Protoje & Indiggnation Band signs for best reggae concert for the year

Protoje keeps getting better, in the studio but also on stage, with a fantastic band and three great backing vocalists. The first club concert in Belgium was in all aspects a success, and for the VK the ideal demonstration of a renewed interest in reggae and related genres.

I saw Protoje for the first time in Kingston, in the yard of the 12 Tribes of Israel, the biggest and most influential organization in the history of Rastafari. Ken Boothe and Marcia Griffiths were also present in the yard on that evening. Not because of stardom but because they are Rasta and were young when Dr. Vernon Carrington (Prophet Gad) put 12 Tribes on track, on the road to Zion. Almost in the literal sense: the first big wave of Rastafarians in the 70's that arrived in Shashamane, Ethiopia was instigated by Gad.

So it's safe to say Protoje as a Rasta man is in good company. He played that evening with a random put together band, complimented with a few Rasta drummers, but without synthesizers or other significant enhancements.  The highlight of the short set was ´Who dem a program´, a brand new track which immediately sunk into my head, and has prominently stayed there ever since. When the Indiggnation band started  the tune last Wednesday evening, I got a warm hearted feeling that immediately took me back to that party at 12 Tribes, and also because the message of the song demonstrates clear understanding and independent thinking of true Rasta consciousness.

And it didn't end up as the only highlight of the show. 'Take control', 'Dread', 'Hail Rastafari', 'Rasta love', 'Shot by love' and 'Not a marihuana song': This man can already serve up a decent selection of greatest hits. He hardly needs the older riddims – I recognized 'Rockfort Rock', something from Black Uhuru and naturally 'England be nice' by Ini Kamoze, done by Protoje and so cool paraphrased in 'Kingston be wise'. His lyrics are less biblical and allegorical than those of previous Rasta generations but still are based on the love of Ras Tafari, with a deep sense of joy and suffering, rooted in real life. This man doesn't sings or singjays clichés but creates new phrases and ideas. That's what you call 'Roots reality lyrics', the next step in the evolution of Rastafari. Protoje is surely not the first artist to choose this path, but at the moment is the most convincing. 

A big portion of which he credits to his producer Don Corleon, who manages to develop a new authentic roots sound, and live to the 5-member band. Which takes the already good tunes and elevates them to a whole new level, a sound that's new to us in reggae, with guitar samples like those of Jimi Hendrix (including playing on the back and with the teeth) and epic accumulated dubs that give the tracks a classic rock feeling. Not just long played out riddims but smashing jams that were patented by Sly & Robbie. Sly & Robbie, Ini Kamoze, Black Uhuru (it is no coincidence that these two acts got their fame thanks to the riddim twins): those are the musical references of Indiggnation (yes, with double g). That is where that new roots generation picks up in the mid 80's, when reggae was digitalized almost overnight, and musicians suddenly found themselves sidelined. I had already given up on that real, organic roots music in Jamaica which would probably never be made again (although fortunately it would in the rest of the world). But look: Chronixx, Jah9, Kabaka Pyramid, Protoje and certainly the Marley's realize that Jamaican pop music has had enough of the invasion of electronic beats and immature lyrics. It is time again for the music that made Jamaica famous, roots & culture, musical talent and content with substance. 

Protoje brought two excellent singers whom at the end of the evening got a round of applause for doing a stunning piece 'Get up stand up' and a similarly beautiful performance of Buju's 'Hills and valleys'. But the most impressive voice of the evening came from a dark corner, where the rhythm guitarist not only brilliantly took the voices from Protoje's combinations into account (Kymani, Romain Virgo, Ini Kamoze…) but also the seemingly sampled vocal effects in the mix. What a voice! It sounded as if the voices on the Kymani and Damian Marley record were laid down by him, so eerily close was his approach to their vibe. I said it already: it was a top show in all respects, even a lot better than the Reggae Geel from last summer, and I have a feeling that there is still potential and growth to be seen from Protoje. It has been from Lucianos early years, the mid 90's, that I had been so greatly moved and satisfied by such a young Jamaican singer.  

Pictures: Rick De Blick Translation: Nyah Grant  

 

 

Pictures: Rick De Blick

Translation: Nyah Grant