"Whenever
the poets are vocal and present, then the cultural
landscape is enriched and more vibrant. And we
are all the beneficiaries of that positive energy."
The
poetry of Yasus Afari, like that of other dub poets
and Rastafari artists, explores the spiritual transformations
of the self, the political implications of the newly actualized "I" stepping
out of Babylon and what all of this means for communities
large and small.
For language, rhythm and tone, dub poetry attunes closely
to the vox populi at the grassroots. This is where the sound,
the power and the wide variety of themes emerge. The Jamaican
vernacular, which until the last generation was eschewed
in the official quarters of lee-tra-cha, makes up the essence
of the dub poem, and the conveyance of the verse is dependent
on the expressive power of the word-sound of the poet, over
a microphone alone or with reggae music, and the variety
of rhythms underpinning life of Caribbean peoples. Dub poetry
is an ideal expression for the Caribbean poet's musicality
and militancy and scribal skills.
As a poet who emphasizes the orality of his craft, Yasus
Afari is part of a rich Jamaican heritage. He comes in the
wake of Louise Bennett's ground-breaking celebration of nation
language and the folk tradition to the dissident dub poetry
that emerged in the 1970s by such figures as Mutabaruka,
Oku Onoura, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Jean Binta Breeze and Michael
Smith.
Yasus Afari, whose name means 'gift of vision,' was born
John Sinclair in 1961 in the parish of St. Elizabeth. He
composed his first poem in 1978 when he was attending St.
Elizabeth's Technical High School in Santa Cruz, Jamaica.
After a stint as a telephone company repair technician, he
began doing his first recordings, and for two decades, Yasus
has been a consistent figure in the Jamaican arts, cutting
six albums, writing books of original verse (Eye Pen, 1998)
and Rasta I-deology (Overstanding Rastafari, 2007), lecturing
and performing internationally.
Yasus' first full-length album was for Dr. Dread's RAS
Records, Dancehall Baptism, in 1993. He followed with Mental
Assassin for Tappa Zuke in1995, and then has recorded the
self-produced rootical Rasta albums Honour Crown Him (Senya
Cum,1997), Gift of Vijjahn (House of Honour, 2000), Revolution
Chapter 1 (Senya Cum, 2007) and Kiss Mi Neck (Senya Cum,
2009). The latter is a spoken word-driven pastiche of personal
and social themes.
Yasus' work in the first decade of the new century is solidfying
his name as a cultural authority. The worldwide popularity
of Rasta exists amid a dearth of books produced from within
the movement itself, so Yasus decided to add to the literature
by penning his own work. The project, which took some five
years, resulted in Overstanding Rastafari - Jamaica's
Gift to the World (Senya Cum, 2007), a tome which delves into
history, symbol and conceptions in a way that is both historical
exposition and commentary.
Yasus' signature livication to the word extends to Poetry
in Motion, an annual event held in Mandeville that he organizes.
Established in 2004, Poetry in Motion showcases poetry and
performing arts of rainbow variety, and many of the poets
and performers who have appeared there are familiar to listeners
of reggae and readers of Jamaican culture, such as spoken
word artist Amina Blackwood Meeks, Prof. Mervyn Morris, Mutabaruka,
poet Cherry Natural, Prof. Barry Chevannes, Prof. Carolyn
Cooper, singer Jimmy Riley and guitarist Ernest Ranglin.
While
he's never been a huge power-broker in recording, Yasus
has always kept his voice in the mix and his commitment
to collective cultural-spiritual awakening steadfast. Two
of the best riddim revivals of the last decade are stamped
with his Yasus' springy lyrical delivery. In both cases, "Jamaica
Good to Me" on the Marcus Garvey riddim and "Jamaica" on
Stalag 2000, the songs are celebrations of his nation's culture.
Moreover, he has done collaborations with many of Jamaica's
finest, including Garnet Silk, Freddie McGregor, Black Uhuru
and plenty-plenty other artists.
The name Yasus Afari means 'gift of vision' and over the
last quarter century, it has also come to mean a tireless
work ethic and a piquantly savvy business plan. Achievements
coming from organization and synergy, Yasus co-directs Learning
Links International, the formal educational wing of his works.
