Conversations With Shanae Jackson

The term soul food became popular in the 1960s. The origins of soul food, however, are much older and can be traced back to Africa—and to a lesser extent, to Europe, as well. Foods such as rice, sorghum, and okra — all common elements of West African cuisine--were introduced to the Americas as a result of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. They became dietary staples among enslaved Africans. They also comprise an important part of the cuisine of the American south, in general. Many culinary historians believe that in the beginning of the 14th century, around the time of early Euro-African exploration, European explorers brought their own food supplies and introduced them into local African diets. Foods such as corn and cassava from the Americas, turnips from Morocco, and cabbage from Portugal would play an important part in the history of African-American cooking.

On one of the City of Angels first truly-like Spring days, Shanae Jackson is hunkered over some soul food at Roscos on the corner of Pico Boulevard and La Brea Avenue in West Los Angeles. I had been stuck in Downtown Los Angeles while she'd already through with her sessions at the multiplex So Westbred Studios in Los Angeles. Shanae takes soul food seriously and at the same time her intense gigs all around Los Angeles. She had waited at Roscos for part of this conversation over some soul food and had waited for about half an hour before I popped up from the hectic Los Angeles area traffic, especially taking Pico Blvd. at rush hour. Shanae also talked about her music, the future and all that, but food was first. When I checked in at Roscos, Shanae was on the phone for a local newspaper interview on a series of her related projects. The subject: Her intention to put more time in the recording studio and her desire for more gigs in the Los Angeles area. Shanae's parents migrated from the South West 34-years ago settling on the West-side in Inglewood.

But when it comes to everything that matters in this world of ours that has so dramatically changed we now live in a synthetic world; just like it use to be that if you loved cooking, you become a chef and spend the rest of your working days slaving away in a kitchen, largely unseen. But these days, you can sit on your porch and write a cookbook and if you are lucky it becomes a best seller. A whole lot has changed and when I engaged Shanae starting from her love of food and the recipes, she did not think about her destination, telling of writing a cookbook on soul food and vice versa.

Ambrose Ehirim: How did LA rocks girl like you from the hood out here in my neck of the woods got so interested in South Western meals and soul food?

Shanae Jackson: What do you mean? I'm a Southern girl though I was born and raised in LA. My parents moved from the South to LA before I was born. I learned from my mother and all the dishes she prepared for us while we were growing up. And through my mother and her cooking, I fell in love with all the southwestern ingredients: all the fresh and dried chili peppers, the corn, okra, rice, all the different dried and fresh beans, and all the varieties of seafood -- crab, lobsters, shrimps, including baby shrimps, and all different types of fish.

What's your impression of how LA fits into the world stage of food?

I think Los Angeles is very important in terms of what's going on in this country in general. Lots of exciting restaurants. More than ever, restaurants in LA have become more important. Years ago people would say 'if you don't have Eddie Murphy coming in, you can't be busy.' I think that's not so true anymore. I think it's LA and there's people from all around the world cooking their own recipe and people would like to go and try it and it's kind of fun. But when you see some of the restaurants that are going up and setting some food trends, I think the food is really becoming the star. Like you guys have your own kind of food, the fufu, that's the star and African restaurants are all over LA now which is good for the growing diverse community.


I have joined you in many barbecue picnics and still have no clue how it's prepared even though I love the stuff and you know it. What's the most crucial thing a first-time barbecuer should know?

[Laughs...] How to light the charcoal. [Laughs.] A lot of people use gas grills, but if you are going to use a charcoal grill, the thing that you want to buy for about fifteen bucks is a chimney. It takes the lighter fluid out of the game, and that's what you need to know right away.

On a cookbook.

I'm putting it together and it's going to be all around southwestern recipe.

Now let's get into what I would call the real deal. What's up with music and all that studio time at So Westbred Studios?


Well it all started from going to the studio supposed to try my demonstration I did elsewhere and I was required to drop it for the studio engineers to work on and give me feedback if my work was worth their time. I ended up spending more hours watching the sound engineer make bits and editing sort of. It was also nice to go back to the same studio and learn more about making beats.

