Babylon
has set up a system designed to keep black people enslaved and ashamed of their
culture. The system is so structured that the only way for black people, is to
look to the east and seek repatriation to the continent of their origin guided
by the Trinity of Haile Selassie, Marcus Garvey and Immanuel and thier
teachings.
|
RM does not share nor condone the messages or opinions expressed in
certain artists' lyrics no more than the record companies who
promote them do. Reggae is an expressive embracive music and
its culture reaches many realms. To boycott an artist due to
opinions expressed in music is censorship and would do a disservice
to the music and the loyal listeners who have a sensical perception.
In addition, reggae listeners as a whole, have the ability to
differentiate negative epithets as much as they have the ability to
promote and encourage positive ones. RM will strive, as its
always done, to promote the positive, to never accentuate the
negative, and to provide its followers with all aspects of the
music. RM is fully aware of some of its listeners' dissenting
opinions on certain artists opinionated lyrics and encourages all to
see beyond negative epithets and spread peace and not isolation. |
This is the message of Sizzla and
it influences his music to the extent that he is being looked upon as the
teacher and the inspiration for Jamaican youths who want to retain the basic
culture of their African origins.
Sizzla's songs speak to poverty and
hopelessness that pervades young Jamaica and obviously oppressed youths
worldwide. Like Bob Marley, a couple of generations before him, he delivers a
message which speaks to poverty, homelessness, police brutality, cultural pride
and political and religious oppression.
Born Miguel Collins, Sizzla is a product of one of Jamaica's uptown
ghettos, August Town.
One of his earliest experiences of how unfair the social system is in Jamaica,
was while he was in his mid-teens. In order to get into a Technical High School
so he could learn a trade and have a better chance of earning a living, he had
to leave High School , go back to pre-high and then apply to get into a High
School which taught trades- Dunoon High School, where he studied Mechanical
Engineering.
Dunoon has a reputation of association with some of the best dancehall deejays
from the city, including Shabba Ranks and Lady G. So with an inner inclination
towards music, it wasn't surprising that while there, he started recording
music.
It was Homer Harris, the same man who gave Buju Banton his first break, who
introduced him to top Jamaican saxophonist, Dean Frazier, (Musical Director for
Philip "Fattis" Burrell's Xterminator Family).
"Fatis" was delighted with his potential, decided to record him.
Sizzla, who had originally planned
to follow in the footsteps of his mechanic father Aston, suddenly had a change
of heart. He abandoned his mechanic training, came under the influence of Buju
Banton and Shabba Ranks' cassettes and decided to stick to music.
The
auto industry loss was a tremendous gain for the music industry in Jamaica and
indeed around the world.
Since the start of 1997, Sizzla's popularity within the music industry has grown
so rapidly, he is considered a musical phenomenon. His tunes fill the charts and
sales have been so trmrndous that every reggae producer wished he had a Sizzla
song to release and every sound system wants a Sizzla dubplate to be current.
Touring with the Xterminator Family and star perfomer Luciano, has gained for
him, tremendous experience and exposure and now Sizzla is about to move up the
ranks and make his name as a musical prophet and messenger, in his own right
