Ras Kimono, who describes himself simply as a rastaman, in this encounter with ERIC DUMO talks about his growing up years, music, and the state of the nation among other sundry issues
We have not heard about Ras Kimono for some time, where has he been?
Well, I have been around. Probably a lot of people are too busy to know this or maybe because in recent times the music industry in Nigeria is taking everybody towards one direction and so people don’t really care to look at other directions. Continue....
I dropped my last album two years ago which has tracks such as ‘Wicked politician’, ‘Veteran’, ‘Matter of time’ and a host of others that were widely applauded. For now, I do not have a company that markets my works; I do the marketing by myself and it didn’t go as far as it should have gone. If you don’t have money in Nigeria now, nothing works for you. Music in Nigeria is now a business for the rich people and their children. Before, it was the poor man’s cry. It was through music that the poor people wailed and reached out to the world. In the past, you can’t find any rich man’s child doing music. His parents would ask if he or she was crazy.
But rich men now invest huge amounts of money in music. If I am going to do a good song in the studio right now, I probably would spend about N500, 000 on ten tracks. But the rich man doesn’t care about the money; he would simply take his son to the best producer and pay millions to get the job done. So, now music is not really for those who struggle and do it from the bottom of their hearts, it is a big man’s thing in Nigeria right now. So real musicians like us are struggling to produce and market our works. So, for this reason, a lot of people think we are no more in the industry but that’s not true.
I have been on the road within and outside Nigeria in recent months promoting my works and reggae music. But if nothing much is heard of you within Lagos it would seem as though you were no longer in music. So, I have fully been around.
Today’s music has changed a lot from when you first came into the industry, what steps do you think can be taken to address the dropping quality of music in Nigeria?
We don’t have to address anything really; it is just a matter of time. That is why I titled my last album ‘Matter of time’. I say this because in Nigeria we are always after trends which fizzle out with time. There was a time when Makossa music ruled the airwaves in Nigeria. Other brands of music also came and everybody jumped at them. And now we have afro-hip hop on board. I tell you that it’s a matter of time before this will also fizzle out. When this happens, we shall separate the grain from the shaft. We shall know who the real musicians are. I hope the youths can hold their brand of music tight for a very long time. The ovation is still very loud at the moment but how long more can this last? We’ll see. Reggae music is still waxing strong from year to year. Over 30 years after Bob Marley died; reggae is still making impact worldwide.
In recent years, reggae appears to be waning in Nigeria, what do you think is responsible for the drastic drop in patronage of this brand of music?
The first problem is that we don’t have a recording company. In those days we had companies that came from abroad and were interested in good and talented artistes, who they could also develop and market properly to the world. But all we see these days is just everyman doing his own thing. This is not the way it should be. But guess what? Everything will soon come back to normal.
When I returned to Nigeria after staying in the United States for some time, a lot of people said Majek, Alex Zitto and I ran away with reggae music. But that was a misconception because we are still fully here representing the reggae brand. I am fully back in Nigeria and reggae will soon take its position in the music industry. If you listen to most of the tunes from our youths today, you will realise they have a bit of dancehall and reggae flavour. That is what I am talking about. That means that they have gone round and round and are now gradually coming back home, to reggae music. But they cannot handle it properly for now because reggae deals with truth and what is right. Our youths are only interested in money, they are not really interested in truth or what is right.
Most reggae artistes don’t have money because they deal with the truth and real issues. If you do this type of music you are definitely going to step on toes; you are going to hurt some people even your family members and that is what happens to most of us in this genre of music.
Some people were disturbed by the title of my last album which was ‘Wicked politician’. Some of them didn’t even listen to the music but the title alone got them worried. I only said that fire would burn the wicked politician, I didn’t say fire would burn all politicians. It is only if you know that you are wicked that this track can get you worried. The youths can hardly have the courage to voice such strong words because most of them are just in music for the money and not to impact the society.
After you dropped your last album with such provoking tracks like ‘Wicked politician’, were there any sort of reactions from the political class?
Well, not really but a lot of my friends called me to say I had really changed and that I was not with them anymore. Some of these people were my friends when we were in the university but because they are into politics now, they don’t like what I do again. But then I have never really been openly accused by any politician for voicing out against the evils in our society. If you accuse me, I will ask if you are wicked; because as far as I am concerned it is only a wicked person that should be worried over such tune.
Some people have said the dwindling patronage of reggae music in Nigeria is as a result of the genre not evolving over the years and being too far away from today’s realities, do you agree with this?
I do not subscribe to that. What are today’s realities? Today’s realities are yesterday’s realities because nothing has changed in Nigeria. From 1960 they promised us stable electricity but till this day that promise has not been fulfilled. I did a track in 1990 on what was happening in this country and all the things I said in that track are still happening. So, what realities are we talking about? Anybody who says reggae music has not evolved over the years is having a misconception because in the real sense it is this brand of music that has continued to clamour for equity and justice over the years.
