Jah Cure

Jah Cure, aka Siccature Alcock, was born in 1979 in Montego Bay, Jamaica, but spent his youth in Kingston. He got his love of music from his father, who was a singer, but also from the musical ferment of the capital. In Kingston he met Sizzla and Capleton. It was in fact Capleton and members of the David House who gave him the name Jah Cure. In 1997 the singer improvised a song with Sizzla (which would become "King In The Jungle") in Sizzla's car. Once at the studio, Jah Cure, who was rehearsing his verse in a corner, was spotted by singer-producer Beres Hammond. It was a meeting that would change his career, but with a delay. The producer gave him an appointment, but was too busy to spend time on the young singer. It was only later that he would prove decisive.

In 1998 an event interrupted his career. He was arrested for armed rape and sentenced to 15 years in prison. That has not stopped Jah Cure from continuing to proclaim his innocence. He claims that the victim's mother and the police officer in charge of the case know each other, and that the court-appointed lawyer was so incompetent that he had to wake him up himself on the day of the trial by throwing stones at his window. Many people then thought his career was over and the singer buried. Nothing of the sort: Jah Cure was behind bars, but other people were taking care of his career.

In 2000 a first album, "Free Jah Cure", was released, bringing together several of his singles recorded up to then. Jah Cure also received the support of many artists: Sizzla, Capleton, Jah Mason and Buju Banton (who even paid for his lawyer) paid him repeated tributes and regularly called for the singer's release through their lyrics or their statements. In 2003 Beres Hammond composed the riddims and produced the eagerly awaited "Ghetto Life". More accomplished than his previous opus, "Ghetto Life" is an essential album, featuring the title track Ghetto Life as well as his duets with Sizzla and Jah Mason (King in the Jungle and Run Come Love Me).

In prison, Jah Cure was allowed to use a small studio that enabled him to record. This special treatment let him stay very active and string together hits despite captivity: Jamaica on the sunshine riddim, Goog Morning Jah Jah on the I swear riddim and Longing For on the drop leaf riddim, which stayed at the top of the Jamaican charts for many weeks. Despite a lack of promotion (no tour, few interviews), Jah Cure stayed in people's minds.

Released on 28 July 2007, Jah Cure walked out of prison after eight years behind bars, having been sentenced to 15 years' confinement. But where prison sharply broke the artistic momentum of some singers, the bars seem to have benefited his career.

With three albums all released during his incarceration, and ever-growing support each time, Jah Cure left prison more famous than when he went in. Carried by an enthusiasm few artists have known (witness the incredible line-up of the Curefest, organised to commemorate his new freedom), Jah Cure now stands at the dawn of a new career.