Music seems to be baked in your genes. Why?

Music is in all cultures and it sends a very powerful message. One of the many things music magically conveys is great emotions. No matter what you are going through, there are thousands of songs that address that particular human experience. Music doesn't always need a lyric to convey feelings of great attraction. 'Some of the most get down with it' music is instrumental. Lust can be found in the tone of a player's instrument, be it piano, guitar or voice.It doesn't necessarily matter what is being played or said -- they bring it with them. For example, how about these two words: Jimi Hendrix. Hardly any of his songs don't have that thang thang. The sound of his guitar spoke volumes of raw, reproductive poetics.

Your favorite hangout these days?


I really don't hangout like I use to. Shoo, I like the Sunday Brunch with Doug MacDonald's live Jazz Trio at the Hilton Hotels and Resorts, by LAX. Live band, good music and good food. I like Shamshiriri Gril on Westwood Blvd. at UCLA. It's always fun and their food is good.

When do you think you album will be coming out?

Later this year why I keep up with the gigs.

Good luck!

Thanks!

Rapper Yo-Yo and the Million Marijuana March

Rapper Yo-Yo being interviewed by one of the leading advocates for marijuana.


Rapper Yo-Yo signs autographs as the event unfolds.


Yo-Yo and a cast of marijuana advocates poses for the camera.


Anambra State-Nigeria-born Chi Chi performing one of her favorite tunes "Chukwu Nyere Anyi Aka" to wrap up the event.


An advocate wearing the Home Grown T-shirt and a performer on stage.


Kelly Love Jones holds her baby while entertaining the crowd as the cameraman takes his shots aground the stage.


Los Angeles, CA -- Saturday, May 08, 2010: It wasn't like the 2010 Playboy Jazz Festival Community Event Series I had attended a week earlier at the Beverly Hills Civic Center Plaza, on Rexford Drive and Santa Monica Boulevard, which featured the Grammy-award winning pianist Ben Cunliffe and his Septet, or the swinging big band vibes of Johnny Crawford and his Orchestra, courtesy of Resonance Records.

It was the "Million Marijuana March" held on the grounds of the historical Leimert Park with an amazing crowd. Female rapper and hip-hop artist, Yo-Yo was around. Born Yolanda Whittaker, who back in the early 1990s exploded in Ice Cube's single "Amerikkka's Most Wanted" and a year later with her own debut album "Make Way For The Motherlobe" and the smash hit single "you Can't Play With My Yo-Yo?" featuring Cube, was obviously the center of attraction in an event of its own kind.

Chants of legalizing marijuana was in the air as in Peter Tosh' "Legalize It":

Legalize it; don't criticize it
legalize it, yeah, yeah
and I will advertize it

Some call it tampee
some call the weed
some call it marijuana
some of them call it ganja

it's good for the flu
it's good for asthma
it's good for tuberculosis
even umara composis;

And the music, too, was loud with a legendary Bob Marley's vibe:

One love! One heart
Let's get together and feel alright
Hear the children crying' (one love)
Hear the children crying' (one heart)
Saying give thanks and praise to the Lord
And I will feel alright
Saying let's get together and feel alright
Wo wo-wo wo-wo

Let them all pass their dirty remarks (One love)
There is one question I'd really love to ask (One Heart)
Is there a place for the hopeless sinner
Who hurt mankind just to save his own beliefs
One love! what about one heart? (one heart)
What about - ? let's get together and feel alright
As it was in the beginning (one love)
So shall it be in the end (one heart)...

Nevertheless, what mattered was the stuff that Rapper Yo-Yo does -- giving back to the community where she was raised with her youth foundation, "Let Your Light Shine Youth Foundation" along with Lana Moore. And my credo on that, is, by her foundation mentoring, educating and engaging in all kinds of social programs by way of providing positive influences to the youths of today.