The Americans sing about what is happening in their society which is sex, drugs and guns. In Nigeria, what is happening is pure suffering and we have to talk about this until everything is alright. We pray every year that things get better but we find out that things are in fact getting worse with each passing year. All the children born in this generation are just unfortunate to be born into an era when there is so much suffering and injustice in Nigeria. It’s just a big shame.
Some people also say one of the reasons reggae music is no longer attracting large patronage is because of the undisputed association of the genre with drugs, sex, alcohol, violence and all sorts, do you agree with this?
Whoever is saying that is simply out of touch with what is happening. Show me one hip hop artiste who does not smoke or drink to stupor and I shall show you five reggae artistes who do not smoke or drink. I don’t smoke, I don’t drink. My good brother, Alex Zitto, doesn’t smoke or drink. I can go on and on. Even though everybody would easily point to Majek Fashek to score some points in this regard, using him as an example to classify every reggae artiste in Nigeria is wrong. Majek is Majek and we are who we are. We are very different people altogether.
I don’t sing about sex or drugs, I sing about the realities of our time and that is why people like us are still around. People have never fought and died in any of my shows because we are preaching peace and justice. Though, some people would say you can associate reggae music or afro-beat with ‘ganja’ because these genres of music deal with the truth and justice. But that does not mean that every reggae artiste smokes to stupor. Even those who smoke and drink among us have always been very responsible in doing such. We have not heard negative things about them as much as these hip hop artistes, who started only a few years ago. What these youths have done over this period with alcohol and drugs, we didn’t even do that for 30 years.
So whoever is associating reggae or a pure rastaman with drugs and crime, does not know what he or she is talking about. Reggae music is about peace, love and being responsible. We are here to maintain peace.
What is the relationship between reggae music and dreadlocks? Can’t people do reggae music without necessarily keeping dreadlocks?
Of course, you can do reggae music without wearing dreadlocks. Rasta is a different thing from reggae. Dreadlocks more of the black man’s culture. The black man used to live this way until the white man came with his comb and mirror and wanted us to look like him. So, dreadlock is the black man’s own way of living. There are so many people wearing dreadlocks today who have nothing to do with reggae music. A lot of us don’t know about the history of the black man. In the Bible, the book of Numbers says leave the hair of your head long and lux. This is the way God created us and we are applying what is written in the Bible to our daily lives. But it is not compulsory that as a reggae artiste you must wear dreadlocks, this is totally up to the individual.
You seem to know so much about the Bible, what is your relationship with God?
God is our personal saviour and protector, so every serious rastaman deals with the Bible. It is from the Bible that we learn about humility, consciousness, seriousness and how to deal with the truth. So, we try to emulate what the Bible teaches and live like Jesus Christ even though we can never be as perfect as He was.
Personally, how spiritual are you?
Well, I don’t know if I am a spiritual person but some of my brethren call me prophet because most of the things I have said a long time ago are still happening. I have the gift to perceive things long before they happen and for that reason most of them think I am a prophet. Some of them even tell me that if I had gone into the ministry, probably I would have done much better than I have done in music. But I tell them that Jah has given me a message to the world and that is what I am doing at the moment.
In recent years a lot of controversies have surrounded Majek, as a brother, are there efforts to rally around him in his present condition?
Well, we have been rallying around Majek for over 15 years now. We used to live together in America and he has always enjoyed our support from that period even till this day. Everybody has put in so much effort to support Majek. But only God knows what is still holding Majek back. They say ‘heaven helps those who help themselves.’ It is not about us running around him trying to make him go to rehab or make him go to the hospital, no. He has to help us to help him.
If for example I keep you in a place and say no drinking or smoking, and after two hours you start fighting with me that you want to do those things. And when you do that you feel that is your heaven and earth, what do we do in such a situation? So, Majek needs to help us to help him. The problem now is beyond human. We have done our best and left the rest to Jah.
What was growing up like for you?
It was the same as for every normal African youth because I grew up without knowing the difference between a silver spoon and that made of wood. As a youth growing up in the ghetto, whatever you see is what you would feel is the best. It is until you grow older and taste life outside those places that you would know that you have been living in a different world all along. So, growing up for me was okay.
What kind of family were you born into and what was life like to you as a child?
A child can’t know anything better because you hardly can understand what you were missing once you don’t have them. I didn’t even know if I had milk as a child. But I know that life was good at that time.
Which part of Nigeria did you grow up?
I keep telling whoever cares to listen that I am not a Nigerian, I am an African, I grew up in Africa. I grew up as a youth in almost every part of Africa. So, I am a full-bred African because this is the idea of the people I want to be like: Kwame Nkrumah, Emperor Gabriel Selassie, Jomo Kenyatta, and Zik of Africa. These people came together and formed the Organisation of African Unity. Their aims and objectives were to bring every African and in fact black men together as one.
