Blacspade: Young, Gifted and Black Part 3
Blacspade and Rastafarianism.
Third of a seven-part series.
“My music is conscious music and very influential. And it is partly because I was born a Rasta. I never ever wanted to go to the barber since I was small.
“I just never thought anyone should be playing in my hair because my scalp is very tender. And, secondly, I grew among a number of relatives who were Rastas by their actions.”
But, Blacspade’s grandfather did not like the least talk about Rastas.
“My grandfather, for example, couldn’t stand a bone in Rastas. He would have nothing to do with them. They did come to his grocery shop to buy, but this was how far he went with them. Goods and change if any, and then he moved on to the next customer.”
Blacspade grew up in Brown’s Hall, St.Catherine, where he would pass small groups of Rastas congregating and reasoning about the things he wanted to hear.
“This could be just about any subject, for example, the works of National Hero, Marcus Garvey. And their stories were interesting. They see Garvey as a strong advocate for blacks and his struggles to free them from poverty and injustices, Garvey’s projects, such as UNIA (Universal Negro Improvement Association) were centered around blacks.”
“We knew the sufferings of blacks. We have read about these struggles but these Rastas would explore these with deep meditation.”
“Another topic was that of Haile Selassie. And even though I was not wearing my hair long, we began to identify with Rastas and wanted to be around them more often.”
“I was then under my parent’s roof, so I could not be bright enough to bring something to them which they were against. But, when I began living in Rollington Town, Kingston, it was a different situation.”
“I was associated with the House of Dread where one would find more than a dozen Rastafarian congregating at any one time. And the more I spent around them, the more I wanted to look like them”.
Blacspade started to wear locks when he was 21 years old. Since then he has been enjoying every moment. And this comes out clearly in his songs.
But he sees the need for Rastas to have more shares in the affairs of Jamaica. And one way is that of having more say in representative politics.
“We need more Rastas to come out and be numbered. Don’t be afraid to be different. We got to help and shape the future of, not only Jamaica but the world because Rasta is love. One day I hope to see a Rasta becoming Prime Minister of Jamaica.”
Next: Rastafarianism shaping Blacspade’s music. Only on the Reggae-Vibes site.
(Photos courtesy of Blacspade)
