Jamaica is nothing if not a place of contradictions. One could accurately describe the Caribbean nation as an island paradise, full of hard-working, friendly people whose contributions to world music, and religion and culture belies their tiny population. At the same time, you could say that Jamaica is one of the most dangerous countries in the Western hemisphere—beset by crushing poverty, a moribund economy and a political system riddled with corruption—and be just as accurate. The fact of the matter is that Jamaica cannot be simply reduced to a twenty-second tourism commercial with smiling natives chopping coconuts as “One Love” plays in the background. And Jamaica is also not the island hellhole full of stoned gunmen and bullet-riddled shantytowns seen in the average direct to DVD gangster flick or episodes of Locked Up Abroad.
Similarly, the Jamaican reggae artist Sizzla defies attempts to box him into an easily digestible package. On the one hand, he is easily one of reggae’s biggest and most dependable stars from a commercial standpoint. At the same time Sizzla remains a critical darling; outspoken on political and social issues within Jamaica, and a pillar of the worldwide reggae scene for the last decade. A devout Rastafarian, he spearheaded his own “self-sufficient” Rasta commune in Kingston, called Judgment Yard, which doubles as a base of operations for his recording career. COOL’EH got a chance to talk to Sizzla about Jamaican society, touring, Dame Dash and why he doesn’t think marijuana will be legalized anytime soon.
How has crime changed in Jamaica since you were growing up?
There is always crime, it doesn’t change. Someone gets killed every day, for multiple reasons; jealousy, conspiracy, sufferation…you never know. There are more guns coming into the country now, I can say they are more guns now at a younger stage. And I would say they are even more gruesome now because it is young youths taking guns and killing each other. Based on society and how they set it [up]…divide and rule, I and I have to just praise Jah, educate the youths, hope for the best and hope they keep the faith.
Obviously, drug-related crime is an issue in Jamaica, just as it is anywhere else in this hemisphere. Do you think you will see herb legalized in Jamaica in your lifetime?
Ahhh…they have been trying that for years and they wont allow it. I don’t think so for now. I really don’t think so because the herb goes with the spirituality of the black nation. That is going to make them wise up, get independent, think for themselves, and the government don’t want that. We could get independent if they freed the marijuana, we will be able to sell the marijuana and make money. You cannot tax it, we would be selling it and getting money to build our houses strong in the foundation…so they are not going to allow it. The thing is, we must be in slavery for them, they want to keep us in slavery, and so that is why the marijuana is not free. And that is why they struggle [against] Rastafari so much.
At the same time, in the last twenty years, hard drugs seem to have become more prevalent in Jamaica. Both as a transshipment point to the US and within the local drug culture…
[Interrupting] It’s the system. That is how they use their strategy to keep the black man down from the age of a child. The black man is a man but first he was a child. So if you can give him guns and drugs, ship it in the community through any way…where are the guns coming from? Who makes the guns? The government makes the guns, so they know what they are doing, they distribute these things. Who makes the coke? They make the coke! Guns don’t get made in Jamaica; you don’t have coke making in Jamaica. It is these big rich guys making this thing and it is disseminated and distributed amongst the poor. Now I am going to take a gun and shoot my brother…that’s one way…when you’ve shot someone, then we lock you up. So we burn down the Nation, burn down that family, and that family [that] should get [money] to help themselves, build housing, go to school. Instead that money has to be turned over to the government through the judiciary system by paying for the crime and stuff like that. So, they take away the marijuana and the spirituality of the Nation through Rastafari, an African culture and give them guns, drugs, ignorance and illiteracy. This is why the Nation is down.
So when every time you see a Rasta man come with the inspiration, good music, it tends to ride the spirit of the youth. They propagate it and it [frightens] the system. Because the system...the dead house make a lot of money when they kill each other because you have to pay money to keep the bodies on the fridge and even to bury them. The police station makes money, the court system makes money, the hospitals make money and even those guys selling them the guns and the drugs to destroy themselves, make money! But [the youth] is going to fight against that stuff, Rastafari is against that corruption, so once they bash against corruption they are going to fight against it. So you just have to be wise, open your eyes and take it one step at a time. Spread the message, educate those you can, and help them to educate others. One Love. If you love something, you wont destroy it. I am just trying my best to help out the Nation and other peoples suffering in other communities throughout the whole world through my works and the inspiration of the Most High.
Is the economic downturn causing problems in Jamaica, is there a perceptible change on a local level?
Sometimes we have had to ease up on the prices for the shows, people cannot afford it. The recession, people losing their houses…it affects Jamaica much. You see, Jamaica depends on the U.S. dollar, the pound sterling, the Canadian dollar, the Euro, to survive. So if those countries are going bankrupt, it is going to have an affect on Jamaica. We have to learn to be independent, become an independent country.