Yo-Yo has worked alongside producers and artists in the likes of Missy Elliot, Keri Hilson, DJ Quik, Ceelo, DJ Toomp, Eric Sermon, The Lab Rats, Raheem Davon, among others. Also, her acting career sprang from the 1991 film "Boyz N The Hood" to "Menace II Society," etc.

So you go girl! It was all good!

Long Beach's Ragga Muffins: A Carnival Of Its Own Class

I have not paid much attention over the years due to my diversion in doing something else in terms of where I go and what I do, especially the outdoors, and I had to leave the saxy jazzy jam sessions for a minute.

But once in a while I delve into listening to some of the classics, the roots reggae I dust off from my music library. And what the master poet, Bob Marley, had done with revelations is what keeps body and soul one which did change all that and the origin of reggae - the revolution that produced casts like The Mighty Diamonds, Toots Hilbert (Maytals), Don Carlos (Gold), Gregory Isaacs, Prince Jazzbo, Michael Prophet, Michael Rose (Black Uhuru), The Gladiators, Junior Murvin, Nicodemus, Luciano, Sugar Minot and many others.

Many more had their vibes differently: Jimmy Cliff, Ken Lazarus, Desmond Dekker, Max Romeo, Perry Henzell, Rita Anderson (Marley's wife), and Lee "Scratch" Perry.

And then came U-Roy, I-Roy and Johnny Clark whose vibes changed the whole concept of prophesies and added a kind of flavor that took reggae to another level.

And the creative dubbers, the DJ's did not keep their cool with their theme, even at midnight. Mad Professor, Scientist, Augustus Pablo, Big Youth, Yellowman and the rest.

So as it happened, this past Sunday, February 21, while dread driving on 7th Street and just poking around to check out some of the newest arrivals on the bookshelves in one of the bookstores around the corner, it echoed the 29th Annual Ragga Muffins Festival was jamming in the hood and that some of the performers I had been in touch with in the past will be appearing.

It was a hell of a carnival. Bob Marley posters, Marley silhouettes as special tribute to the legend in what use to be Bob Marley Festival. Jamaican Flags was all over and people from all walks of life popped up. The crowd was amazing and the show remarkably was a success based on how it was handled by Long Beach Police Department.

The casts, also, was very engaging in a brilliant performance with Alborosie's first appearance in the Southland. The line-up: Barrington Levy, Gregory Isaacs, Cocoa Tea, Taurus Riley The Mighty Diamonds, The Aggrolites, The Lions and Detour Posse.

The vendors and the food courts
The smoky grilled chicken
The Jamaican cuisines
The outfits; some really outrageous
And the color riots
Reggae explodes in Long Beach Arena

A fun-filled evening and by the time I had walked back to my car on Ocean Blvd., it was like the magic of darkness and the night of happiness in a carnival of its own class.

A Beautiful Holiday Weekend In Los Angeles

About a couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine had talked me into going to the Bay area to watch Stephen Bishop perform at the Intramuros, South San Francisco, in a benefit concert. She had wanted to see the concert so bad. I had been preoccupied in Los Angeles. She wants to play a role in the concert for worthy causes. For the concert, and about our friendship, we are a study of compare and contrast.

She's into old-school -- the Norman Whitfield/Barrett Strong and Kenneth Gamble/Leon Huff composition-era. I'm into all vibes, a musicologist. She's a hardcore liberal; garrulous. I'm reserved, a somehow liberal conservative; a centrist. She's a fashion freak. I'm careless, fashionwise. She reads fiction and believes in the Zodiac signs. I'm the non-fiction reader kinda guy and have no faith in astrology. She's Libra. I'm Virgo. She cooks good. I'm a mixologist. She has shoulder length curly hair. I'm ishi nkwocha, shaved bald. She's Tonga, a Pacific Islander. I'm Igbo, an African. She's straight. I'm straight. She loves outdoors, and I do, too. She wears contact lenses. I wear prescription glasses; and both coasts are clear.

To make up for ditching Bishop's concert at the Intramuros, she brought up a set of rules on her own terms and whatever she said was going to be the rules. I said "Okay!" She got her way and ordered me around the house. That was cool!

