INTERVIEW : DERAJAH
Interview by : Sébastien Jobart
Pictures by : Sarah Pahlmer
on Tuesday, November 29th 2011 - 9 810 views
Discovered on the acoustic project Inna De Yard, Derajah is releasing his first solo album, "Paris is Burning". Due out on the Makafresh label last year, the Makasound troubles pushed the project back without blacklisting it. All the better: recorded with the Paris musicians of Donkey Jaw Bone, "Paris is Burning" is one of the best roots albums of the year. Interview.
Reggaefrance / You waited for the founders of Makasound to get back on their feet before releasing your first album. Was it important to release it with them?
Derajah / Yes! They were the first to want to take my work international. So it was very important for me to work with them.
How did this first album come about?
Well, it's a story between brothers, a long story! The idea of the album "Paris is Burning" was to showcase the tracks I've been working on for a few years with the band. I love roots reggae so it was a pleasure to make this album with Donkey Jaw Bone! It's a pleasure to get on stage alongside them and share our music.
The album is highly arranged, with flutes, keyboards and brass... How did you work with Donkey Jaw Bone?
As I was telling you, it was a real pleasure for me to work with Donkey Jaw Bone. These guys are very creative, they make good music. It was really a good thing to meet and work together. We met via MySpace about two years ago. Then they came to Jamaica and we started working on a few tracks. Now "Paris is Burning" is finished, and we've already started working on a second album.
 La nouvelle génération, moi inclus, doit faire mieux que les générations précédentes 
Earl Chinna Smith and Kiddus I are also part of the adventure. In a way, it's the Inna De Yard family getting back together...
Chinna has been there from the start. He's the original composer of Who Yeah Yah (his track on volume 2 of Earl Chinna Smith & Idrens Inna De Yard, ed.). Donkey Jaw Bone covered this track, adding an intro and several instruments. At my request, they also took the instrumental of Kiddus I's Graduation in Zion, over which I sing Burn dem to rass.
The album has only one guest, Big Youth. Why him?
Hmm... Big Youth is nicknamed Jah Youth and that's also what people call me. Big Youth is an artist with a unique talent, and he's also a good friend of mine. I really like his style! That's why I asked him to join in on one song, Run Run.
The French discovered you on the Inna De Yard project with your track Who Yeah ya. It has become a bit of an anthem for you...
Hmm... If people want to see it as an anthem, that's fine, it's a pleasure! But I have plenty of other tracks, and if people listen to them, they'll like them as much as Who yeah ya, or even more! Who Yeah Ya was just a passing inspiration, while I was having a good time.
How did the song Paris is burning come about?
I wrote that song during my first stay in Paris. I was inspired by all the poverty you see in Paris just as much as in Jamaica and the rest of the world. By the injustice, too... So I decided to light a little fire in Paris to purify, because fire is purification.
And Work?
I like to work, it's something natural for me. If you don't work, you don't eat, it's one of the commandments, you know... So I'm reinforcing the idea of work, for everybody.
The themes of Ghetto youth falling out
It's an almost natural thing that happens everywhere: the youths in the ghettos are dying. Y'endastand! So I decided to write a song for the youths who die every day for this system we call Babylon.
The themes of Mario and My Sister aren't cheerful either...
Mario is a friend of mine, he was a friend of the family too... He left Jamaica two years ago to settle in England and he was killed by gangsters. Hmm... That's how the song was born. My sister was killed by a man in Jamaica as well.
Vocally, you go from baritone to falsetto. Which artists influenced you and made you want to sing yourself?
Hmm... I was influenced by lots of singers: Bob Marley, Michael Jackson, the Heptones, Junior Murvin... And plenty of others, the list goes on!
Cultural artists are less represented among the popular artists... What do you think of the new generation of artists?
Popularity isn't everything. The best thing is when you can make your contribution and do your best, with a conscious approach. The new generation, myself included, has to do better than the previous ones. I hope we'll keep a high standard and won't let ourselves get locked into negativity.
What do you think of the subjects of their songs?
I've heard different themes... My only wish is that they always stay connected to reality. The deejays I rate are U-Roy, Big Youth, Sizzla and Matthew McAnuff...
What do you think of the charges against Vybz Kartel, who is in prison awaiting trial for murder?
Kartel and Derajah are two different artists, with two different goals. I like people to act properly. Kartel has to be careful, that's all I have to say.
What are your plans for your label, Family Tree Music?
The best is yet to come. Expect new songs from Derajah and other artists on the Family Tree Music label!
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