When asked whether Jamaica, for such a small country, has punched above its weight immensely when it comes to its contribution to the world via the arts, culture and sport, Ghetto Priest disagrees in that they’re merely the smallest sum of their larger continental parts:
“To tell you the truth, there’s a motto: ‘out of many, one of those people came from Africa’,” he says. “So that sound has travelled the globe from blues, to rap, to rock right through to reggae. It has resonated so much. In regards to Jamaica [punching above its weight] it’s little but from the soul of the people that have been forcibly uprooted around the Western and Asian world, it’s a heartbeat that resonates. I call it spiritual, high culture music, whatever genre you want to label it with.
"It’s got that African heartbeat sir. But you have to remember the darker people of Jamaica are descendants of Africa. As do the rest of those people across the Caribbean continent. In Jamaica we all have a story. The heartbeat of that sound is not small, it’s enormous and can be felt right around the world. People keep talking about slavery, but it’s only a small part of the journey for the African people. However, the injustice that was brought upon them was never repaired. So you have the likes of me that will put it into music.”
The Asian Dub Foundation member’s Bakers Dozen choices perhaps unsurprisingly draw inspiration from reggae, with a smidgen of soul from Nat King Cole and The Jackson 5.
“These are almost like snapshots or reference points in regards to my footsteps in my journey in life. So when the question was asked to put this list together, I replied!”
Ghetto Priest’s most recent album Every Man For Every Man is out now. To begin reading his Baker’s Dozen, click the image below.
