INTERVIEW
Interview by : Zabaniet
on Thursday, October 02nd 2003 - 10 750 views
The appointment was set for 2 October 2003, somewhere in the north of Paris... 10 a.m. in front of the town hall, and Hugues from Zenah Music came to pick me up by car... When we arrived, the latest Sugar Minott was playing in the background... We settled around a table, introductions were made, and he welcomed me with a big smile and stood ready to answer my questions... His latest album is thus a French production, with the musicians of Zenah Music. In the end, you feel as if you are listening to Studio One productions from 1969-70... A pure marvel of authentic roots! More than twenty years in reggae: why and how did this encounter with France and Zenah come about? Here is the chance to find out more...
Reggaefrance / Montreuil to Kingston, it has to be said, is a very long distance... From Studio One to Zenah Music, how did the journey go?
Sugar Minott / I've known Zenah Music for a long time, I've known them for a long time and when I listened I found it good! These guys make good music, it's the "jah vibe" of roots music. We work in faith and things happen that way, naturally, there was no planning. Everything comes from inspiration and from reggae music... Jah allowed our meeting, we must thank him for that. There is always something mystical in reggae, and our meeting is mystical. I'm often asked this question. These guys know what I do, they've been invested in roots reggae for a long time, it sounds right and I like it! They even sometimes remind me of the musicians who accompanied me on my previous albums. It came about in faith, they have faith. That's what the grace of reggae allows.
Is the rasta message still relevant in reggae? Has it become a "copy-do-it" on the part of today's singers, a consensual inheritance of the themes of Bob Marley or Burning Spear, for example?
Maybe you're right. It's true that there are impostors, those who follow the rasta music "hype" and who sing roots music because it's a niche. They'll recognise themselves. But they don't live day to day in the grace of Jah. They forget that we are defined not by what we say but by what we do. Their actions don't match what they sing, and then people today don't get into the meaning of the words, they listen to roots and culture, to Bob, to Burning Spear, but don't always live the message of these songs day to day... Those who sing should be what they say they are, for real, Fi Real! Whereas some do it for the style or for the money.
Can you name names?
(Laughs) That's not the point, it's not for me to say who is "real" and who is "fake". I'm not a judge... But I can tell you that there are reggae, ragga or dancehall artists who have made it, and who don't pay tribute to the public without whom they would be nothing. Because they are no longer available to others. The business means they never stop running, running... And so they become inaccessible to the public. They don't take the time to sign autographs for the youngsters who come to see them at concerts, to show that they haven't forgotten who keeps them alive... It should be their role as a "star" to understand that they can give strength to people, that they have a role to play, to give of themselves. That's spirituality, you see? There are youngsters who admire Sizzla and who sometimes spend hours trying to catch a glimpse of him leaving the studio or a concert. And he doesn't even stop to sign an autograph! He even has bodyguards in charge of keeping at a distance those who come a bit too close... They must set an example. For example, a youngster who is a fan of Sizzla, who makes music and who meets him... if Sizzla takes the time to shake his hand, to encourage him to continue in music because he's good, that youngster will remember it all his life. It will give him strength. If the artist you love is available and tells you that you are good, that he encourages you etc... it's a "spiritual" gift, it's priceless! It's the strength of grace... living in faith... I made music for all that, not for money, but to live in faith. As a singer, part of our "job" is to sell music, but music in truth cannot be sold, it is free... Everyone can listen to music without paying anything... Yes, music is free!
Let's talk about the return to Africa of Black people, as descendants of the slaves brought by force to work in the Caribbean... Is it a myth or is it still a present reality in the hearts of Jamaicans? Do they know what difficulties Africa faces?
Do Jamaicans know the economic and political situation of Africa? The living conditions in Africa?? Yeah! Yes, Jamaicans are aware. They know that there is no "African Eldorado". But Jamaicans also know that Africa possesses a great deal of natural wealth that is not controlled by Africans. It's all a question of unity: Africans must unite and organise for their own good. Selassie The First said it... Africans can only count on themselves to free themselves.
When people say that Africa is poor and dependent on foreign powers, I think it's a joke... Africa has all the mineral wealth, fertile land, gold, etc.! But Africa continues to suffer and Jamaicans know that Africa is not a paradise... The return to Africa is not considered a return to paradise, people have nothing to eat, nor the means to study! There are villages in Africa where people club together to send young people to study at the great English universities. They send them to learn modern techniques and knowledge, for example in agriculture or irrigation, in order to perfect and develop their agriculture, so that it can be self-sufficient.
But the young man lands in England, starts playing football, discovers Western life, the girls, the parties and all the rest, and doesn't come back to Africa. These young people are seduced by modern life and forget why they came. And it was the same for Jamaicans who came "temporarily" to England: they discovered a new life, a new woman, started a new family and in the end never went back home... This form of mission is necessarily dependent on the countries of the North, because these young people forget their roots, their historical past.
My message for Africans is this: expect no help from outside! You must unite and free yourselves, because everything is to be found in Africa! Africans must carry out their revolution, develop thanks to the resources they control themselves... There are very poor people in Jamaica who plant and work the land. They are very poor but they expect no handouts from the United States. They count only on themselves to be independent and stay faithful to their culture, their history. To keep their freedom, their cultural heritage. To plant what they eat and not go to fast food. Even though they are poor, they remain dignified! It's a question of education and mentality.
The new generation is in danger because it forgets this. It doesn't want to plant, to work the land. They just want to have fun, play football, play video games, all these material vanities. So much so that Jamaica imports more food than it exports! It's the same problem as in Africa. Youth must get active, wake up and understand the heart of the problem so that Africa can get back on its feet. Artists have to talk about this, because young people listen to them. They must show the right path...
When I was young, I sang "Africa is the Black man's home", but I was young, you see? I was in apprenticeship, and my opinions were my opinions of the moment. (He hums the beginning of his song "Africa Blackman Home" to illustrate the point) That's a joke! I wouldn't say the same thing today. Africa belongs to everyone because everything originates from Africa; everything comes from Africa, it's the truth... It's the origin of life. We all come from Africa!
I have one last question: do you know any French reggae groups? What do you think of French reggae more generally?
Yes, I know some bands and I've listened to good French reggae. But I don't feel the same vibration, the same inspiration in me when I listen to Jamaican roots. My current musicians (the Zenah Music guys, some of whom are here with us for this interview) play the music that studio musicians would have played in Jamaica in the 60s. These musicians live in the grace of reggae, they live reggae in their lives, and you can tell they've been studying reggae for a very long time already... They don't just play reggae, they ARE "reggae".
I've been all over the world, even Japan... Over there, they play good reggae, you see? But it's the same thing, there's a little "something" missing that makes... Zenah Music, like I told you, they have that "something"... they have faith! When I first heard them, I said to myself: "hey, what's this sound I don't know? Is that a Studio One?" I thought it was a cut from '69! Zenah Music is the closest thing to that sound of the late 60s... It's the real thing, there's no secret, and it's not just Sugar Minott!
"Leave Out Babylone" is a first step. There's been a lot of work, with Black Roots productions, Zenah Music and other artists. Zenah Music and roots music, this is only the beginning; the work will soon bear fruit and beautiful things are going to happen. Roots and Culture! We're here for roots music, for the message, to deliver souls, not for anything else... We're not here to make millions, our mission is the music. If the money comes, so much the better, it will allow other things, but money is not what we're after. We stay roots, we keep the vibration. We approach all of this in a spiritual way, the material doesn't count. Music is my only wealth!
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