Learning Links conducts workshops and performances to promote
cultural knowledge. He has forged contacts, fans and pockets
of support all over the globe.
It is through his combined roles and especially as an evangelist
of the verbal arts and inspirational speaker on Rastafari
and spiritual livity that Yasus continues fighting the good
fight. He has been invited to speak at the Conference of
World Religions taking place December 3-9, 2009 in Melbourne,
Australia. It is the first time the century-old interfaith
organization has had a Rastafarian speak at one of its conferences.
This
interview was conducted on September 26, 2009, just prior
to the artist's UK tour to promote Kiss Mi Neck.
MK:
I'd like to talk with you about as much as we can - your
poetry, your music, your work as a Rasta ambassador - but
let's start with your poetry.
To what extent do you see yourself fitting in the tradition that has been established in Jamaica - from as long back as Louise Bennett and coming forward with the dub poets like Muta - and to what extent do you see yourself as distinct from that tradition?
YASUS:
First of all, we started writing poetry from 1978. The first poem was ‘The Travelling Sun,’ which is included in my anthology Eye
Pen as well as Kiss Mi Neck, the CD. So I am part of the poetry tradition of Jamaica. But being innovative and different we defy the definitions. So we are distinct in that we have a peculiar emphasis, accent, tone, focus and style. So in that regard, our brand is typically Yasus. Nevertheless, we help to expand and to diversify and to enrich the poetical-cultural landscape of Jamaica. So in that extent we are part of the tradition, but to the extent that we are cutting edge and futuristic, we are distinct and different from the typical.
MK:
And over that period of time - thirty years - how do you
see the reception and development of poetry in Jamaica?
YASUS:
Well, it's growing. It's a work in progress, as you would appreci-love. You have different times when the emphasis is a bit different and the focus and the attention is a bit different. Sometimes is like a cyclic ... it will reach a crescendo and then it has a lull again and so on, and it depends on new conscious energies. Sometimes socio-political conditions prevail.
For example, when apartheid was rampant in Africa, that was certainly fuel to energize the poets as well as other social activists and creative artists. Once that style was pacified, then not many people find new material to fuel and energize the passions and the enthusiasm. So that's an example of the socio-political, socio-economic as well geo-political reality of the day.
Nonetheless, we see whereby even Miss Lou [Louise Bennett] has reached a pinnacle in terms of being a Jamaican personality that is known for Jamaican language, poetry, commentary, literature, among other things. She's also a social activist and sometimes sensitizes the social conscience.
We see whereby Mutabaruka has ventured into radio and has established a mainstay there. We see where contemporary poets like DYCR have had an impact on the dancehall. We see Cherry Natural as a girl or queen has maintained a certain presence.
We see where the poetry scene in Jamaica is emerging. We have regular weekly poetry events, like at "Seh Sup'm" at Villa Cafe in Lingunea. We see weekends the Poetry Society still continues. And you see the premier poetry event, which is Poetry in Motion, that has been going stronger and stronger for the past six years which is my event held in Mandeville. That is a high-attended event that is very successful from its inception.
For the past few years, we have not had a very prolific poetry scene in terms of recording, but I have broken that spell to an extent with the Kiss
Mi Neck album.
So right now we see whereby poetry is on the rise and on the increase, and hopefully we want to energize and to sustain that. Because whenever the poets are vocal and present, then the cultural landscape is enriched and more vibrant. And we are all the beneficiaries of that positive energy.
[photo
by Colin Brathwaite; used by permission]
Yasus
Afari speaking at the UK launch for Kiss Mi Neck at the Karibu Education Centre in Bixton, London
on October 4, 2009
From
left is motivational speaker Paul Lawrence, Yasus and actor/comedian
Tony 'PaleFace' Hendrix
MK:
Why did you choose 'Kiss Mi Neck' as the title of your
new album? There must be a story there.
YASUS:
I had a personal experience in Kingston Jamaica in the 90s actually, so that poem has been in the making ever since then. I had a date - very interesting, very unique, very different - and it wasn't so much intimate as a social date. I had a watch on and the lady keep asking me 'what time is it?' every so often. And I thought, What's up? The last time I remember telling her it was 11:59, and then she kissed me on my neck. And it triggered all kinda wild imagination and so on.
