Right now I am writing a song with Mykal Rose from Black Uruhu.
Well to be more specific I am driving up to Bellingham as I listen to a track Reggae Powerhouse Band sent me called ‘Freedom’ that the band produced with the intention of matching me up with the first of a number of greats. The greats revered in the UK that even I grew up listening to.
My exposure to great Reggae beyond the vortex of The Wailers was limited. It’s hard to even hear over those thick walls of pre Napster American bubblegum rock & pop. The Abercrombie & Fitchness of the days when music when rebellion was shopping at Hot Topic, and the only reggae album I could afford to find, was Peter Tosh’s mid fi classic Legalize It in the dust bin.
“Legalize it…and I will advertise it.”
A lot of great music from the likes of Dennis Brown never got through. Still hasn’t.
But even I know these famous singers well from my days in Pullman at Blake Dally and Kevin Seda-Kane‘s place they called The Foundation. The Foundation was where roots reggae music and Irie cuisine was consumed and created on the daily during my days at WSU.
Those were the heady days when Kevin and Blake led The Mugicians and would let me sing on some of their shows before The Staxx Brothers were a thing. Back when I was singing with a Blues band called Mr. Chesterfield every Tuesday at the local jazz club Rico’s, thanks to Horace Alexander Young‘s Jazz Combo program.
We would get our two bands together on weekends and play these great shows underground shows at places like the Studio 51 art gallery. I would be as entertaining as I possibly could to get our limited set of Blues covers to go over as well as The Mugicians amazing fusion of reggae and hip hop. They were ahead of our time.
Now famous DJ Tina Turnbull could often be heard with her turntables scratching musical phrases over their Riddims and smoky rhymes by Cj Robbins and Desmond like some throwback park in the Bronx were jazz and reefer still ruled.
15 years ago, Kevin would adamantly show me songs on vinyl records by artists I am going to recording with; trying to get into my thick head what real reggae was and what Rasta culture even means.
I am never going to be Rasta. I love BBQ too much. But I sure do respect these gentleman and their religious and cultural beliefs. I am never going to sound quite like them either.
But I am getting this shot to sing with men like Mykal Rose, because I don’t.
But Soul sounds good with everything. And Bone exposed to me to how Americans were trying to reinvent toasting. Spice 1 had those stutters that were so useful in breaking up Riddims. The influence of reggae is in the DNA of Hip Hop and the DNA of reggae is so heavily Soul, especially Curtis Mayfield and early Motown.
Uhuru is Freedom in Swahili. I think I am going to sing about Martin Luther King and how social media is not pathway to positive social change. Because Martin Luther King led from his feet, and died with his boots on.
I am going to say something no American has on a reggae track. I was born in LA, raised in Mays Pond. I am half Puerto Rican. I am going to sound like it. It got me this far.
☆ I don’t sound like a Brother, but I sound like a first cousin.
Off to Bellingham to do preproduction on ‘Winston’ with Hambone Wilson. I’ll be at Hangar 420 Snohomish tomorrow strumming my guitar and writing that ‘Freedom’ verse between customers.
Jamaica? Soon come.
Davin’s new song has been released and has become a global earworm and Caribbean dancehall hit. Listen here on Reggaeville: DAVIN MICHAEL STEDMAN & ANTHONY RED ROSE – FREE YOUR MIND FEAT. SLY & ROBBIE WITH LENKY MARSDEN. The video is now available on Youtube.
– Musician and writer Davin Michael Stedman has many ventures, such as the AMAZING blog, 100milesofmusic.com, and is one of the driving forces behind the Staxx Brothers. This past spring he spent weeks networking in and reporting from Kingston, Jamaica. He will retun there soon for more recording. His single with British band Sherlock Soul is now available as well.
