Exuding the strength of unbreakable family ties and grounded in the firm foundation of roots reggae's faith in music as a carrier wave of a higher consciousness, the "Royal Family of Reggae" is reggae's greatest assurance that the music has not lost its soul to the international pop machine. "We've heard the message before from the reggae legends," says Mr. Mojo.

"It's the message of Rastafari, and we stipulate in that message that His Majesty [Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I] is Christ returned. He's the Black messiah sent to redeem his people in the Diaspora, letting them know the fullness that the Kingdom of God is at hand. Yet our message is that same as Martin Luther King's and others. Mankind has to hear the same thing over and over again. So we come not with nothing new, but to remind people of who they really are."

Denroy Morgan's children were born in Brooklyn, New York, (he moved to New York in 1961) and raised with their ears tuned to a world of music. They learned to play R&B, rock & roll, as well as reggae.

"All the children were educated in Springfield, Massachusetts," says Una, "Our grandmother moved first, then called our dad and told him to move there for the better education system and nicer environment. We came back to Brooklyn on weekends to practice in our father's recording studio." Yet within America, Morgan and his brood created a tiny pocket of Jamaica. "We were always aware of American culture," says lead singer Peter. ",i>But Springfield is close to the countryside, like Jamaica. We even had chickens running around our yards in both places. Our parents spoke to us only in Jamaican [patois] at home, but our dad would urge us to speak more American. We didn't want to. Home had a Jamaican, Rastafarian atmosphere."

Morgan Heritage was a virtual unknown in Jamaica when an awed MCA A&R (Artist & Repertoire) executive signed the group in Montego Bay, hot off the Reggae Sunsplash '92 stage. Miracles, the group's debut album, was released in 1994.

"At the time, majors were signing reggae because the deejay [reggae rapping] thing was getting pop play with Mad Cobra, Shabba Ranks, and Patra," says Peter. "We were viewed as a Jackson Five story within reggae. When they first saw us, they knew our music was reggae, but after we were finally signed, they started dealing with us politically, telling us they want 'this' and `that' type of song for pop radio. During the two years we were making the album, the music got more and more diluted from its original form. We had recorded almost 30 songs with Sly and Robby and other Jamaican producers before and after Sunsplash, but MCA only wanted one Sly and Robbie song.

Miracles is not authentic reggae. It's an MCA record with Morgan Heritage only as the artists performing."

Morgan Heritage was released from its contract late in 1994. The following year, Morgan and his family returned to Jamaica, settling in bucolic St. Thomas parish. For the children raised in Brooklyn, it was a true homecoming, and they began digging deeper to discover their musical/cultural roots by working with such famed local producers as Bobby "Digital" Dixon and Lloyd "King Jammy" James.

"They have a history in reggae and breaking many dancehall and reggae artists," says Peter. "It was like working with Sly and Robbie but on a more grassroots rather than an international level. That's what really brought us into the Jamaican marketplace."

Protect Us Jah, produced by Bobby Digital and released in '97, by Brickwall/VP, includes hit singles "Set Yourself Free," "Let's Make Up," "Live Up," and the set's title song, which was the first Morgan Heritage tune to make the reggae world sit up and take notice of the group. One Calling, produced by Jammy and released by Greensleeves/VP, spun off smash hits "God Is God, " Trodding To Zion," "Coming Home" and the title track.

"It's just the pulse of the people," Peter observes. "You won't get hip hop if you're not from NY, LA, or places in America where you can feel the vibe. You feel the reggae vibe here on the island. You can produce reggae anywhere, but it's not going to feel like Jamaica. Reggae is the heartbeat of these people, it comes from their pulse, so you have to mingle with the people and know what they're about."

After their two Jamaican-produced albums, Morgan Heritage branched out to work with other top recording studio giants - Philip "Fattis" Burrell, Donovan Germaine, Tony Rebel, and sax legend Dean Frazier. Reggae Bring Back Love, released during the heights of World Cup Reggae Boyz fever, shot the group to reggae's frontlines. It was included in the Heritage's ground-breaking fourth set, Don't Haffi Dread, (VP Records, '99), also produced by Bobby Digital, and featuring the title song, "Don't Haffi Dread." This tune captured hearts and minds all over the world by stressing the importance of the "content of one's character" rather than such superficial concerns as hair style. It broke the group internationally. Not surprisingly, the lyrical theme that one doesn¹t have to wear the customary dreadlocks to embrace Rastafarianism - sparked off a reggae controversy that continues to this day.

"We don't argue the point," says Peter. "But sometimes, if we do spend the time reasoning, they have to say, `It's true.'"

After the move to Jamaica, Morgan Heritage also set out to fulfill a not so hidden agenda: resolving petty rifts that divide the local music community by creating imaginative collaborations with leading artists, including younger stars Luciano, Buju Banton, Capleton, and veteran singers like Toots Hibbert and Edi Fitzroy.. The "Morgan Heritage and Friends" album series, which has yielded 2 volumes so far, impresses as much for its searing tracks as for bringing together artists usually not found on the same package. The group also began building its own productions.

"We've developed our artistic, writing, production, and executive sides, by representing our own companies," Peter notes. "We've accomplished a lot in the past 5 years we've been in Jamaica, and we thank Jah."

Says Una, "The advantage is that is everything stays within the family business - management, the writing, production. Even if there's a disagreement, we're right there with each other. We believe that the Creator has blessed us with this mission of music, and we believe our message is universal because everyone understands and feels love in one form or another."

More Teachings is clearly one of the group's crowning achievements, but Morgan Heritage has also been busy spreading the love, producing other artists, including Jah Cure, Bushman, Jahmali, and their father, for the family's labels. 71 Records released More Teachings in tandem with VP Records, and Heritage Music Group [HMG] released the two Family & Friends sets. The family also produced the September 2000 Morgan Heritage album, Gunz in the Ghetto, another compilation featuring Heritage with other artists, including Bounty Killer on the title song. LMS, a trio of younger Heritage siblings, is already firing reggae imaginations with high-octane performances.

Official Web Site: www.morganheritagefamily.com