/ARTS WEEKLY/MUSIC: Rastafarian Reggae ‘Singjay’ Sizzla Heats UP

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Howard Campbell

KINGSTON, Jun 24 2003 (IPS) - For the past two years, the once-promising career of reggae ”singjay” (singer and DJ) Sizzla looked in danger of petering out, following a clutch of mediocre recordings. But in late 2002, the fiery Rastafarian bounced back with "Da Real Thing", an album of roots songs and ballads that has put him back on track.

Eight months after "Da Real Thing" was released in the United States by New York City’s VP Records, the album remains popular here in the dancehall, an arena where fans can tire of a song or artist in a matter of weeks.

"Da Real Thing" is driven by hard-hitting message songs like "Mash Dem Down", "Solid as a Rock" and "Bless Up" but is complemented by softer numbers such as "She’s Loving" and the anthem, "Just One of Those Days".

The popularity of "Da Real Thing" has extended to urban centres in the United States, says Michelle Lin, director of publicity at VP Records. "It’s doing really well in places like New York City and Miami, places where there’s a large Jamaican populace," says Lin. "There are a lot of good singles on the album and they are getting strong airplay on radio there."

Unlike other dancehall heavyweights, such as Beenie Man and Shaggy, who have experimented with hip-hop beats to appeal to U.S. fans, Sizzla’s message-oriented songs have been limited to Jamaicans here and abroad.

With "Da Real Thing" making the moves in Jamaica, executives at VP are hoping Sizzla’s appearance in a feature on dancehall in the widely-read THE SOURCE magazine, will introduce him to hip-hop fans in the United States.

In addition, a remix of "Solid as a Rock" has made the playlist of the influential New York City hip-hop radio station, Hot 97, which has earned a reputation for breaking dancehall songs to U.S. record buyers in the last five years.

Songs like "Just One of Those Days" have helped resuscitate Sizzla’s (given name Miguel Collins) career, which has not enjoyed this type of acclaim since 1997 when he was the toast of hardcore and mainstream fans alike with the uplifting songs, "Praise Ye Jah" and "Black Woman and Child".

This success was short-lived as he got caught up in several frivolous confrontations with rival performers including Bounty Killer, the dancehall rapper who appears on the Grammy-winning No Doubt song, "Hey Baby".

Sizzla’s music also suffered, as he released albums of substandard quality in North America and the United Kingdom. But constant touring on both sides of the Atlantic, plus the release of a ‘best of’ album, "Sizzla: The Story Unfolds", kept his name among dancehall’s elite.

Still, it had been sometime since he had a hit song, a worrying sign for any musician, and last year Sizzla reunited with producer Bobby "Bobby Digital" Dixon to start work on "Da Real Thing".

Dixon is one of contemporary reggae’s most creative producers. Prior to "Da Real Thing", he produced two Sizzla albums, "Black Woman and Child" and "Good Days". He also helped launch the careers of Grammy-winning deejay Shabba Ranks and the late roots singer Garnet Silk.

Dixon says he was under no pressure to get Sizzla back on the charts when they started production on "Da Real Thing" in late 2001.

"What we went for was variety, try and tone down the hardcore stuff to appeal to the people who loved ”Black Woman and Child", Dixon explained.

Sizzla is one of the raft of Rasta performers that stormed the Jamaican dancehall in the early 1990s. That troupe was led by Silk (Garnet Smith), deejay Tony Rebel and dub poet, Yasus Afari. Silk was burnt to death in December, 1995 in an explosion at his mother’s home in Manchester parish in central Jamaica, but that did not stop the roots resurgence, which only intensified with the rise of Sizzla and Capleton.

Their penchant for calling down "fire" on things they consider immoral in diet or lifestyle has given Sizzla and Capleton a hardcore following here. Capleton had a minor U.S. hit in 1995 with "Wings of The Morning", and recorded two albums for hip-hop powerhouse, Def Jam Records.