REGGAE artiste Luciano says his career is alive and well.

Speaking with the Observer after his abbreviated set at last Saturday’s Rebel Salute at Port Kaiser Complex in St Elizabeth, he sought to dispel rumours that his career has taken a downward spiral since he was charged for harbouring a criminal.

Luciano, whose real name is Jephter McClymont, was charged in March 2009 following a shooting incident between the police and a wanted man, Andrew Senior, at his studio at Westminster Crescent in St Andrew.

Police report that they went to the studio in search of Senior, who was wanted for several counts of shooting and murder. Police reported that Senior engaged the cops in a gunfight in which he was killed and three policemen injured.

Luciano was subsequently found not guilty.

“I have been very active on the international circuit. There is no truth to that as I have been to Europe, Africa and other places touring and spreading the positive message, he said.

He admitted, however, that he has not been to the United States for more than a year because his identity was stolen.

“I went to the US embassy and was told that I was suspected of money laundering and other charges in the United States. I found that strange because I was seeking to get a visa and could not have committed any crime in that country because I was not there. It is clear that my identity was stolen,” Luciano told the Observer.

He said he was perturbed about reports that he was rejected by an audience during a performance in Nigeria who pelted him with objects and forced him to leave the stage.

“Where did that come from? It is not true,” he said.

During his 20-minute set on Saturday, Luciano kept the momentum flowing even though he seemed perturbed that he was placed so far down the line-up.

With locks flashing about him, he delivered his classics including It’s Me Again Jah, He is My Friend, Give Praise To Rastafari and Sweep Over My Soul.

He had a few words of advice for those he called ‘misguided youngsters’ whose sense of fashion he thought was not cool.

“You must pull up your pants and shine your shoes. Good gosh man,” he quipped.