It’s interesting because on the one hand Rastafarianism is very focused on social justice and social issues, but at the same time is very apolitical, wouldn’t you say?
That is true. We personally, as Rastafarians, we don’t involve politics. Because we are in slavery, we were brought into slavery, and these political parties and governments; they are all coming from the Queen of England. Coming down, slaving us, so that is why we don’t want to be in the politics because the politicians there work for the Queen. Two different parties, answering to the Governor General while the Governor General is answering to the Queen. That is still colonialism. So that is why we are not there. If it was a system of His Majesty, where the end was His Majesty, Rastafarians would be there.
What would that look like? What would the ultimate be in a decolonization of Jamaica?
Turn to Rastafari. Hand over the government to Rastafari. Keep the Sabbath. Flow the banner of Rastafari; return the sons and daughters to their rightful place in Africa beneath the banner of the red, gold and green. Our principles are different from the principals of those that rule the country.
Can Rastafarianism and democracy co-exist?
Well, we don’t fight against other people’s beliefs. We learn to live side-by-side and share the mutual vibes but Rastafari…wont go with anything else, they only stick to the order of His Majesty. Rastafari, straight, nothing else. Democrats or Republicans, they maintain their status as Democrats or Republicans but they still deal with other people. Same thing with Rasta! We still maintain our ‘ting but we still share with them, they are a different other people. A different nation and a different culture, so we have to maintain our culture as for them to know who the black man is, who the black man represents and what he is doing. I can’t be a black man and using colonialism…it’s just not gonna work.
Let’s talk about the music a little. Looking back, which is the signature Sizzla album, Praise Ye Jah or Black Woman & Child?
I would say Praise Ye Jah. That really put Sizzla out there, giving praise unto Jah, and then Black Woman & Child just came and picked it up.
Tell me a little bit about your decision to work exclusively with The Firehouse Crew on this new album? I know they produced your first album, but you have worked with a lot of producers since then…
They have been my production team ever since. I worked with other producers but even with all those producers, the riddims were made by the band that made this album (
Ghetto Youth-ology). This is the band I have been touring with [my whole career] and they are the musicians who made the riddims for “Praise Ye Jah”, “Real Thing”, “Black Woman and Child…so it is right to give the band an album because I am with the band more than these other producers.
Okay, I see, I see. So what is your recording process like? Do you go into the studio and just jam together? Do you go through a bunch of beats and just see what you like?
Honestly, I don’t like to hear no riddim and my voice is not on the riddim, that is one of my principles. Normally, we might record at least twenty songs and from those twenty songs we choose the best beats and lyrical content, pronunciation, deliverance…it depends on the beats because if we are going to make an album, we want to make something really nice. I just think of goodness and choose the riddim that is the best fit for the vibe, mood and atmosphere. You know what you want to give to the people, so after compiling all these riddims, we might record twenty or twenty-five songs and then go again and sift it, choose which is best for the album. That is how we get our work done.
So you have your own studio now with Judgment Yard and you also have your own label, Kalonji Music. What was the impetus there?
Well, you can’t go to school without your book and your pencil. I make music, and it’s really difficult at times for an artist to get a break. So, as an artist, you get a break, best thing is to set up a studio where it will be much easier for you to do your work, reach out in the world. I call the place Judgment Yard based on Psalms 9, where the most high said he is going to establish a Throne of Judgment, and judge the people of the earth in righteousness.
I’ve done everything for myself because it will be so much easier for me. I have experienced being on the road, trying to get a break and it is so difficult, really, to get a break. So after getting a little money, it would only be right to just set yourself [up] to be a part and contribute to the industry. Get a sound system, get a studio, and just continue with the work of Jah. Spread the message.
Tell me a little about the difficulty you had trying to get in the door of the music industry, what were you doing before you were “the” Sizzla Kalonji?
Before getting my break, I was just attending high school. Singing, Djing, going up on stage, going to the country, going to sound system dances. We just be all over the place, being active as kids, swimming in the river, making songs in the mountains, traveling all over accumulating that energy. Writing songs and getting those natural vibes out of the mountains and springs, going to shows, learning what’s going on and getting experience. It was a bit difficult for us before the music because you know; we are all born suffering in the system. We have got to be vigilant and have the zeal, and just go through! Selling on the street, selling in the market, working in the supermarket…I have done a lot of stuff. I had been working in the garage with my Dad before getting this break, fixing cars and stuff like that. So, we just give thanks [and] there is a change for the better.
What were your inspirations when you were growing up and doing music?
