INTERVIEW : MORGAN HERITAGE
Interview by : Cyril Le Tallec & Sebastien Jobart
Pictures by : Benoit Collin
on Wednesday, May 07th 2008 - 11 202 views
For their ninth album, Morgan Heritage are in the grip of Rockaz fever: the name of the hybrid reggae / rock / hip hop concept they unveil on "Mission in Progress" after trying it out on stage. Certain that reggae "has to grow up", this is how they intend to captivate younger ears. Ten years after their debut, the band does not want to miss the new generation's train. A two-headed interview, with Gramps and Mojo.
Reggaefrance / Your new album, "Mission in Progress", has just come out. What frame of mind did you make it in?
Morgan Heritage / Mojo: "Mission in Progress" was made to secure our place in the future of the music industry. Music as a whole, not just reggae, is taking a more interactive direction. You can find music more quickly and more easily, access is faster and more varied. We asked ourselves what was causing this evolution, this revolution. And then there's the new generation, the young people of tomorrow. They know who Morgan Heritage are, but not our history; what we have to offer them hasn't yet reached their hearts. We have to captivate them as we did with the previous generation, ten years ago when we started. The Rockaz concept is coming to life now. We have to present it to the younger ones, because it was important to solidify a sound that's interesting to their ears. Younger generations hear differently; the traditional reggae sound of the 70s doesn't captivate them, they may enjoy it when they smoke a bit of marijuana, but it doesn't make them want to mobilise for their rights, to emancipate themselves and become what they want. I believe we've achieved that, musically, with this album.
The rock influences are striking now.
Mojo: The way we play on stage has all those influences. It was key for us to be able to reproduce that live sound in the studio and on the album. The rock we put into our music on stage is aimed at young people. It's one of their favourite kinds of music, like the hip hop we also use. Between rock, hip hop, R&B singing and foundation reggae, all of that makes the Rockaz sound, Yuh understand? It's truly a new day, a new chapter in the life, the career, the history of Morgan Heritage.
So you were afraid of losing part of your audience?
Gramps: Not afraid, no. It's the Rockaz train, and it's taking on passengers. We have to wash the train, make it shine, to get other passengers on board. We're not changing anything, we're just taking on new passengers. But you have to keep the pressure up. And for that, it has to stay interesting for the fans. If you have young fans, you have to do it for them, because they listen to a lot of music, which sometimes talks about sex, violence, money... Morgan Heritage's music isn't there for that. We don't talk about sex, but rather about relationships, like on She's Still Loving Me, we talk about the essence of a real relationship. We talk about social issues... To reach those kids, you have to sound familiar to them: we're taking reggae to the next level. We're writing our History, our mark on reggae, like our ancestors before us. What difference are we going to make to the music?
I don't want you to listen to my album and have it sound like it did 30 years ago. Every kind of music has grown. Hip hop took over from rap, it rose up. Just like dancehall: Vybz Kartel or Elephant Man are not the same deejays as Yellowman. Morgan Heritage's music can't sound like Burning Spear's. Reggae has to grow, and what we've done is Rockaz. Being born in the United States, growing up listening to Metallica, Duran Duran, Tears for Fears, Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Run DMC, those are things that have influenced our reggae. Now people come to our shows and feel that energy. A few days ago, we played a show in London, and a lot of white people had come to hear reggae. But after the show, a guy came up to tell us: "You guys rock!". That's why we were invited to join that punk rap tour, because our live music has that rock dimension, there's that "extra". And that's why I want Reggaefrance to get on this train!
Your father Denroy Morgan has a fundamental place in your music. What musical environment did you grow up in?
Mojo: We were born in New York, but we grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts. Every weekend, we went to New York to learn lessons from his band, the Black Eagles, in the studio he built for us. As the years went by, the teachers changed. They could be members of his band or New York producers whom he asked to show us the ropes of production. It was almost like a music boot camp. Once we were in high school, we had no time for anything else. In the United States, when you get to 9th grade (at 14-15 years old, Ed.), you have to start thinking about your career, knowing what you want to do with your life after high school. Musically, that's what he had prepared us for. He gave us the tools, the keys so that we could do whatever we wanted: write songs, produce, play an instrument... He brought in a gentleman by the name of Clifford Branch (who plays keyboards on their albums, Ed.) who taught us to make arrangements, to use them to captivate an audience and turn our music into entertainment. Not just Rasta, Selassie, ganja, and so on. It's a full circle, 360 degrees, you have all the things of life in Morgan Heritage. It's an experience. We're grateful to him because without his experience, his advice and his attention, we took the right steps, all along our journey. I don't think it would have been the same without him.
Is he the first to listen to your albums?
Always. Every time, his reaction pushes us to go back into the studio and present the project to him again. Because he's a visionary, he thinks ten years ahead. He explains to us why he disagrees with us. Sometimes he tells us: "Yeah, it's great, but keep it aside for now, people aren't ready for it yet".
How many unreleased tracks like that do you have?
Mojo: (laughs) Time will tell. But there are some real gems in there.
Let's talk about Don't Haffi Dread. This track shows your open-mindedness, since you need dreads to be Rasta as well.
