/ARTS WEEKLY/MUSIC-U.S.: Reggae Artist Explores His African Roots

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Gabriel Packard

NEW YORK, Oct 15 2002 (IPS) - After travelling and performing throughout the world, a Ghana-born reggae musician now based here is looking to his homeland for inspiration.

Early in his career, Rascalimu had to leave home to find fans of his traditional reggae sound. Now his songs are playing on radio in Ghana.

"We’re trying to go back to Africa to dig out reggae’s roots and blend it into what reggae is now," says Rascalimu talking about his debut CD, ‘Reggae Revolution’.

The name Rascalimu comes from ‘Rasta’ – short for Rastafarian, the religion associated with reggae music – and ‘Carlos Alidu Mumuni’, the artist’s real name.

Mumuni was born and raised in Tamale, in northern Ghana, where he started playing music at the age of eight. He recalls gathering his brothers to play together on homemade instruments. After graduating from Tumu University, Rascalimu travelled in North Africa and the Netherlands, where he sang with local musicians.

None of these places are traditionally associated with reggae, a form of popular music that has its origins in Jamaica, but in the last few years the focus of reggae has moved from the Caribbean.

Jamaican reggae itself has shifted away from its traditional musical instruments – the electric guitar, drums and keyboard – to its current vogue, ‘ragga’, a brand of dance-hall reggae. The sound is usually a simple, synthesised musical backing over which an MC will "toast" or rap, using lyrics characterised by "slackness" (obscenity), that sometimes glamorise sex and violence.

Finding that the ‘new’ reggae was not attracting a big enough market, the U.S. recording industry went in search of so-called "roots" reggae: reggae the way it used to be.

It came up with three strategies. First it re-released many classic Jamaican reggae records. Second, it produced a wave of music by contemporary "roots" artists, such as The Mystic Revealers and Nadine Sutherland. And third, the industry turned to Africa, which has been making high-quality "roots" reggae for the last two decades, but which until recently did not have much international exposure.

"In Africa, reggae really took off some time after Bob Marley’s concert on Zimbabwe’s independence," says Wayne Witwarm, writing for Roots.net. "Africans still talk about that 1980 concert in Harare, much like Americans talk about the 1964 Beatles’ tour of this country." Witman says.

"Today, reggae bands play in every region, with most of the activity in South Africa, Ivory Coast or Nigeria."

The lyrics of African "roots" reggae are often political or idealistic. African reggae’s biggest star, Alpha Blondy – who has been called the successor to Bob Marley, and has recorded an album with Marley’s band, The Wailers – is the most striking example of this.

Blondy’s early 1980s album, ‘Apartheid is Nazism’, launched his international career. Rascalimu’s message of "peace and love" is very much in this tradition.

That is definitely the message of ‘Reggae Revolution’ and much of what Rascalimu talks about. "The world isn’t peaceful any more," he says. "This album is a call for peace: we can’t live by war."

When he was starting out in Ghana, "people didn’t see music as a serious career", Rascalimu says. Unable to find backing for his ambitions at home, he travelled around North Africa and Southeast Asia.

In Taiwan and Thailand, he honed his musical skills playing with several reggae bands as lead vocalist and percussionist. After returning to Ghana for a year, and then spending four years in Thailand, he came to New York and currently lives in the Bronx.

"New York is the musical capital of the world," he says. "It seemed like there were so many opportunities here, regarding music. I thought that here I would be able to break through in the music industry."

Then he smiles and adds: "And that has proven to be true."

Reviewing a recent Rascalimu performance at The Lion’s Den club in New York, Africamusic.com called him "one of the leading African reggae artists of the moment”.

One track on ‘Reggae Revolution’ that reflects a distinct African influence is "Delang-Yeli", which means "stop complaining”. Rascalimu wrote it after hearing about a tribal conflict between the Dagombas and the Nanumbas in his home country.

The track is performed in Dagbani, a language of northern Ghana. The music is a blend of reggae and High Life, a traditional Ghanaian musical style, and reflects what Rascalimu means when he says he aims to mix "something new" with "tradition”.

But overall, the album has a familiar reggae feel to it. The opening track, "Jay Blood”, for example, is a catchy roots reggae number, but it does not bear the marks of Rascalimu’s African background.

The artist intends to include more African themes on his upcoming album and says that ‘Reggae Revolution’ has been well-received in his homeland. "I’m looking to release it for sale in Ghana at some point," he says.