Okay, first of all, Jah Rastafari is the Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah; there is everything in the Most High. So a lot of time [I] sat and studied about the King, where he is coming from, the history of the country and the people. The best person we could look upon for a good example was persons like His Imperial Majesty Emperor King Haile Selassie, Most Honorable Marcus Josiah Garvey, Most Honorable Prince Emmanuel Charles Edward and the Rastafari community. So my inspiration was from Jah Rastafari himself, and my surroundings, my whole environment…the way we were brought up in the community. Other kids, other families, seeing sufferation and the impoverished state that the people are in…it all gave me a lot of inspiration to write songs. See the lady suffering with the kids, no daddy, single parent…inspiration comes from everything. Heaven and Earth, The Almighty God Himself and the people.
And on a musical level, were there any people who had an impact on you?
Bob Marley, for sure. Peter Tosh, Dennis Brown, Jacob Miller, Admiral Tibbett, Michael Rhodes, and all those great icons. Beres Hammond, Cocoa Tea, Gregory Isaac, [the] young stage [of] Buju.
If you were to able to go see any living musician perform, paying with your own money but anyone you want, who would it be?
Only one person? I would probably want more than one person…but definitely I would want to see Michael Jackson [This was just about two weeks prior to Michael Jackson’s passing-Editor]. In performance. On the stage. In front of me. Because I am experienced in the stage, I would just like to see how he delivers. And those old soul singers, those are the ones I would pay my money to go see. Icons, artists like James Brown and Aretha Franklin.
As you said, you are an experienced live performer, you tour a great deal, do you have any favorite places to go? What is it like seeing the worldwide influence of the Rastafarian faith? And what was it like performing in Africa for the first time?
I performed in the Gambia. But I would say they are all my favorites, there are so many beautiful places and countries. I personally, admire a lot of these countries but what I admire more is the people and their support, so it would be unfair to say I like this one more than that one. Understand, touring is very important, you get to meet and greet the people supporting you, they heard your voice crying out for the poor and they want to come and meet you. The Rastafari community worldwide is very large and they really appreciate someone coming to spread the message. But nothing I am saying is new, everybody knows it. The glory and the joy that Sizzla come and maintain is expected. What they are saying about Rasta; Rastafari born long before Sizzla crown, long before Sizzla. So when Sizzla come sing Rastafari and say, “love”, it’s nothing new, people knew about love before Sizzla born. It is love that created Sizzla and it is love that created His Majesty. The joy about it is to see a young youth, taking up that mantle and going ahead with it, spreading the love. People love that because people listened to Bob Marley before Sizzla, Bunny Wailer, Dennis Brown before Sizzla but the mystique in that is that youth come and it’s a big inspiration, so everybody is going to surround him. It’s simple, and if someone new comes and sing the same thing and come on the same righteous path, people are going to give him joy and love.
True, true. So was Damon Dash Music Group involved in Ghetto Youth-ology?
No. After Dame Dash’s album [The Overstanding], I got an album called I-Space, and then there was one called Waterhouse Redemption. Then you’ve got VP and Greensleeves who merged together and they come out with one called Journey, which has all of Sizzla old hits. Now the Firehouse Crew, I been working with this band, they help me get money. It’s a band; why not make an album with them? I said, "You know what? It’s your time, I gave everybody an album and you guys go with me everywhere in the world and I have never done an album with you, so lets get an album out and let everyone know I appreciate the work you have put up. So that is just Sizzla and Firehouse productions, Dame Dash is not involved. I wasn’t signed to Dame Dash you know, I was signed to Def Jam.
Are you still in business with Damon Dash Music Group?
Apparently…I just got his number today after a couple months, because my phone got lost. I don’t fight against people…I am there to make money, as much as I can because people get sick every day, so if you can get a lot of money that will be good. But not just only the money! When you meet and greet people, that is where the power lies. The people don’t tell you what to write, they don’t tell you what the composition is, but they listen to your songs, they buy your songs, so how hard is it for you to go out there and [perform] for them. That is your blessing man, go and get it! In the abundance of water, the fool is thirsty. I am not going to sit back on my blessings when the world wants to see. I don’t care where they want me to go! I go out on my tours, especially the European tours, eighty or ninety percent white people. Some tours, the only thing black is just me and my band members. All white people in the show and they have got no locks but they dressed up in Rastafari color. Those things inspire me. These people are not of my Nation, a different Nation, a different style but they still dress up in my Father color. They got my Father’s red, gold and green, they got my Father’s name, and all my other Father’s who had come and sing about the great majesty Jah Rastafari, they got all their songs. So when I see that I have to say my Father work serious because white people out there flowing the red, gold and green and living a natural life and love it. So why should I be stupid and not look after that and learn. You are never too old to learn, never too young to learn. You need an education to make yourself a better person to fight off the corruption coming up in these times. I don’t only get education through schools and institutions of learning but I get it off the streets, get it from the fans, the people I meet and greet every day throughout my life educate me.
www.sizzla.orgwww.myspace.com/sizzlakalonji
