INTERVIEW
Interview by : Alexandre Tonus
Pictures by : Benoit Collin
on Sunday, December 12th 2004 - 13 485 views
It seems that 2005 will mark the return of good, conscious reggae, as the success of artists such as I Wayne and Natty King already announces. Chuck Fender will not tell you otherwise, as he has the wind in his sails right now with his Fifth Element partner, Richie Spice. On the occasion of the UK release of his first album, " Better Days ", we went to meet him to take stock of a career longer than it seems and to reflect with him on the turn events are taking in the reggae world, and in the world in general. An interview with a conscious singjay, the kind we might have thought we would no longer find, so much has dancehall left its mark in recent years.
Reggaefrance / Chuck Fender, thank you for taking a little time to talk with us. Can you start by introducing yourself to the French audience?
Chuck Fender / Yeah, it's Chuck Fender, “the poor people defender”, from Kingston, Jamaica. I represent the people to the fullest, I am the defender of the poor. You see, it's nothing but virtue! I represent Africa too; when you see me abroad, you will always hear me upholding repatriation to the fullest. Good is stronger than evil, life stronger than death. A good man carries Jah within him, a bad man carries the devil. Haile Selassie I is the Almighty!
Can you tell us about your beginnings? How did you come to love music? When did you start singing?
First of all, I would like to say that the years are many, and when I think about music, it's like an innate concept. It's a great gift that you receive from the Almighty. You can't just get up one day and decide you want to be a singer; it has to be something innate, something you have had since birth. I am music, because I live in music, and people perceive me as a musician.
But when you started out in the business, you were more of a dancehall artist. What made you change style, change music?
You know well; Haile Selassie I! As I was saying, the road is long, there are several stages in a life, and as you go along, things are revealed to you. And then, this is the decade of virtue and it is a work for which I was chosen. Jah raised me up, in these times, to save the world from perversion and corruption. I have come just to purify people with my conscious music and make them look at themselves and see that greed is eating them away. I poisoned people with a certain kind of music, a certain type of tunes, but Jah singled me out as an example for the earth and allowed me to move forward along the road. When I started, I was a dancehall artist, I sang a certain type of tunes; so people should look at my way of life and they will realise that consciousness lets you rise to a higher level. Consciousness prevails over everything. I must admit that the other path I had to walk - because it is the path life gives you - that other path is destruction, illusion.
You have just released your first album, “Better Days”; this album is presented as your debut, but it isn't really, since you had a dancehall career before?
In fact, today I appear as a brand new artist in people's eyes. With the kind of music I sing now, people don't even look back at my dancehall career. A great many didn't even know me. Too many ugly songs. It's the type of songs I make today that introduces me to the world and tells it what Chuck Fender is about. It's as if I were a whole new person, a whole new artist, born again, relearning everything, at another level, with consciousness; and I take that to the highest level. Haile Selassie I.
Can you tell us more about your ties with Richie Spice and Anthony Cruz?
Oh, Fifth Element! Fifth Element is a family, which comes to save the nation, to save the world. Fifth Element can do nothing but virtuous music, which uplifts people spiritually. If we did anything else, it would be destruction, it would all come crashing down. Fifth Element now presents itself as a family, which comes to save the world with the words of virtue. I was the first artist to join Fifth Element, because Devon and I, the foundation of Fifth Element, come from Spanish Town. So everything started from there and it began to fall into place. Then afterwards, we wanted a singer and Anthony Cruz arrived, to uplift the empresses spiritually and not to lead them astray, to put them on the right path and make them believe in themselves, to fill them with good manners, quite simply. Then, through the fire that I burn, the problems out there - as I said, I burn corruption and I burn injustice and I burn illusion - I needed another turbulent soldier at my side and I went to look for Richie Spice. When I looked into Richie Spice's life and into my own, I realised that we had gone through the same kind of problems, fought the same battles. He was shaken and despised. So the blocks that the builders had refused turned out to become cornerstones. So we united and walked the road together, burning all the evils we met on earth.
I also read that you recently had a bad car accident. Did that play a part in your career? Did it make you realise something?