So we captured that experience, certainly that was not the end of the experience, and added a little imagination to it. It is a very interesting piece. So much so that we were recording it at Tuff Gong recording studio. We indicate that we have heard about it through the grapevine and they wait till after two in the morning, ca we had other things doing, just to get a listen of 'Kiss Mi Neck' as well as a song called 'Complex' as well as one called 'Blouse and Skirt', which constitute a trilogy on the album. And therefore we see that there is interest and intrigue. It is a brilliant storyline, it was brilliant poetry full of suspense and intrigue.
We had a long list for the name of the album and it was reduced to a short list. And the reaction we got from 'Kiss mi neck,' which is a Jamaican expression, we are committed to promoting elements of the vernacular, and certainly it lends itself to the Afro-mantic interpretation of the expressionas well as explanatory surprise in which the term is used and known in Jamaica. And the fact that the experience had Afro-mantic elements and a surprise element also.
And then the very fact that it is unusual for me to be doing a purely spoken word performance poetry album, that in itself is exclamatory surprising different. Then the album itself is so superb so different so magical so unprecedented that it just begged for the expression kiss
mi neck! So there you have it.
[photo
by Colin Brathwaite; used by permission]
MK:
What is special about Tuff Gong studio? It's legendary,
I know that, but I've never recorded there. I'm not a recording
artist and you are, so what can you tell me about cutting
an album there?
YASUS:
First of all, as a Rastaman who identify in part with the vision of Bob Marley and the vision to have a strong economic base, a strong musical foundation and tradition, what Rasta can and ought to do and have been doing is contributing to the cultural landscape of Jamaica. We wanted to continue that tradition and continue fulfilling that tradition. That's one.
Secondly, on a technical level, it's one of the best studios in Jamaica, maybe even the English-speaking Caribbean, because of the acoustics and the size and the way it is equipped. The only other studio which compares favorably with Tuff Gong is Anchor recording studio, one of the studios in that complex. And we choose Bob Marley for the other reasons. So certainly it was by merit and not just sentiment, but certainly sentiments had a part to play and the whole Rasta vision which we just spoke of.
The dancehall scene is a bit dominant in Jamaica. A lot of the engineers and studios are configured to be conducive to that sort of environment. We wanted to break that mold and do something different, so hence, the factors conspired and gave Tuff Gong the vote.
MK:
In perusing, as I often do, the endless world of YouTube,
I found a video of your recording with Garnet Silk, "I
Can See Clearly Now." It's a really sweet video with
what appears to be actual schoolchildren in uniform. You're
dancing on a lawn, the kids are grooving in a ring around
you.
Could
you tell me about the circumstances of that video?
YASUS:
That video has been surfacing and re-surfacing and re-surfacing both on YouTube and elsewhere, so that's good. Garnet as you know is like a twin brother of mine, part of a triplet.
Now, I was invited by Jamaican Information Service, JIS, to do a presentation at Clarendon College as part of the 15th anniversary celebration. We had just recorded “I Can See Clearly” for Roof International Records. And so I invited Garnet as my guest on the show
I did "Honor" then called up Garnet for "I Can See Clearly." "I Can See" was hot, and Garnet was hot and burning also, and the reception to that song is evident in the video. That was a special occasion. We were just coming out. Our synergy was just proving. The reception as you can see was overwhelming. The school students were receptive, were inspired, were uplifted, were pleased and delighted to have us performing there, and we equally pleased and delighted and honored, and that came out in the performance.
That is a capsule of the dynamism and vibrancy and energy that Garnet Silk and I shared and were a part of.
MK:
Let me ask about the distinction with which you have been
honored, that of speaking to the Parliament of World Religions.
What exactly is it, and how did you make the link?
YASUS:
The Council for the Parliament of World Religions started in 1893. So that's a hundred and sixteen year old organization you're talking about. Rastafari has never been represented hitherto, and it is a parliament that has a sitting every five years. The next one will be December 3 - 9 [2009] at the Melbourne Convention Center in Australia. We are setting a new precedent by being included in that parliament representing Rastafari, my people, with 'Rastafari: The Livity of Spirituality.'
