Sizzla

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Sizzla Kalonji is the stage name of Miguel Orlando Collins (born 17 April 1976), a Jamaican reggae musician. He was born in Saint Mary, Jamaica, to a devout rastafarian father and raised in August Town. He is unusually prolific, even by Jamaican standards.

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Contents

[edit] Music and faith

Sizzla subscribes to the "Bobo Ashanti" sect of the Rastafari culture, known for its orthodoxy in terms of its stringent rejection of values associated with western culture and colonialism. Sizzla's songs speak to poverty and hopelessness that pervades young Jamaica and obviously oppressed youths worldwide. Like Bob Marley generations before him, Sizzla's message addresses social issues such as poverty, homelessness, police brutality, cultural pride and political and religious oppression. However, Sizzla has courted controversy with his lyrics, which some claim are designed to incite the murder of homosexuals.

The 1980s witnessed a dancehall explosion, and with the music came the lifestyle: drugs, guns and "slackness" (vulgarity). Sizzla watched carefully, collecting his lyrical ammunition. Formally adopting the Rastafari faith, with its no-holds-barred advocacy of repatriation, slavery reparations and the use of ganja, he joined the ranks of the Bobo Ashanti in the mid-1990s. Bobo is Jamaican slang for (one order of) Rastaman, who hold Africa as the spiritual home of the Rasta. The name Ashanti derives from an ancient religious tribe, similar to the Israelites[citation needed].

The Bobos stand against all forms of oppression[citation needed] or modern day slavery, which have been forced on them by Babylon, the western world. Shunning institutionalized education and religion they have built self-sufficient communities and live frugally according to their strict beliefs. The Bobos' refusal to toe the establishment line, together with their often controversial pro-change diatribes, inspires supporters and alarms opponents.

Sizzla began to develop his own style whilst serving his musical apprenticeship with the Caveman Hi-Fi sound system. He has used his music as a vehicle for his message, kickstarting his recording career in 1995 with a release through the Zagalou label, he then teamed up with "Bobby Digital" Dixon for a series of singles. Extensive touring with fellow roots and culture artist Luciano followed, earning Sizzla critical acclaim.

Homer Harris, the same man who gave Buju Banton his first break, introduced Sizzla to top Jamaican saxophonist Dean Frazier, the musical director for Philip "Fatis" Burrell's Xterminator Family. Fatis was delighted with Sizzla's potential and decided to record him. 1996 marked an important turning point for Sizzla when he began working with Fatis. This union led to a run of successful singles and the release of Sizzla's debut album, Burning Up (RAS). The alliance again proved fruitful a year later with the follow-up, Praise Ye Jah (JetStar). Securing his position as a top reggae artist, as well as one with something to say, he set about cultivating his role as a spriritual messenger. Sizzla's combination of Rasta principles and up-to-the-minute dancehall rhythms made his hard line approach more palatable.

Creatively speaking, Sizzla really came into his own with the release of Praise Ye Jah. Widely considered one of the top conscious dancehall albums of its time,[citation needed] Praise Ye Jah was quickly trumped by the release of the Dixon-produced Black Woman and Child (Greensleeves) that same year. The title track was a smash hit and became something of a cultural reggae anthem. Sizzla scored several more hits during 1997, including "Like Mountain," "Babylon Cowboy," "Kings of the Earth," and the Luciano duet "Build a Better World." This hot streak kicked off an enormously productive recording binge that lasted over the next several years, with much of his output still done for Burrell.

Bearing all the hallmarks of Bobby "Digital" Dixon's dancehall-influenced production, the impact on both the reggae and mainstream markets was phenomenal. The evocative title track, issued as a single, rapidly achieved anthemic status. Along with universal praise came Sizzla's first nomination for Best International Reggae Artist of the Year at the 1998 MOBO Awards and a place in various magazines' top 100 albums of the year.

Sizzla has since released several dozen albums, including 1998's Kalonji (Jet Star), which saw the single "Rain Shower" play listed at Radio One, and Royal Son of Ethiopia (Greensleeves) from 1999. 1999 also saw him receive his second MOBO nomination. Sizzla remains a constant presence in the reggae charts worldwide.

This success for Sizzla has brought him substantial media attention. Despite this success as a recording artist, he remains a mysterious figure, having little or no contact with the media. Though Sizzla remains popular[citation needed] with exceptional record sales, he does not support the music industry, believing it to be another corrupt and oppressing institution. Not wanting to be seen to endorse the industry, he is wary of any involvement with the press and promotion, granting only a few interviews to date. His rare live appearances are always sold out.

Sizzla has an ability to fuse passionate lyrical styling with deceptively simple rhythms that take in a range of genres from staccato dancehall and gentle roots reggae to surprisingly commercial R&B and soul arrangements. The opening track of the album Bobo Ashanti, "The World", is a modern take on the pulsing dub beat and a call to conquer the West by rejoicing in Rastafari. Sizzla's plea for truth on "Courage" from the same album is set against a lilting guitar hook. He asks the ghetto youths to follow King Selassie and "Grow U Locks" on a punching dancehall rhythm. The R&B-influenced closing track of the album, "Must Rise", is an earnest appeal to black people to find strength in unity.

Sizzla, along with reggae recording artists such as Capleton, Buju Banton, and Anthony B, are credited with leading a movement toward a re-embracement of Rastafarian values in contemporary reggae music by recording material which is concerned primarily with spirituality[citation needed], social consciousness[citation needed], explores common themes, such as Babylon's corrupting influence, the disenfranchisement of ghetto youth, oppression of the black nation and Sizzla's abiding faith in Jah and resistance against perceived agents of oppression[citation needed]. Sizzla has over 30 full completed albums sold in record stores to date.

[edit] Accusations of homophobia

Sizzla has been involved in controversy over his anti-gay lyrics, and has been attacked in press statements by gay advocacy group OutRage!, who have translated his lyrics from Jamaican patois, claiming they call for the murder of gays.[1] The controversy led to Sizzla being dropped from appearing at the MOBO awards, and cancelling tours of the UK and France.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

  • Burning up (1995)
  • Praise Ye Jah (1997)
  • Black Woman and Child (1997)
  • Kalonji (Europe) / Freedom Cry (U.S.A.) (1998)
  • Royal Son of Ethiopia (1999)
  • Good Ways (1999)
  • Be I Strong (1999)
  • Bobo Ashanti (2000)
  • Words of Truth (2000)
  • Liberate Yourself (2000)
  • Taking Over (2001)
  • Rastafari Teach I Everything (2001)
  • Black History (2001)
  • Blaze Up the Chalwa (2002)
  • Ghetto Revolutionary (2002)
  • Up In Fire (2002)
  • Da Real Thing (2002)
  • Pure Love (2003)
  • Rise To The Occasion (2003)
  • Light Of My World (2003)
  • Speak Of Jah (2004)
  • Stay Focus (2004)
  • Jah Knows Best (2004)
  • Life (2004)
  • Bless - Peter ice fi no (2004)
  • Red Alert (2004)
  • Soul Deep (2005)
  • Burning Fire (2005)
  • Brighter Day (2005)
  • Jah Protect (2006)
  • Ain't Gonna See Us Fall (2006)
  • Waterhouse Redemption (2006)
  • Smoke Weed With 44 Rounds (2006)
  • The Overstanding (2006)
  • The understanding: Never fi smoke de herb without prince (Dame Dash music group)

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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