One thing is sure, the devil has taken human form, he is on earth and he is trying to destroy consciousness, he is trying to destroy my work. But I came out of that accident without serious injuries and I proved that the Almighty lives and reigns in everyone's heart. So I got back on the road and told myself that it could not stop my work. My work is unstoppable, because the people mean so much to me; I did certain shows at that time and not even the money they could give made me feel better than the joy I saw in them. I know that Haile Selassie I is there and that I must go and spread the message of consciousness among the people, and there are many of them. I consider nothing more important than the people, apart from Haile Selassie I. The people are everything to me, so we must try to unite them, to uplift them spiritually, to deliver the spiritual message to them, to give them spiritual healing. This music we make is spiritual food for the soul of the people. Nothing else can save them but music, because music is life. Everything else is illusion, fiction; it's not real.
The current success of Fifth Element and of artists like Natty King and I Wayne marks the re-emergence of roots reggae.
In recent times, the music was so despised, bruised and disrespected. Fifth Element is saving reggae right now, the real, authentic “one drop”, it is being saved. When young men like Chuck Fender and Richie Spice grew up, they opened the way for younger ones, like I Wayne, Fantan Mojah, Bascom X, all these youths I work with, Mr. Perfect too. We gave them more light, we played that positive role that lets you move forward and give maximum effort in your work. Because some artists didn't work hard enough and they fell, we know that. We have to give music to the people. So we opened the door to the youths today and we are trying to take the music to its highest level. We are trying to give more exposure to these youths who are coming up now, because they make real music. This music cannot die, this music is life.
How would you explain this return to reggae? Why now?
Because it is the decade of virtue. If you look at what is happening right now, it is war; and this war is a religious war. It divides people and only music can bring people back together. Because: “one God, one aim, one destiny”. Haile Selassie I does not support division, because division is what they preach. All these people who come with religious pretexts preach division, they divide people. One says Christian, the other says Muslim and they make war on each other; it's division that they preach. What interests us is uniting people, because we know that: “one God, one aim, one destiny”.
And what are your plans for the future?
For now, there is this album, “Better Days”, and I hope it will bring all the people together, everywhere around the world. Because by getting hold of this album, “Better Days”, someone can become intimately linked to Chuck Fender, intimately linked to Fifth Element, understand what our mission is, what our purpose in life is, what we are about to accomplish. So you have to buy this album, it will tell you more about Chuck Fender, more about Fifth Element, about our mission, our journey. I hope we will come to France and Germany and places like that, because we are only just beginning. This is our first time in London. We felt the respect of the people. They like our style of music, they like Fifth Element and they like Jah. Because through them, it is Jah who manifests himself. Thanks to Jah, it's as if we were a bulwark against the wind, we stay true and upright, and I simply say that it is the Almighty who is truly in charge now.
Do you really plan to come to France? Because the welcome would be as warm as in London...
Yes, as I was saying. Now it depends on the people who control that. I tell them, you have seen the work. You have to bring this to France, let the people of France know that Fifth Element is truly a conscious family. So these people have to come to France to unify the people there and bring the positive message and the purification to them.
To finish, do you have a particular message to send?
My message to the world right now is: stop everything that is going on, right now, stop this war, stop this hatred, stop this jealousy. Just show perfect love, because perfect love overcomes all fears. A man must regard a man as he regards himself. You have to take care of your brothers and sisters. We must pray, constantly, and seek the Almighty Haile Selassie I. Everything that is not the Almighty is illusion, everything you see going on out there is not real. Houses are not real, cars are not real, money is not real, jewellery is not real, fashion is not real, fame is not real. You have to cherish life. You could put a million dollars on the table and say, go and get me a glass of water, you wouldn't have it, if you can't move. Only life can bring you that. You have to cherish life. You have to see your neighbour as you see yourself. Don't think you are more important than another. Because you have a lot of money, don't think you are above the world and above other people. Consider your neighbour as you consider yourself and seek the Almighty. Remember, Chuck Fender's album right now, “Better Days”. The world needs to have this album, everybody needs to listen to this album and join Fifth Element. Listen to more of Fifth Element, because Fifth Element has a lot to offer the world, because the Almighty works through us and speaks to the people. So that is the conscious message. Haile Selassie I.
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