Bushman

Many often mistake his mellow, canorous baritone voice and Rastafari infused musical messages for that of fellow Reggae artiste, Luciano. Bushman, however, is an artiste in his own right.

A slew of popular tunes are credited to this singer hailing from St Thomas, including Worries and Problems, Arms of A Woman, Jailhouse, Fire Bun A Weak Heart, Cannabis, Truly Great on the Mount Zion riddim, Your Love, Lighthouse and the now radio-friendly Downtown on the Things Come To Bump riddim released by King of Kings. However, despite his undeniable talents, Bushman's name is not one that you'll hear fervently on the Jamaican music scene.

"In Europe, if yuh mention the name Bushman, people will definitely be able to relate. But here [in Jamaica], most people will ask who is Bushman?" the singer commented.

This Bushman believes, can be attributed to our current spin on our 'historical' practices of payola. "One of the biggest problem with a Bushman in Jamaica is that to get to a level where people are calling your name off their tongues is more like a monetary vibes yuh haffi bring. I nah've nuh loom. The songs are out there, they are being played on radio, but yuh know seh likkle encouragement sweeten labour. Maybe if yuh wet a one palm, people will speak of you more. Man fi jus know seh good music a good music, an play good music."

However, in all candour, Bushman was more concerned with our ongoing 'obsession' with the lewd and the crude. seventy-five per cent of the time is only lewd lyrics and songs play on the radio. And a lot of times, it is the female DJs that play these derogatory tunes - songs that are disrespecting black women. That really grouse I. We need to uplift the music, music teaches the people - even if a one can't read, music can teach him certain things about life and his history, other cultures and so forth."

Despite these 'setbacks', Bushman has his work cut out for him. "I have the messages to give, whether to the likkle yutes or the politician, whoever. The name 'Bushman' is another name for a medicine man, one who cures different sicknesses. So, I have the songs that deal with different turns and aspects of life," Bushman asserted.

Bushman, who began his recording career in 1997, with the release of the album Nyah Man Chant, is doing just that. After an ensuing three albums, Total Commitmen' (1999), Higher Ground (2000) and A Better Place/My Meditation (2002), Bushman releases his fifth studio effort, Signs, this month.

Signs is really another level for me - it's an album that I took the time to produce myself. However, the task was to make the album with my own band, the Grassroots band [Rohan 'Fireball' Gordon (guitar), Deleon 'Jubba' white (drums), Philip James (keyboards) and Rupert McKenzie (bass)]."
This for Bushman was key. As a lover of Bob Marley, he admires Bob's stage craft but more importantly, the sound consistency and quality of the Wailers both in the studio and on the stage. This is an example of the high standards he has set for himself as an artiste and his band, who he has been touring with since 2000.

Further, this is just another milestone for both Bushman and his band. "The Grassroots [band] was a struggle. Many times to move from Jamaica to do shows abroad, most promoters don't really want to accommodate a band, because the airfare, hotel and such is too expensive. So, most promoters want one band to back all 10 artistes. So the band back about four artistes and getting tired and you are the sixth or seventh artiste to perform. The band is tired and it gets hard to get a vibe from them. An nuff a di time, di foreign bands cyan play Reggae like how a Jamaican band will play. So for a long time I turned down shows that would call for me to perform without my band. 'Cause you know, going to perform internationally and not having it right - yuh leave wid a bag a money but the crowd saying that yuh never sound good. So now everybody knows it's Bushman and Grassroots. This is just the cement."

The album which took 18 months to complete is also Bushman's instrumental debut (he plays guitar) features 17 cuts including the title track Signs, Light Up and Downtown for which a music video is waiting in the wings.

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