Her set of rules was specifically for the Memorial Day weekend and that whenever it's all over I could take back my manly stuff and go ahead with my own set of rules she'd not have problems complying with. The rules were set as follows: There would be no driving and Friday which commences the holiday weekend would be set for eating out, perhaps a little bit of home cooking and checking out the movies. I knew it was going to be a hell of a fun since summer was just breezing around the corner.

School is over for some -- my daughter is back and it's going to be a long, beautiful summer, especially her tales of academia and life in the dorm. The weather's quite nice. Lots of sunshine. The beaches are full to capacity. Bikinis. Hot pants. Those fine, dark sunglasses. Beautiful faces sipping cocktails in the sun.

The volleyball tournaments: Hermosa Beach. Redondo Beach. Venice Beach. Rockweller Beach. Santa Monica Beach. The mark of summer.

The eateries and the random popped up in-house restaurants. The real deal and summer jams. Ceccone's on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood. Jane's House on Hollywood Blvd. The Standard in Downtown Los Angeles. The Mint on Pico Blvd. in West Los Angeles. Club Tatou on Boylston Street in Los Angeles. O'Brien's Irish Pub and Restaurant on Main Street in Santa Monica. The Amazon Hut Brazilian Juice Bar on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica.

The new arrivals on the bookshelves. "Rinnavation: Getting Your Best Life Ever," by Lisa Rinna on life's amazing journey. "Bad Mother: A Chronicle Of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, And Occasional Moments Of Grace," by Ayelet Waldman.

At the movies as the summer hits pops up in June. "Public Enemies," directed by Michael Mann and starring Johnny Depp as John Dillinger, the notorious Depression-era bank robber, and Christian Bale as Melvin Purvis, the fedral agent who tailed Dillinger. "The Taking Of Pelham 123," starring Academy Award winner Denzel Washington as Walter Mathau, of a New York transit dispatcher and directed by Tony Scott. Here, John Travolta stars as leader of the gang. James Gandofini appears as Mayor of New York whom Travolta must fear. "Funny People," directed by Judd Apatow and starring Adam Sandler, Leslie Mann and Seth Regan. The film is all comedy but Sandler's role as a dying middle-aged man might turn movie goers off.

"Taking Woodstock," directed by Ang Lee based on a true story of Elliot Tiber, an employee at a motel in the Castkills who inadvertantly made Woodstock happen. "Inglorious Bastards," -- another World War 2 story of Nazi occupied France written and directed by Quentin Terantino. The movie features Brad Pitt as the leader of the Jewish-American soldiers dispatched to perform targeted acts of retribution on German troops occupying France. "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," which opens in all theaters June 24. Michael Bay directed, starring Shia LeBeouf as Sam who becomes enmeshed in a battle between two extraterrestial clans "when he buys his first car and it turns out to be an alien robot in disguise." And, of course, there's Eddie Murphy's "Imagine That."

These, and too many others we talked about. So as it happened, she's the one calling the shots. She wanted some African dish, and I was like, o yeah, again? She did not know what was running through my mind about her quest for African food. She's the one calling the shots, remember? I had to oblige since this great country of ours is a nation of rules, fact why it's organized.

For some reason, she figured I was not comfortable with the African restaurant kind of stuff she's been persistent asking for. We have all the time in the world to eat ofe olugbo, bitter leaf soup (dunno why it's my favorite) coupled with the okporoko, stockfish, eju, snail, dried fish and anu ewu, goat meat, as long as her weekend rules were upheld and respected.

However, on Friday, May 22, she decided we should go whole grain, vegetables and stuff like that. One spot was not too far from our location. We walked down about six blocks to this restaurant on the Westside. It was kind of regular and approximately a nice way to begin the long weekend. The restaurant, recently remodelled had a gracious and attentive service. We ordered some seafoods that was served with chunks of salmon, perfectly cooked shrimp with lotta veggies and other health-related fiber stuff. She loves wholesome sweetners such as honey, maple syrup, sorhum, sucanet and stevia.

