Nana Moses' Christmas album blends culture with theology

Saturday, November 21, 2009 7:51 AM

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By Basil Walters Observer staff reporter

Sunday, November 08, 2009

This is not your typical album that celebrates the Yuletide season. The Kevin Calvert musical innovation launched recently at the Webster Memorial United Church Hall is a creative approach to one of the most important celebrations in the Christian community.

Nana Moses. I choose to preach through the arts

Nana Moses, as this gospel artiste is better known, effectively fused the dramatic arts with humour, reggae music and the traditional expression of the indigenous folkways of the Jamaican people to produce a unique set in celebration of Christmas.

The singer, poet, storyteller, producer, writer, CEO of his four-year-old Kairos Creations label and production company, has crafted a highly artistic project that is proving why he majored in theology with minor in cultural studies.

Featuring two well-known local actors in Dorothy 'Miss Zella' Cunningham and Silton 'Mas Gussie' Townsend as a husband-and-wife pair in conversation, The Love of Christmas blends culture with theology by drawing heavily on customs of the season in a style not only for the religious minded, but for the secular community as well.

"Cho...cho dis yah Christmus (sic) a di worst Christmus mi eva see.....mi cyaan wait fi it jus come an gone...Gussie look deh, look deh, cooh pon wi neigh-bah dem. Look pon fi dem house, een. Everybody house paint up and decorate up nice wid Christmus lights and all kinda fan-dangles and ting. An look pon fi wi house, een. Fi wi house a di only one on yah weh look like when enomel chimmy goh a war an come back. And pon top a dat di house top a leak like a straina," decries a frustrated sounding Miss Zella on the opening track Mi Christmus Spoil.

"Zella will yuh stop watching people....yuh kno Zella, if yuh gwaan falla people yuh wi thief yuh kno Zella," cautions Mas Gussie in the exchange .

The comical narration ends with Mas Gussie coaxing Miss Zella into accepting a proposition for both of them to attend church. If the dialogue between them is amusing, then the evangelical style sermon on track two titled Sometime Caffee Sometime Tea by Pastor Nana Moses is nothing short of hilarious.

"Church dis a yah Christmus yah is a wicked Christmus. Dis yah Christmus yah it is a dreaded Christmus....I tell yuh church tings bad ye bad fi nuff a wi. Some a wi house a leak like graata. Sometime caffee sometime tea. Some people ave sorrel, but nuff a wi only ave tin mackerel. But wedda a tin mackerel or sardine or chicken nuh badda live like crab inna barrell... but a tell yuh church God will deliver wi outta wi situation."

When asked if he does not feel that the album will cause some measure of discomfort among members of his faith, Nana Moses replied. "Well it's okay to create some kind of discomfort to create more comfort for those who need to be comforted. I'm not alone, I'm moving with the invisible crowd. I choose to preach through the arts."

Developing his argument, the soon-to-be-ordained minister stressed. "I believe there's not a place where God is not and there's not a person who God does not live with and dwell in that person's heart. And therefore I do not come to offend and to say I have something that you don't have. I come to affirm what you have. So I believe that there's a God in you and we are all religious. We're all moving in
one direction."

His fourth album, but second to be released, The Love of Christmas, also features his singing powess, as well as that of Lester Lewis, Noreta Lewis, Mark Bradford and the Reverend Herro Steve Blair Jr on a number of originals such as Christmas Roun' Di Corna, Christmas Come, This Blessed Christmas, Just One Prayer and Is It Just About Living.

In addition to The Love of Christmas, he has done a number of other projects, the most well-known is Heartical Worship. His first release is Fire In the Ashes. "We difinitely will be releasing some new artistes," he said. "I have recorded a number of other artistes and so you can look out for some of those coming from my label."

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