Is who lie?
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HOWARD CAMPBELL, Observer writer
Saturday, June 01, 2002
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| Mutabaruka |
IT's a rare thing when Mutabaruka releases a song in Jamaica but when he does, it's almost certain to cause a stir. The dub poet's latest effort, Dem Lie, runs true to form.
Much in the mould of 1992's banned People's Court, Dem Lie has been extremely popular without mass radio support. It was released six weeks ago and is a joint production between Mutabaruka and veteran musician/producer, Glen Browne.
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| Anthony |
In it, the outspoken Muta takes Jamaican politicians to task for stepping out of bounds in trying to rustle up votes with general elections pending. Other issues affecting Jamaica, such as the police and questionable shootings, drug couriers and a rising suicide rate, also get tackled.
"Is jus' a summary a the whole political scenery," Muta, 49, told Throb recently. "Listening to the radio programme dem an' yuh hear the different politician dem a talk and all a dem soun' logical ... and right. Dat mean sey one side mus' a tell lie."
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| Bunny Wailer |
Though political strategists expect prime minister P J Patterson to call general elections later this year, Muta says the song was not influenced by the polls, rather by the exploitation of the "layman" by "charismatic" politicians.
"Dem man dey (politicians) have a way fi turn dem words and twist them, so when dem speak a whole heap a man can't understand the bobbing and weaving," Muta explained. He blames that ignorance on an inadequate education system.
"It (education) supposed to gone further than how it reach, wi still have the chicken back business and fix road when election come," he lamented. "Wi keep on repeating history and still a complain."
A sense of deja vu also surrounds Dem Lie which was recorded 10 years after People's Court was banned from local airwaves. Though it has not been censored, Irie FM is the only radio station to put its weight behind the song, which is reportedly going great guns on ethnic radio in New York City.
According to Muta, People's Court, a spin-off of Prince Buster's early 1960s hit, is his biggest-selling song to date. It heard him teaming with impersonator Gary Sadler, who mimicked several leading public officials as they stood before a judge, 'charged' with various forms of exploitation.
Dem Lie's lack of presence on local airwaves does not bother Muta, but he does have problems with disc jockeys whom he says are as ignorant as the people politicians continue to take for a ride.
"Why is it that something so near to the people dem that the disc jockey dem find so hard to synchronise with?" he asked. "But dem will play something sexual from a hip-hop man, Bump and Grind and dem thing dey.
"Is a mentality," he added.
Browne and Muta borrowed a bit of hip-hop for Dem Lies, which was recorded to the beat of rapper Afro Man's smash 2001 hit song, I Wanna Get High. An acappella version and a dancehall mix are also included on the three song CD.
Since 1981 when he appeared at Reggae Sunsplash, Mutabaruka (given name, Alan Hope) has never been far from controversy. Two years after that gripping performance, he released the sensational debut album, Check It; it contained hard-hitting commentaries like De System, Everytime A Ear De Soun', Witeman Country and Butta Pan Culture.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Mutabaruka released other strong sets including Any Which Way... Freedom and Melanin Man, the latter being the last of seven albums he recorded for the independent label, Shanachie Records.
His next album, Life Squared, done for Heartbeat Records, is scheduled for a June 11 release.
Dem Lie is the latest in a long line of Jamaican songs dealing with issues of the day. In the last 30 years, several of these songs have invaded local charts without getting any significant radio backing. On the other hand, some were radio favourites as well as chart-toppers. Here are some of them:
Fire Pon Rome (Anthony B): The Rastaman from Trelawny got his break with this fiery jab at corporate Jamaica. Anthony B's name-check of private sector leaders like hotelier, Gordon "Butch" Stewart, did not go down well with many in influential circles and was banned from the airwaves.
That, however, could not stop the song from going to number one.
Foreign Press (Lord Laro): The witty Trinidadian struck it big with this 1975 calypso which was done for Federal Records. It was a time of Cold War paranoia and late prime minister Michael Manley's experiment with democratic socialism; Laro was incensed at the negative coverage his adopted country was getting abroad and wrote this tongue-in-cheek response. It reached number one and remains his biggest song in Jamaica.
Crucial (Bunny Wailer): "Not even little flour, a crucial it crucial", sang Wailer on this 1980 chart-rider. Supermarket shelves were bare and Manley's government was under pressure in the polls from the opposition Jamaica Labour Party. Though Wailer had recorded classic albums like Blackheart Man, it had been some time since he had enjoyed a big hit in Jamaica; Crucial did the trick.
Fed Up (Bounty Killer): Though it was released three years earlier, Fed Up became the soundtrack to the March, 1999 gas riots that saw many Jamaicans protesting government's decision to tax petroleum products.
Produced by Sly and Robbie, Fed Up received sporadic airplay but was a smash in the dancehalls. It is included on Killer's well-received My Xperience album.
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