A good looking evening, we hopped on the bus to the Archlight Cinema in Hollywood to see Ron Howard's "Angels & demons," starring Tom Hanks which to me should be Howard's last in that category. The movie's full of surprises.

On Saturday, May 23, the rules did not change. No driving, remember? After cleaning up and doing the normal around house work, we concluded it's Metro Line time. We arrived at the Wilshire/Vermont Blue Line Station and hopped on the train. Checking out from the Hollywood/Highland Station, we took the steps and bumped on tourists from all walks of life who took pictures of stars and the accomplished on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Walking further down where Hollywood Blvd. meets Vine Street, and on the south of Hollywood laid the plaque of Apollo 13 -- Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin Jr. and Michael Collins -- the first American astronauts to visit the moon.

On the north sits the landmark Capitol Records Tower known to have either recorded or marketed from the 50s to date, Frank Sinatra, Nat king Cole, Duran Duran, Richard Marx, David Bowie, The Beatles, The Beastie Boys, Kenny Rogers, Yellow Card, George Clinton, Selena Quintalline, Poison, The Band, Ice Cube, Radiohead, Tina Turner, Billy Holliday, Miles Davis, Grand Funk Railroad, Pink Floyd, Peter Tosh, Steve Miller Band, Maze, Dave Koz, Freddie Jackson, Snoop Dogg, Grace Jones, Kim Carnes, Queen, Eddie Harris and many others.

In continuation of our excursion, we went underground and hopped back on the train to the North Hollywood Station. A girl sitting next to us was reading a book on Andrew Jackson, an indication President Barack Obama's "The New Dawn" is doing stuff for the "era of the common man" and Jacksonian democracy to have replicated in the age of internet. While the train was about to station, I called my friend, Pascal, that we were on our way to his apartment. We popped up at the 5400 block of fair Avenue at the luxury NoHo (North Hollywood) Commons Apartments. We had arrived on time to watch the Los Angeles Lakers play the Dencer Nuggets in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals. Three other guys and two gorgeous ladies were also visiting my friend, Pascal, and it seemed very much the guys were having a heart attack due to the uncertainties that had clouded Lakers' game during the series.

Our Lakers had pulled this one out to silence the cynics. Even Derek Fisher who had been written off, delivered and helped our Lakers pull a 103-97 victory over the Nuggets. Immediately after the game, we drove in two set of cars to The Echo on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood. It's our kind of place. Time is telling. The place had a full bar, a dance floor and more than electric. It's a joint where the 70s and 80s pure funk would blow your mind. It was a blast and by the time it was over, we all realized Hollywood was a city of its own.

On Sunday, May 25, she had asked if I would be going to church. She's a practicing Catholic while I was born a Catholic. A difference. But I had shown her my new religious affiliation. The anonymously written book "I AM GOD: Here's My Message." I told her I would be ordering an additional copy as that might change her thinking on how religion has caused all the world's troubles. She prepared breakfast and we ate.

With that in place, we both agreed it's time to relax our driving restrictions and check out Hollywood proper; where Santa Monica Blvd. meets Western Avenue on the sidewalks women of easy virtue and prostitutes hang out. On the corner of Santa Monica Blvd. and Wilcox, Dragonfly, the sensational pot-smoking and reggae jams on Thursday nights. Amoeba Music, for all your record albums in any music category, facing the CNN building on Cahuenga and Sunset. The same sex ridden hangouts in West Hollywood on Sunset and Roxbury. After touring Hollywood for a minute coupled with sightseeing we took off for another round at the movies. We saw "Terminator Salvation" at the Mann Theaters in Hollywood. Kind of strange, though, the movie, to me, wasn't anything spectacular. A sequel to the three respective "Terminator" movies. I could not read her feelings about the movie.

