Interview & pictures : Benoit Collin
on Tuesday, November 18th 2008 - 27 190 views
Alborosie was no stranger to Italians when he decided to leave for Jamaica. With an honourable career behind him with his band Reggae National Tickets, begun in 1993, he settled on the island in 2000. To "take a break", he explains, "to break with the past". But he ended up going headlong back into music, throwing himself into Gee Jam Studio and producing for the biggest artists. He finally went back behind the microphone, consecrated in 2006 with his song Herbalist. The singer from Messina in Sicily has ultimately made his mark, from one island to another. Interview.
Reggaefrance / How is your album "Soul Pirate" doing?
Alborosie / It's going well. The shows are selling out. We are working hard and I am tired. I want to go home to Jamaica! (laughs) That's our mission, that's why we work hard. The Most High has a plan for me, so I'm just riding the wave.
Can you tell us a bit more about your album, which the French haven't discovered yet?
It's a compilation of my singles, like Kingston Town, Herbalist, Rasta Anthem. There are five or six unreleased tracks. It's a very interesting album, old school, new school, every school. It's an album that will please all reggae lovers.
How long did you work on this album?
This one was easy since it was like a compilation, a collection of my singles. I'm currently working on a new album, which I want to release in 2009. It will be like a concept album, with 18 songs running from A to Z, and plenty of featurings.
 Le reggae n'est pas comme la pop, la pop c'est de la musique, mais le reggae c'est la vie, c'est la politique, la spiritualité… 
How far along is it?
I'm giving myself a few more weeks to finish it.
Does it have a title yet?
I can't tell you yet.
Is Italian music one of your influences?
Yes, of course. I love Italian lyrics, they're very deep. Some artists sang things that really inspired me. Yuh understand? Like Adriana Celentano, Renato Zero, Lucia Dalla… I love them all!
Where does your stage name, Alborosie, come from?
Alborosie is a nickname I was given in Jamaica. Some are good, some are bad. It was a way of discriminating against me. But I turned the bad into good… and I had a bad ascent (a play on "bad", used in the opposite sense by Jamaicans, Ed.).
You seem to be heavily influenced by Black Uhuru.
I'm inspired by reggae… Actually I'd say my influences are more Sly & Robbie. Black Uhuru, OK, but Sly & Robbie, when it comes to rub-a-dub… I've been doing rub-a-dub since my beginnings in Italy. In Jamaica, they call it the "boof baf" (he chants the rhythm with "boof" and "baf")
You formed a band, Reggae National Tickets.
We started in 1993. In ten years, we put out albums and played shows. We became important in Italy. But I told myself I needed more, I needed something different. Italy was too small, yuh understand? So I left for Jamaica, to study, to find out what I was doing. Because I didn't know back then. It's music, OK, but beyond reggae… Reggae isn't like pop; pop is music, but reggae is life, it's politics, spirituality… I set off to discover all of that.
When did you first go?
In 1994. It was a tragedy. I arrived there, my dreadlocks were tiny. A rastaman robbed me with a knife this big. I told myself I had to go home, cut my locks, find a job and forget this whole Jamaica business. But on the last day, just before taking my plane, something happened. I was in Montego Bay, and I went up on the roof of my hotel. I looked at the horizon. It was magnificent, a sunset. Something happened. It's like when you see a beautiful woman. I started thinking about Jamaica, about when I would be gone. A month later, I was completely in love with Jamaica. Even though I had a few unhappy experiences, I went there twice a year, as a tourist. Until one day I couldn't stand it any more.
That was in 2000. What pushed you to take the plunge?
I don't care about money, I don't care about anything. I only care about myself. When I was in Italy, I had to smile, get on stage to play a role. I wanted to go to Jamaica to be free. I didn't want to do what I'm doing now. I wanted to break with the past: no more shows. But you put out songs, things start to take off, and you end up doing the same thing.
What role did John Baker (former Pm Dawn producer) play in your journey?
John is a brother. When I arrived in Jamaica, I literally started again from zero. John was there. I was working at Gee Jam studio as an engineer, I looked after it because nobody came there at the time. It was low season… Three years went by like that, I looked after the studio, sometimes to do some production, but the place was empty most of the time. John gave me the opportunity to make all of that real.
What is your best session memory?
My best memory… I'm European, and I love reggae. And when you go to Jamaica and you see people who are real legends like Sly & Robbie, the Marley family, Black Uhuru… Those are my best memories, meeting them.
What was the first track you recorded in Jamaica?
A track called Dash me away. Somebody put it out, and we weren't really happy about it. It was my very first track. I recorded it myself. It wasn't great, but it was my first track.
Was it hard, as a white man, to settle in Jamaica?
It always is. It's an important question. The world is global, and people keep creating differences. We don't like everybody, but it's not as if everybody liked us. In Jamaica you have to fight corruption, the mafia, we are still working on it. We love the people, but we still need to open doors, to find the keys.
Is there a mafia in Jamaica involving radio deejays?
We have to fight against that. I say "we" because I live there. There is something new, which is crucial, especially for new artists: if you don't belong to this camp or that camp, to this crew or that crew, it won't be easy for you to break through. We are going to fight that.
Are you politically involved? Do you vote in Jamaica?
Yes, I vote in Jamaica. It's important because at the end of the day, if you don't go and vote, others will speak for you and act for you. Jamaica is a small country. Right now, the right people are in the right place. That's how we work.
And in Italy?
Holy shit! Am I concerned? It's a disaster, a real disaster. I can't say anything else. A friend told me the Italian government was a mafia. But no: if the mafia were in government, things would be better.
Do you consider yourself a rasta?
Of course. Let me explain. A rasta is a spiritual person. Today we live in confusing times. I consider myself a rasta and a spiritualist. What we do is reggae, and reggae is gospel. When I get on stage, I am a rasta, I am a preacher, not just a singer. Because reggae without spirituality is only music. We don't make music. We sing Life. That's different. If you love reggae, you are Rasta. You don't need to have dreadlocks. It's a deep and very simple concept at the same time. You don't need to go to school or university, it's "livity". It's you, your personal relationship with God. Nobody can tell you, because you're white, or shaven, or blond, nobody can tell you that you're not rasta. Because your relationship with God is of the same order as what binds you to your wife: you love her, and only you know why.
One last message for our readers?
The French are beautiful people. I love people. If you don't love people, you don't do this kind of job. I always meditate after the show. We do this humbly, without contempt or arrogance, we do it because it is our mission. When the Most High says "rien ne va plus, les jeux sont faits" (in French in the original, Ed.), it will be time to stop, and settle down at home.
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