Biography
read full storyTo say that The Wailers is one of my all-time favourite groups would be an understatement and I grew up in neighbourhoods similar to that of Bob, Peter and Bunny. However they grew up on the West side of the City of Kingston while I grew up still in Kingston but much further inland in the Maxfield Avenue, Waltham Park Road, Washington Boulevard, Marverly areas. Like them, I grew up in a matriar ...
To say that The Wailers is one of my all-time favourite groups would be an understatement and I grew up in neighbourhoods similar to that of Bob, Peter and Bunny. However they grew up on the West side of the City of Kingston while I grew up still in Kingston but much further inland in the Maxfield Avenue, Waltham Park Road, Washington Boulevard, Marverly areas. Like them, I grew up in a matriarchal matrilocal home as although I knew my dad he didn’t play any role in my upbringing. It was ALL my beloved Mama Mzazi (i.e. my mother, my Momzee). I was in infant school when The Wailers were coming onto the scene however that didn’t stop me from liking their music and knowing their songs word for word. For me, my two favourite songs are Stir It Up and No Woman No Cry. I must immediately confess that while the lyrics are absolutely brilliant, it was the understanding of what they were singing about (particularly Stir It Up) that attracted my interest back then, nowadays it is the guitar solos that are so addictive to me. I learned to play the guitar while in high school and played on and off with a high school band until late 1970’s. Thereafter I was focused on education and pursued a career in Information Technology until June 2009 at which time I took up the guitar once again and started to play. I have not been playing in a band but have jammed with members of bands as well as other freelance musicians. I have also played on a track called Curves by reggae artist Jah Bouks which is still to be released. At present I have tracks for sale on iTunes and Amazon among others. These tracks are all original compositions and are as follows: 1. Cries Of The Ancestors (formerly Ancestral Blues) I also have joined the Jamaica Association of Composers, Artists and Publishers (JACAP) and have registered ALL the above songs. I am currently working from home and all the above songs were released on an EP entitled My Island Darling in late October 2013. All of my songs to date have been instrumentals and I am now in the process of recording songs for another CD to be entitled My Green Mother and there are currently four songs that are in various stages of completion. These are as follows: 1. Afrika Uprising 2. The Last Day Of Mother Earth 3. The Akan Woman 4. Children Of The Rainforest Afrika Uprizing is a spoken word effort primarily featuring ethnic percussive instruments such as the shaker, various congas possibly a balafon, djembe drums and ethnic wind instruments such as the didgeridoo, the abeng and various antelope horn based instruments. In this track I speak to the Ancestors, the land, the rivers, the plants and the animals and I thank them all for life. I also speak to great African Leaders who have since transitioned and now sit amongst our Ancestors but whose legacy lives on and is a source of constant inspiration. The Last Day Of Mother Earth is a very sad song that is based around a very sad chord progression. It features the sounds of death, destruction and depravity. It also features the sounds of war and of technology. The Akan Woman is a love song but one with a very dark underside. She is almost taboo. She is attractive, she’s mysterious but she’s also very dangerous. Children Of The Rainforest is somewhat similar to The Last Day Of Mother Earth but is intended for our Asian and South American brothers and sisters. The instrumentation is different and feature a different set of instruments. Flutes and various stringed instruments provides a sound that is more readily identified with Asia and South America. This is also a very sad song and deals with the destruction of the rainforest by logging companies and the plight of the people who live there.
2. What Am I To Do
3. Blades Of Grass (formerly Kamau Blues)
4. Aj Blues Jam
5. Nakupenda (Studio Version)
6. The Medicine Man (Rain Chant)
7. My Island Darling