On Monday, May 25, the awaited Memorial Day, arrived, eventually. We had been up early. There was the 2009 Los Angeles Marathon which I had never been part of, but have gone to see it, anyway. On this particular day and since all roads had been blocked, we chanced parking around Miracle Mile on the Wilshire Corridor. We had treked about 11 blocks and had stationed on the corner of La Brea Avenue and 3rd Street in Hancock Park. The marathon stretched from da hood through the "Black Township" of the Crenshaw thoroughfare all the way to Hancock Park and finishing up in Koreatown.

We had been almost exhausted and it's time for the last jam to end the holiday weekend. The jam: 23rd Annual UCLA Jazz Reggae Festival on the playgrounds of the campus' Intramural Field in Westwood, California. The previous night, Day 1 of the festival, which we missed as a result of other engagements had Erykah Badu, People Under the Stairs, Leela James and De La Soul take center stage. Day 2 had been slated to run between 12 P.M. until 7 P.M. It went later than that and, as usual, too much of a jam. The line up: Mavado, a.k.a "The Gully God" who performed live for the first time in LA, took the show to another level with his new band. He was equal to the occasion. Other casts in the reggae jam and finale were Michael Montano, Assassin, The Dirty Heads and Morgan Heritage.

Like Woodstock of the hippie-era and a replicated Coachella event in Indio, I had been exhausted from the excursions and partying hard the preceding days, and had laid flat on the field while the ragamuffin vibes transmitted through my head. The stomping UCLA campers and the voices of roots reggae did go through my head, and it was all good.

PHOTOS clockwise from bottom left: (2009 Los Angeles Marathon courtesy of Ian Sephton; MTA Tap Machine; Metro Rail Line; Metro Bus Line 770, Leela James takes center stage and performs "let's Do It Again," courtesy of Singers Room; and the 2009 UCLA Jazz Reggae Festival banner courtesy of The Deli Magazine.)

The Trend, The Time and Bob Marley

Old pirates yes they rob I
sold I to the merchant ships
minutes after the took I
from the bottomless pit
but my hand was made strong
by the hand of the Almighty

we forward in this generation
triuphantly
won't you help to sing
the songs of freedom
'cuz' all I only have
redemption song...redemption song

emancipate yourself from mental slavery
none but ourselves can free our minds
have no fear for atomic energy
'cuz' none of them can stop the time
how long shall they kill our prophets
while we stand aside and look

some say it's just a part of it
\we got to fulfill the book
won't you help to sing
the songs of freedom
'cuz' all I only have
redemption song...

"Yes, the lyrics is baked in my genes from the moment the album was released. And I 'dunno' if this is becoming craziness. But, no, I am trying to figure out how it all popped up, and of what origin am beginning to sense that this is not something new or probably I may be losing it because the lyrics itself had a whole lot to do about my being,and specifically the pirates who had thought they were doing my being a favor which led to the mess that seemingly has consumed the world today, and certainly a world that continues to be troubled."

"Hey, man, what's wrong with you and what the hell are you talking about... are you alright, man!?"

"Oh, yeah, 'am alright. It's just that something is baked in my genes and it continues to give me that natural high. I really 'dunno' what it is."

"What's going on and what exactly is baked in your genes?"

"Well, I just gave you a hint and it's not rocket science. Simple and clear, but since you are too dumb like Fred Sanford would tell his son when they ran the salvage company, Sanford & Son, let's try it again. It's called 'The Trend and The Time", not Morris Day & The Time, perhaps before "Purple Rain." Did you get it?"

"Nope."

"So what do you want me to do? Stuff it?"

"What are you talking about for goodness sake?"

"Here we go again, he wants to know everything."

"Of course, I do. Have you been smoking some weed or something?"

And, what's that... you see what I mean? Each time something pops up, it's all about weed."

"Look, man, I'm through with you."

"Really?!"

"Really!"

"Ok, let's see, have you ever heard of Bob Marley?"

"Of course, who doesn't know Bob Marley, the legend."

"Here you go. You are becoming a good boy and I am proud of you. But let me ask you, though, did he ever made sense to you?"

"Yep, and now what?"

