Ras Takura gives sound advice
Ras Takura, 2020 winner of the Mutabaruka Award for Best Poet/Spoken Word Entertainer in the International Reggae And World Music Awards (IRAWMA), is encouraging Jamaicans to adjust their diets to fight the novel coronavirus.
“People need to clean their colon and eat foods that will build their immune system. Things like garlic, ginger, green juice, and ‘bitters’ like aloe vera can be used. If you boost up your immune system, it can fight the illness better. I would also encourage people to stay away from the consumption of meat. When you consume wild animals, it builds up mucus and this COVID-19 thrives off mucus,” he told the Jamaica Observer.
Initially slated for March 29 at the AC Hotel by Marriot in New Kingston, this year’s winners were announced online and on live television due to the Government’s restriction on public gatherings in a bid to curtail the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Ras Takura is not surprised by the win.
“I feel good. I expected it because when I looked at the other nominees in the category, I knew that I was going to win the prize. The award is a reflection of your work, so if that is the case, I don’t see why I shouldn’t have won,” he said.
Other nominees for the Mutabaruka Award for Best Poet/Spoken Word Entertainer were Yasus Afari, Malachi Smith, Richie Innocent, and Tehut 9.
Ras Takura, who hails from St Ann, began writing and performing poems in 2003. In 2015, he released a 17-track album titled Food War, which he co-produced with Jamm’s Studio. From that project came Dear Dad, Her Majesty’s Prison, HIV, I And I Generation, and GMO Seed Exchange.
Takura is also the conceptualiser of Dis Poem Wordz and Agro Festival and Dis Poem All Schools Poetry Competition. The 10th staging was slated for April 25 at Trevor Anthony Park in Portland but has been postponed.
“We have pushed it back until after COVID. There is no definite date as yet, but it will definitely happen after this has died down. The deadline for the poetry competition has also been pushed back until after the pandemic,” he said.
The Ministry of Health reports that over 60 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in Jamaica. There have been three deaths confirmed.
