Luciano lashes ‘terrible music’ from New Age dancehall acts

Reggae's acclaimed 'Messenjah', Luciano, is known for his passionate delivery of timeless songs; his energetic performances on stage; his 'Holy Ras' persona, which some in the music industry choose to take offence with; and his no-holds-barred conversations. In a recent interview with the Trinidad Express, Luciano reportedly labelled the much-debated 'trap' music being offered by current, in-favour dancehall acts, "di Skeng dem and di Skillibeng dem", as "terrible".

Last Saturday, the In This Together singer was reportedly in fine nick at the Redemption concert at the Queen's Park Savannah in Trinidad when he had to, according to a Trinidad Express report, "calm the restless crowd" when the technical staff had to "rectify a problem with the audio after the main speakers stage front suddenly cut out during his performance".

And, as awesome as his headlining performance was on stage, as he reeled off decades of hits from his 30-year-deep catalogue, his backstage interview with the newspaper was also a potential headliner. The Trinidad Express article was titled 'Messenjah' of peace: Luciano sings love and unity at Redemption concert'. During his performance, Luciano, the peacemaker, had repeatedly stated, to loud cheers, "Is time fi di yute dem in Trinidad to put down di gun and live in peace."

The article noted that during the interview in his trailer, the Rastafarian reggae singer "praised local reggae fans for staying loyal to roots music"; however, it would seem that he also dropped some controversial truth bombs, and even took an amusing Peter Tosh-esque swipe at current 'Trinibad' acts. Wading into the hot-button topic, the state of dancehall music and its proclivity for inciting violence through the raw, hardcore lyrical content, Luciano reportedly spoke about what was on his mind.

GREATER RESPONSIBILITY

According to the Express, Luciano "called on new age Jamaican and Trinidadian to take greater responsibility with the content they feed young minds".

"Is terrible music. Di (dancehall acts) Skeng (Kevon Douglas) dem and di Skillibeng (Emwah Warmington) dem," Luciano is quoted as saying.

As a man of the Bible, Luciano would undoubtedly know the biblical definition of the word 'terrible', which means, among other things, "adapted to excite terror," and his statement references this.

He added, "Dem type of music wha dem yute sing ah some terrible music, inciting violence. We can just appeal to these yutes and say, look into themselves and see dem have a responsibility to inspire mankind and try and help to unite di people, especially di yutes. And they must realise that they are role models themselves, so they must take di responsibility to guide the children in the right way."

Luciano, Sanchez, Richie Spice and Tarrus Riley were the four artistes from Jamaica who were booked for the concert.

Luciano, who is among the artistes who have continued their musical globe-trotting mission, released his promised album, Return of the Chronicles, in February. The album, which was executive-produced by Mountain Peak Records and Prefix One, "features reimagined versions of Luciano's classics, with re-recorded vocals and the messages being delivered on modern up-tempo beats". It was in 1994 that Luciano signed to Island Records, and to celebrate that 28-year journey, Island announced the new digital album release comprising 11 tracks selected from Luciano's two original albums, Where There Is Life and Messenger. The first single released from the album was the 2022 version of Luciano's blockbuster hit, It's Me Again Jah.

Luciano stated, "This album is bringing back the same messages that were sent out to the world all those years ago, and which are still very poignant today to a new generation."

Your World and Mine, In This Together, Who Could it be, and He is my Friend are among the 11 tracks on Return of the Chronicles.

In terms of live performances, the Messenjah thrilled fans in Nairobi, Kenya, at the Unite The Youths Concert in June – and took time to travel to Egypt to visit the pyramids – after which he headed to Europe for the festival circuit. He performed at Dub Fest in Copenhagen, Denmark, on July 22; Afrikanisches Kultur Fest on July 24 in Frankfurt, Germany; Reggae Jam in Bersenbruck, Germany, on July 29; Reggae Geel in Geel, Belgium, on August 5; and Rototom in Benicàssim, Spain, on August 22.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com