"This is the deal, and make sure you take notes when I lecture."

Funny and confusing, huh? It all depends on which way you look at it. Not much happenned for the gone week but I did chew on some few stuff. Too many books popped up about Bob Marley, though I haven't made time to check them out at the bookstores, but I read the review, "The Bob Marley Story", well-done by Joshua Jelly-Schapiro in the April 9, 2009 edition of the of The New York Review of Books. Summing it all up, to one essay, Schapiro provided a lot of information from the following: "Before the Legend: The Rise of Bob Marley", by Christopher John Farley; "Bob Marley: Herald of the Postcolonial World," by Jason Toynbee; "The Book of Exodus: The Making and Meaning of Bob Marley and the Wailers' Album of the CEntury", by Vivien Goldman; and "Soul Rebel: An Intimate Portrait of Bob Marley", by David Burnett.

Good piece and in-depth, and Schapiro writes;

"Marley is the only third world performer to be elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1999, the BBC named his "One Love" the "Song of the Millennium", the same year Time Magazine declared his 1977 "Exodus" the "Best Album of the Twentieth Century" voted the third greates songwriter of all time in 2001 by BBC poll (behind Bob Dylan and John Lennon...)"

Bob Marley was something else. He changed everything about reggae which evolved from ska, rocksteady and prophesy after his neigborhood buddies, Winston McIntosh and Neville "Bunny" Wailer" Livingstoe would join him in forming the Wailers. McIntosh went by the name of Peter Tosh while Livingstone would be Bunny Wailer. And, the rest would be history.

"The Harder They Come" and the Venice Film Festival. Jimmy Cliff. Perry Henzell. Rita Anderson (Marley's wife). Christopher Blackwell, the brain behind Island Records. Lee "Scratch" Perry, the gem behind reggae explosion. Desmond Dekker, the first reggae artist whose album "Israelites" catapulted reggae to the top. Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF freedom fighters and independence for Zimbabwe. And, all in all, Blackwell was the man. And reggae came to stay, and the vibe would change the world; and of course, the flow made sense.

And as it goes, so I found myself knowing more stuff about the legend. There was Aston "Family man" Barrett who claimed to have fathered 52 children; there was Bruce Dunbar in the era of the reggae explosion; there was Coxsone Dodds label that paid poorly; there was the American group, The Drifters, Marley listened to growing up in Jamaica and there was a group that admired the works of Marcus Garvey and celebrating "the 1930 coronation of Haile Selassie 1 as emperor of Ethiopia as a fulfilment of Garvey's supposed prophecy to 'look to the East for the crowning of the African King'"

Marley, the legend, you did stuff and you changed the world. Your legacy lives.

Lucky Dube Remembered Forever

LUCKY DUBE’S RECORD LABEL, GALLO, MOURNS HIS TRAGIC LOSS
The staff of Gallo Record Company are devastated by the news of the tragic passing of reggae legend Lucky Dube. Lucky was slain in an attempted hijacking in Rosettenville in Johannesburg last night, at approximately 8pm, whilst dropping off his children at a family members house.

Although Lucky attempted to escape the scene, he had been fatally wounded from the hijacker’s attempt to steal his motor vehicle, and he died almost instantly.
Senseless and random, the death of Lucky Dube leaves a great void in the music industry, as 25 years of music suddenly ends in tragedy.

South African born but globally revered, Lucky Dube was one of the country’s most toured and beloved artists ever. His music touched millions around the world, primarily through his 22 recorded albums - in Zulu, English and even Afrikaans - many of which have been record breakers with phenomenal sales from around the globe.

As a frontline artist in the reggae genre, Lucky's creativity and inventiveness kept growing.
Compelling in his musicianship and intriguing in his lyrical content, Lucky's sonic daring to take his genre to new heights never failed to amaze even the most ardent fans, whilst reigning in new devotees to his magic every day.


His energetic band toured with him from continent to continent as South African musical ambassadors, and his live performances have earned him fans and accolades the world over.

