IN 1976, Ras Karbi made the music world take notice with a controversial single called Discrimination. Although the song was banned by the Jamaican Government, it went on to become a smash hit on the international scene.

Fast track to 2010 and the veteran singer is still making an impact with his music. His latest single, Ras Anthem, was released a few weeks ago and is the first of three singles the artiste says he has been working on for over two years.

“It is my gift to the music world. The chorus is catchy and easy to sing along with. Sly Dunbar played drums, Danny (Axeman) played bass, Lenky played keyboards and I played acoustic guitar,” Ras Karbi told the Sunday Observer.

Ras Anthem marks the artiste’s first release for the longest time, and since its release, Ras Karbi says the response has been overwhelming. “I have not had any releases for quite some time and without fresh music, you limit your impact,” he mused. Still, he is busy working on new material.

“I’ve been writing and recording ‘conscious’ songs for future release and hopefully, to help uplift humanity, especially my family, my fans and people all over the world who are affected by the crisis,” Karbi quipped.

“I try to write way in advance; it’s like sometimes I can see clearly the songs that will connect with future events. It’s a lot of work, writing and rewriting, being able to struggle with an idea or lyrics of a song for as long as two or three years until it reaches maturity.

“Then, at other times, some songs can be completed in a much shorter time, like less than a day. But too often many artistes rush to record a song in haste and end up with a song that could be a lot stronger if they had spent more time on it,” he added.

Like most artistes of his era, Ras Karbi is of the view that reggae music has declined due to a lack of music appreciation in schools, and the music industry is now overrun by greed, hype and material prosperity at whatever cost.

“Some artistes have gone astray,” he notes. “They forgot what Reggae is all about. Then there are some promoters who put them all on the same show, creating an imbalance. If most of the audience come to see the artistes who are hyped, the ones that aren’t are usually not welcome. Therefore, they are greeted with aggression, which sometimes becomes violent.”

Ras Karbi, who is also known for his 1983 festival song, Jamaica I’ll Never Leave You, started his first band, The Now Generation, at the age of 17, while on a scholarship at the Jamaica School of Art. After graduating, he was awarded scholarships by the Brooklyn Museum Art School in New York and, later, by the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) where he studied sculpture and acting, while pursuing a degree in music at Brown University. At Brown, he met and played bass with jazz greats Jonas Gwangwa, Michael Carvin and Max Roach. He was introduced to Sun Ra by his music professor Robert Northern ‘Brother Ah’, and he immediately joined the Sun Ra Arkestra.

This experienced artiste has met, performed or recorded with many other prominent musicians, including The Wailers, Sly and Robbie John Gilmore, Ed Blackwell, Ron Burton, Melba Liston, Robert ‘Brother Ah’ Northern ,Jimmy Cliff, Jimmy Buffett, Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Dave Mason, Larry McCray, Keith Richards, The Jones Girls, Stevie Wonder, George Duke, Roberta Flack, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Diana Ross and The Postmen. The singer also joins the list of industry insiders who warn that if Jamaicans are not careful they could lose their music to the rest of the world. “Coxsone once wrote on the cover of one of his own productions that ‘…Ska is dead..’. It is, but only in Jamaica,” Karbi said, adding that as recently as a few weeks ago, he drove past a nightclub on the East Coast and Doreen Shaffer was performing with an American ska band. “I also saw her performing in Germany with a German ska band,” he explains.

He adds that foreigners are picking up the old music Jamaicans throw away and making good use of it while some artistes from that era are unemployed.

“Right now many students who graduate from music schools all over the United States and Europe are playing reggae. Japan is now developing their own reggae artistes and musicians. They also have a strong interest in the music of Cuba. The ’80s music is still playing on American radio. Some of the new music we hype are the very ones that are leading the industry down the wrong path. Some are sexually abusive. Though some artistes mean well, a lack of proper guidance has caused great harm.”

As the world starts the New Year, Ras Karbi says the time has come for his voice to be heard again by the people who love him the most, in the land that will always be dear to his heart.

“If they ever send come call,” he declared.