Raging Fyah (Kumar Bent): "We are selling truth, rights and justice!"

Raging Fyah started as a backing band. What made you make the decision to become an actual band?
Kumar Bent (lead vocals): "Over the years we've played for a lot of artists but we got a lot of disrespect, so to speak; like playing for musicians who don't appreciate your craft. Antony Watson, Demar Gayle and Delroy Hamilton, the original band members, were the ones doing all the work. They were playing for everybody but decided they had a lot more to offer. After about six years of backing people, the vision came alive to produce our own music."

When you say there was a lot of disrespect as a backing band, what are you talking about?
Antony Watson (drums): "Sometimes the artists aren't musical; all they know is to write lyrics. Sometimes it gets to the point that the artist makes a mistake and as a musician you try to fix it but you in the end you get blamed."
Kumar Bent: "Now we get to call the shots. We get to play the festivals we want with our own music. When you work for an artist, it's what the artist says that goes."

How did the transition go from the one to another? Did the fact that you were a backing band make it easier or did you really have to prove yourself as an actual band?
Kumar Bent: "Definitely, we're still doing that right now. We have to keep growing. Our first album was in 2011, the second one was in 2014. Over that period of time it was just constant work and actually showing people that we're not a backing band anymore. We're an actual band that produces their own music, write their own lyrics. We're still proving ourselves now with our third album 'Everlasting'. But I think it has actually sealed up the fact that we've been in the business with our own music for ten years."

You're becoming a house hold name in Europe, playing at the biggest festival. You've just played at Summerjam. Why do you think Raging Fyah is so well acclaimed in Europe?
Kumar Bent: "Summerjam was a wonderful experience. It was our third time. The first time was in 2012. In 2014 we did a surprise performance at Summerjam and we were there Iast year as well. Big up Riddim Magazine! They believed in us from the beginning. In 2011 Ellen (Koehlings, red.) and Pete (Lily, red.) put us on the cover. That gave us a head start in Europe. People were skeptical about us but Ellen and Pete really believed in us from the get go. Germany as a whole has shown us a lot of love."

How is reggae music treated by mainstream media in Jamaica?
Kumar Bent: "We've been fighting that fight for a while. We get support from the local people but the radio plays us when they can. The bills have to be paid so they have to play certain things. We won't say we don't get the support but it could be a lot more."

What about the government?
Kumar Bent: "Reggae music comes with Rastafari and the government doesn't support Rastafari. So we keep on going and hold down reggae music till Rastafari gets respect. This is why we have the Wickie Wackie festival: we can put ourselves out there and showcase other musicians and other young talent."

You've produced 'Judgement Day' but 'Everlasting' is not produced by RG (by LLamar 'RiffRaff' Brown) and features many artists, which is a first. What was it like making this album?
Kumar Bent: "Working with Llamar is like working with a friend, an actual band member. We all went to school together. We've been working together since 2008 in terms of producing music. We link up and rehearsed the songs before we went into the studio so it's not like a surprise production where a producer comes and tells us what to do. We tell him what we're doing and he helps us to enhance that sound. It's just taking advice from a really good musician."

In a previous interview you've stated that 'Everlasting' would be better than 'Judgement Day' and 'Destiny'. Do you feel like you've accomplished that? What makes this album better than the two previous albums?
Kumar Bent: "It's our best work to date as a body of work. It has different genres and subgenres. We explored it lot more, take the synth drums on 'Would You Love Me' for example. Even the collabs like 'Humble' with Jesse Royal and 'Live Your Life' with J Boog. I think it's an everlasting body of work, not just Raging Fyah's input to reggae music but it's involving other musicians, producers and songwriters."

How does RG differentiate itself from other reggae bands?
Kumar Bent: "We all know a lot of songs in the reggae genre from being a backing band. Being on a stage and playing music in front of thousands of people before we actually did it for ourselves has helped us a lot as well. We understand that it's a certain energy that you're giving and receiving. Going to the Edna Manley College gave us a bigger head start because we're all trained musicians. We learned to read music; it's not just listening and playing."

You've had the privilege to work with many reggae elders. You were Third World's Ibo Cooper student at the Edna Manley College, you've worked with Rory Stone Love and RG is managed by Lukes Morgan. Those are people who have been in reggae for a long time. What is some of the knowledge you've picked up from being around them?
Kumar Bent: "There's always a lesson to be learned. Everyone has their own version of what happened to them in the music. We have to take a little piece of everything and make it our own. We need to make sure we don't make the same mistakes as the elders and take the good thing and incorporate that into our work."
Anthony Watson: "Take nothing for granted. Everything counts."

Talking about reggae elders, Raging Fyah has been featured of the 'We Remember Dennis Brown' album with the song 'Milk And Honey'. What does his music mean to Raging Fyah?
Kumar Bent: "We really love Dennis Brown. The Crown Prince of Reggae is also Bob Marley's favorite singer. His music is phenomenal, 'Concrete Castle King' for example. We listen to his music a lot. We decided to cover 'Milk And Honey', because it's a track where we're calling down the blessings of the Most High."

I think it's safe to say that Raging Fyah aims to make music that is going to stand the test of time. What does timeless music mean to you?
Kumar Bent: "It's everything. If you listen to 'Judgement Day', I'm sure you're grandchildren are going to love that. When you listen to the first track of 'Everlasting' it's also a timeless piece. When making this type of music, we would rather have a carrier instead of being entertainers for ten years. People still listen to these great artists like Bob Marley and Steel Pulse, Raging Fyah wants to be in that category. We don't want to be a flash in the pan. We want everyone to love our music for years to come and I think it's happening now. We have babies and seventy year olds who love Raging Fyah. That speaks volumes for us."

So you'd rather struggle but know that your music is…
Kumar Bent: "Everlasting! Struggle is temporary. The music might not make millions of dollars. To do that you have to sell what the system wants you to sell. We are selling truth, rights and justice. Essentially we are selling love. We can live with that."
Delroy Hamilton (bass): "No one said it's a struggle, it's just learning what you need in order to survive later on."