Lucky joined Teal Records (later to become Gallo) as a fresh-faced young Mbaqanga singer in 1982. Five albums later he found a genre that spoke to his soul and changed the way he viewed the world. This genre was Reggae.

With his long-time sound engineer and best friend Dave Segal, he created some of the most legendary pieces of reggae music ever recorded, including the tracks Prisoner, Taxman, Slave, Victims, Together As One and Respect – all social anthems that garnered him the adoration of the people of his country - and across the globe.
Lucky was an artist that continued to break international barriers and recently just signed a deal with Warner Music International, securing him album releases across Europe of his latest album Respect.

Ivor J. Haarburger, CEO of Gallo Music Group is deeply saddened by the loss. “Lucky was not just an extraordinary artist, he was a personal friend. We go back over twenty years and had both a business and personal relationship. It’s so sad to lose such a great friend and so tragically, why?”

There are very few words that capture the magnitude of this devastating loss. As a musician, father and colleague, Lucky was one of the most charming, respected, selfless and dedicated people to have lived. He will be sorely missed.

Lucky Dube was survived by his new wife Zanele and his 7 children Bongi, Nonkululeko, Thokozani, Laura, Siyanda, Philani and his brand new three-month old baby Melokuhle.

BOOK SHELF: The Door of No Return: The History of Cape Coast Castle and the Atlantic Slave Trade

Many lyrics have echoed about the horrific Trans Atlantic Slave Trade on the process of human cargo. In 1974, The O'Jays recorded Ship Ahoy paying homage to Africans who survived and overcame the predicament of slavery and human bondage. Also, Seventies Jamaican Reggae group, The Cimmarons released Ship Took Us Away From Africa, an overnight mindblowing sensation at a time of the reggae boom and Rastafarian prophesy which took roots reggae to newer heights.

William St Clair's remarkable new book The Door of No Return: The History of Cape Coast Castle and the Atlantic Slave Trade, came at the right time after extensive and exhaustive research digging into the archives. It was fifty years ago that on March 7, Kwame Nkrumah's practical and enigmatic leadership achieved full democratic fabric, making Ghana the first West African Coast to gain independence.

I haven't been familiar with a whole lot of stuff regarding the slave trade until St. Clairs in-depth, well-written book which caught my eye at the "Black Township" where I partly engage in African cultural relativism. Very few of us are African-born and most of the people here are aging and are fast-talking in joining the band wagon - homeward bound to motherland. Their focus had been Ghana as the free land offer by the Ghanaian government is attracting every African Diaspora.

Listening to these aging folks talk, I tried to imagine what must have gotten me in this place and why am I trying to figure out why these folks think going back to motherland is the last straw. These are mostly retired men who had thought a whole lot of time had been wasted thinking the land of the free was a safe heaven until now. I also imagine these aging folks, maybe there's nothing out there for them anymore, thus no longer productive in a society where free enterprise is highly comepetitive among the youngish capitalists. Or maybe, the bills are driving everyone crazy while their retirement benefits can afford them all sorts of luxury if they relocate to motherland. Why not?

Talking about enterprise, St. Clair's book noted the entrepreneurship of the slave trade and how detailed and organized it was relying on the archives of the Cape Coast Castle. The castle's first construction was commenced by a Swedish construction company in 1653 at the peak of the Scramble for Africa when for a decade (1653-1663) the Swedes and the Danes were the domineering colonists until the British empire conquered the castle in 1664. It was a game of chess among the European traders and dealers and despite all that, the local kingmakers had the upper hand and determined a good bargain on the people that were being traded for transport across the Atlantic to the shores of America.

The book is entirely drawn from St. Clair's personal research from the archives of the castle. I think from a personal point of view and based on the tedious research project carried out by St. Clair detailing on how the Coastal kings negotiated with European traders and an ensuing warfare as the castle almost got hit by the French in 1756 and the returning of some slaves, for instance, the return of Ayuba Suleiman Diallo who also became a slave trader makes this 282 pages of Blue Bridge Books quite interesting and engaging.