All the major religious faiths, major religious movements, will be represented. It's not a parliament that promotes or advocates evangelism or facilitatize in converting people. Is an atmosphere where the religious and faith-based community and the spiritual community can come to recognize that religious movements are like loving fingers of the hands of the Almighty. Indeed the Almighty in our humanity would want to do without a finger.
Since we can interfere in the realms of the Almighty, we should not question the faith of others, and we ought to, as we should, live peacefully with people of even opposing religious persuasion. And there is no need for the religious community to be opposing of each other, especially in an environment where international morality is under attack.
Whereby the ecumenical council held in Addis Ababa in 1965, it was agreed that the church need to harmonize and compose the relationship between the laity and the clergy. Between the social and physical as well as the spiritual needs of humanity, and that is on the page of Rastafari.
So therefore we are honored to make a representation. And we have gotten an additional honor by being nominated - and we have accepted - to the parliament as an international ambassador. So in addition to that now, we will have access to the major power brokers in that parliament, information, accessibility. We will be in a position to represent the interests and ideals of the parliament in harmony with the aspiration and ideals of Rastafari. Ca Rastafari essentially is not a religion but a livity of spirituality, as my paper alluded to.
All of this really has been triggered by my ground-breaking book called Overstanding
Rastafari - Jamaica's Gift to the World. It was through promoting that book in Australia and New Zealand and Japan and Africa and the Caribbean and Europe that people introduce us to the concept. And we submitted a paper and it was accepted.
[photo
by Colin Brathwaite; used by permission]
MK:
Faith unifies, and yet at the same time, religious fervor
is exclusionary and provides the occasion and motivations
for conflict. And in today's world, with the amount of
war and religiously-fueled strife everywhere, it seems
that the kind of vision which will emerge from that conference
is more important than ever before.
What
do you hope to see ripple forward from that gathering?
YASUS:
Wha'ppen is that it is accepted by the Parliament of World Religions that there will always been war and conflict as long as the religious community don't come together. So that's an awesome responsibility being assumed in that very same maxim.
What I hope to achieve, in addition to, you know, getting listening ears and hearts and minds to the presentation, certainly I see that the fundamental of any school of thought must be spirituality. Spirituality speaks to the network that connects us as individuals - one to the other, to the universe and to the source of energy, which we maybe describe as the Almighty, the Creator.
I think the role of Rastafari, rather than adding to the stockpile of religious movements and organizations that are there, we would want to calibrate and align the religious community with a different mindset to the fundamentals of religion, which is spirituality in the first place.
Certainly, out of that awareness and out of that objective, we would want to inspire the parliament to develop methodologies, timelines, clearly defined objectives, roles and responsibilities that can help to address the social ills, historical injustice, harmony, goodwill, environmental conditions. We are all inhabitants of the planet earth, and certainly we must find a way to live harmoniously and to protect the planet earth so that our planet earth can preserve and protect us.
I'll be having a particular focus [in my presentation] on environmental health, social health, social justice and in terms of living harmoniously as a community irrespective of our racial, political, social, religious differences. We would want to promote and celebrate what we share in common rather than that which distinguishes us. And certainly that which distinguishes us we would want to celebrate that as variety adding spice of life, rather than a reason for isolation, insulation, contention, confrontation, wars and strife and differences. We think we are in a different age and it call for a new paradigm. I would want my presentation to be a catalyst for us to reach that new paradigm, that new focus, that new awareness.
[photo
by Colin Brathwaite; used by permission]
MK:
Let me bring it back to Jamaica with this question - since
you mentioned living harmoniously with the earth:
To what extent do you see environmental consciousness
being enacted at the grassroots level and shared by
the political class?
YASUS:
We want to commend and encourage the work of NEPA, the major official environmental body in Jamaica, in line with the government and the government objectives.
However, while not wanting to frustrate or insult their efforts, enough is not being done. And we have woeful situation as it relates to the shoreline which you alluded to, as it relates to the rivers, as it relates to the disposal of garbage, how the water is channeled from the mountains into wherever, how people are being exposed to lead in the earth until the children become so affected. And then for a moment, pay lip service and then forget it conveniently again.