Mojo: I think the understanding of dreadlocks is skewed, the message is blurred. With time, people forget that the first people to wear dreadlocks were communities of the House of Israel, who dedicated themselves completely to the Most High. They were like monks in the Christian tradition. Today, the rastaman has decided to carry on this Nazarite movement that you can read about in the Holy Scriptures. To use it as a part of our culture and even almost as a particular trait that identifies that we pray to Selassie The First. We are his children, we are the Rastafarians. The reality is this: being Rastafarian doesn't mean you have to wear dreadlocks. This movement goes beyond your mere appearance. It's about the way you live, your relationships with others: it's a way of life. If you don't have dreadlocks, does that stop you from living that way? I don't think so. Dreadlocks are there to remind you of your choice. With time, they follow the course of your existence, they grow. You don't become someone: you evolve and you discover who you are. Every day, you discover something new. When you're small, you discover the use of your legs. It's the same with your spiritual convictions.
Gramps: We grew up with the teachings of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. We met their leader, the honourable Vernon Carrington (Prophet Gad, Ed.), and we never saw him with dreadlocks! We grew up like that, and when we were young, we didn't have dreadlocks. I wore them, but Mojo didn't. In fact, some of my brothers and sisters were born after our father became Rastafarian. Those born before had to find their own path. That's why my name is Roy, whereas his (he points to Mojo) is Memmalatel! But Roy, Sandra, Janet, Peter, Tommy... That was before my father became conscious, before he gave us the names of our ancestors. It takes time to reach the sacred, but there's still no need to wear locks to be Rasta.
What do you make of the Gangsta Ras concept developed by Munga?
Gramps: This Gangsta Ras thing goes back a long way. You'd have to ask Munga, but I think he's trying to emulate all the energy of the raggamuffin of the day, the rude boys. It's not about preaching violence and murder, but showing the warrior side of Rasta. A lot of people take Rastas for weaklings, simply because we praise Jah, we should come and play shows for free! Or give up our rights! Some of our ancestors were warriors. He represents that warrior dimension, and you have to have warriors in the kingdom of Jah. Napoleon had his warriors, George Bush has his.
We're not really used to seeing a Rasta promote guns...
Mojo: That's the reality. What you have to understand is that an artist expresses his reality, his experience. Munga grew up as a ghetto youth, just like the majority of artists who talk about guns. When I see 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, Biggie Smalls or Tupac, I understand that they are a reflection of their environment. Just like Munga. He grew up as a Rasta, but also as a gangster. The strong always have more power than the weak.
Back to the music. When will we get a 4th volume of your "Morgan Heritage & Friends" series?
Gramps: Are you ready for that? It's coming. Mojo is sitting on a pile of singles. We have them, we have Queen Ifrica, Spragga Benz... But for the moment, we're favouring the Rockaz train, we're fuelling up, we're taking on passengers. Because this movement is going to be serious.
You're waiting for the right moment?
Gramps: Yes, everything is ready.
Mojo: And it will be completely different from the previous volumes. We want to bring back the essence of Jamaican music. When it was created on a grand scale, as opposed to simply going into the studio, making a riddim, and inviting artists to voice on it. This time, we'll have four or five artists at most on a riddim. The idea is to find which riddim suits which artist. With a concept. To get an artist nobody expected onto a riddim. It will all be there. It's going to be completely different. You might hear a bit of dancehall on it. It'll be very similar to what we're doing with "Mission in Progress", because everything we do is part of our mission. Right now we're focusing on the younger generations. You can be sure the next "Morgan Heritage & Friends" will be along the same lines.
Why did you choose to cover Steel Pulse's Raid Rootz Dance on the new album?
Gramps: That song is a classic. We feel that Steel Pulse weren't just doing reggae. If we're talking music theory, before Steel Pulse arrived, the traditional reggae movement boiled down to two chords. They used nine, eleven chords! Our father toured with Steel Pulse as a guitarist, and he brought that album home, their live one. It was a revelation, it was the best band we'd ever heard! We were young at the time. We got to a point where we felt it was time to cover them. We don't want to wait until they're dead, or for somebody else to do it, because they inspired us. We pay tribute to those people who opened the way. We put our own stamp on the track, you can hear a bit of hip hop, other people say it's rock. It's still Steel Pulse, but we've added the Rockaz touch.
How many tracks did you produce on the album?
Mojo: This album was produced largely by Morgan Heritage, but once again, for the younger generations, we try to work with different producers. Respect to Bobby Digital, King Jammy, Donovan Germain, people who brought Morgan Heritage to where we are, but there's a new generation of producers, who make music for the youngest ears. Young guys like Steven McGregor... We've known him for ten years, he was seven back then. And look at him now! Producing the biggest names in dancehall. Shane Brown, who was our engineer on tour. We saw he had talent, a real ear. He talked to us about production, and we encouraged him, he maybe couldn't be a musician but he had an ear! We also have DJ Flavor, whom we met through DJ Richie B. He's another young guy who has an ear, he knows what young people like. Singing Melody is a real Jamaican crooner, he'll go down in the books. He came with a track, we just added overdubs from the United States. That song will be a classic, believe me. If I had to choose one song, it would be that one. But I love the whole album, don't get me wrong.
You've also taken up Auto-Tune.
Mojo: It's what young people like, it's a sound that doesn't just move Europe and the United States but the whole world! That little shimmer... it speaks to young people. They don't know what it is, but they know they love it! You can't tell yourself: "I'm not going to use that because I can sing without it". We know you can sing! And we know there are people who can't sing who use it. But it's entertaining. When I see my children react to that sound, it amazes me.
Gramps: You have to understand that things evolve, they move forward. If you play an Elvis track to young people, they don't get it. Music evolves every year. And now we're carving out our place in the History of music with the Rockaz movement. People get on board!
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