Also we see over-fishing, or using dynamite and being callous and careless as it relates to the other elements in the ecological system. As it relates to deforestation, as it relates to urbanization, as it relates to over-population of certain sensitive and ecologically delicate aspect of the Jamaican life. For example, what is happening in Portmore. And there we could enumerate several other issues. As it relates to the hotel-ization, as I would call it, of the beachfronts on the north coast and so on which is paid total disregard for the environment and for the people.
MK:
This is all the context of your poem "The Earth is a
Friend."
YASUS:
People recognize that the earth is a woman, the earth is a living being that breathes and eats and need to live a healthy life. And it is the source of our existence, largely, here on this planet earth, and the relationship between the earth with the solar system, for example, and the connection between that and rain and the ozone layer and global warming and our health.
We would want to recognize that this is an integrated whole. And as it relates to, for example, the very fact that major environmentalists accept and agree that the source of energy that sustain this civilization is rapidly depleting. At the present level of consumption it won't exist beyond 35 to 50 years, by conservative estimate. So therefore there need to be a very intense and urgent system of reallocation of wealth and resources that would level the playing field, that would encourage greater social harmony among nations and groups and tribes on the planet earth.
Certainly we would want to advocate along those lines and certainly we would bring it up in the parliament also. That the best mechanism of wealth reallocation and redistribution must be reparation and repatriation. As it relates to the Maori in New Zealand, as it relates to the Aborigines in Australia, as it relates to the native Indians in America, as it relates to the Africans at home and in the Diaspora, and many other indigenous groups.
So certainly we need to take a holistic approach and politicians must be responsible. And since the grassroots people are the victims, they must lead from bottom-up and ensure that the respect is given to the environment of which the humanity is an integral part of the environment. And we cannot pretend that we are the only important element in the chain; we are equally important to all the other elements because we are inter-dependent and inter-related.
This is the kind of consciousness that we want to inject. We have been doing that through the poetry, we want to use the opportunity at the parliament and wherever we are, even on this interview, we want to advance that. Because we either survive together or go extinct together. So we are all in this thing together.
MK:
Why is it so hard to get environmental consciousness like
that to permeate a society, yours or mine?
In my own country, here in middle America, it's hard to get people on board and I tend put it down to distractions. People are worried about the next paycheck. I wonder whether it simply takes a certain level of leisure time to become an activist. And it's hard to get grassroots people who are living paycheck to paycheck to think beyond what they can immediately see.
YASUS:
Is not so much different where we are geopolitically. As you say in Jamaica, paycheck to paycheck, hand to mouth. So the people are short-sighted and narrow-minded based on the economic plight that they are facing. They don't have much time to be concerned beyond the immediate bread-and-butter and so on, which is unfortunate and that is why we have to work it at different levels.
Certainly even the people who are affluent are no more responsible, really, because the evidence in the industrialized nations speaks eloquently to that responsibility. And therefore we think it takes consistent work by those who claim to be enlightened. And it has to be a work in progress. We cannot be impatient, neither can we be complacent. We have to use whatever influence at our disposal to keep it on the agenda.
I think through education and through socialization and through religion, we have become compartmentalized. We cannot be compartmentalized because life does not exist and operate that way. So certainly we need to revisit how we teach these things in terms of religious institutions and political and educational and social institutions. We are part of an integrated whole, and we cannot be myopic. Neither can we be insulated or isolated in how we view. Everything connected, everything is relative, everything is related. And we need to develop this overstanding that there is that direct relationship between ourselves and the environment. One affect the other.
So
it is an uphill task, but is a job that is worth doing
and must be done.
~
~ ~
About
the interviewer: Michael Kuelker is a teacher and writer
living in St. Louis, Missouri. He is the editor of Book
of Memory: A Rastafari Testimony (CaribSound 2005), the
oral history of Jamaican Rasta elder Prince Elijah Williams,
and he also co-hosts "Positive Vibrations" (Saturdays
8-10 p.m.) on KDHX 88.1 FM, a community radio station in
St. Louis. His articles and reviews can be read at www.ConsciousParty.com and www.JahWorks.org.