But the white man knows that if Africans come together as one, there would be big problems for them. So, what they did was to keep segregating and supporting one to fight the other. Look at the problem they created in Nigeria today, the Northerners feel that to rule is their birth right because Britain handed over power to them after colonialism. These are some of the problems the white man created for Africans. If they had left us alone, we would have been more united. I see myself as a true African.
Before you got into music, what were your dreams and ambition?
It was simply music for me. I remember vividly as a five-year-old I told my parents that I wanted to be a musician when I grew up. I told them I wanted to be popular like Jesus Christ. That was my dream. Sometimes I made a small string box to play as guitar and sang. That was how much passion I had for music. So, to my family, becoming a musician was no longer a big deal because they already knew that was where I had chosen. Some of them don’t even see me as a superstar because this is what I have started from back in the days. Only those who were born after me in my family probably see me as a star. But for the others, they are not surprised at how far I had come in music.
Who were your early influences in music?
While I was growing up, I didn’t really get the chance to listen to a lot of music because as a country boy who dwelled in the ghetto, I don’t think I even had access to a radio then. It was when I grew up a little and had the chance to come to the city that I had the chance to listen to the radio a little more. But I just knew that I wanted to be a musician.
The kind of music of that era was more of Congo music and highlife. Those were the prevalent music at the time. So, that robbed me of really having an idol that I wanted to be like in music. But after coming across reggae, I immediately made up my mind that it was the brand of music I wanted to do to get my goodwill and message to the world. If I had gone into highlife or other brand of music, I probably won’t be known till this day.
So, which artiste did you initially listen to that helped you made that decision to settle for reggae as the brand of music you wanted to do?
Even before Bob Marley, there were other reggae artistes like Jimmy Cliff already making waves. But when Marley came, he swept everyone away. He immediately became the icon and everybody began to look up to him. Even those who produced him followed his style, so from that point he became the inspiration for me.
How supportive were your parents and family members when you ventured into reggae music?
My parents never objected to my choice to go into reggae music. They gave me all the support I needed. But there were some people who felt they should run my life even more than my parents should, they were the ones who raised eyebrows. I simply ignored them and went on with my ambition.
What would you say was your greatest moment as a reggae artist or perhaps your greatest hit?
I have had a lot of great moments in my music career and I have had bad moments too. My greatest hit is known by my fans out there. But as a person, I know I have had a fulfilling career.
As a form of legacy, are you grooming any of your children to take over from you?
My first daughter was a back-up singer for me and we travelled to a lot of places including Germany. She came back about four years ago and even though she is still in school, she is doing dancehall music with conscious lyrics. Maybe as time goes on she will mellow down to proper reggae music. She is doing very well and I am proud of her.
Looking back at your illustrious career, do you have any regrets ever being a reggae artiste?
Not at all. If I have the chance, I want to do this over and over again.
For how many years have you carried your dreadlocks?
I have been like this since 1980 and I have never shaved it once. I have also been a vegetarian from that period too.
So, you must be spending a lot of money to keep your hair neat and sparkling?
I don’t spend a dime keeping my hair clean. I am a rastaman and not an artificial dreadlock carrier. I am a naturalist, who simply washes his hair in the shower with ordinary soap or in the rain whenever it pours down. Those who keep artificial dreads are just doing that to impress ladies, but not for people like us because I am a rastaman.
What would you say is your life’s philosophy, the principles that guide your every step?
I lead a simple life and that is my greatest philosophy. If our government provides the basic things of life for the citizens, nobody would really care much about other things. So, my philosophy is to live a good life today and leave tomorrow for God.
Talking about the state of the country, the Nigeria you grew up in is a lot different from the Nigeria of today, what has changed overtime in your understanding of this country?
The truth is that Nigeria has only been changing from good to bad, and bad to worse. Some people say the military is the cause of our problems while some say the politicians are to blame. But I feel things were working better during the military era. Now that politicians came with democracy, what we have is just everybody running crazy. It’s total madness.
How do you feel that all the prophetic words you have been preaching about Nigeria for a long time have been ignored by our leaders?
Of course I feel so bad. Most of our leaders went to private and public schools; some went abroad to study and came back here to steal and kill recklessly without having any form of respect for humanity. They have no conscience and are just ordinary vampires. Believe me or not, a time will come when the poor man would take the bull by the horn and take over the leadership of this country. May be by military or civil rule, it will happen. As reggae musicians we have three colours: green, gold and red. Green represents the green vegetation that God has blessed Africa with, yellow represents the gold that God blessed Africa with and the red represents the last day when blood must flow. If there is no revolution in this country, probably there won’t be peace. Until blood flows in this country, these people who call themselves rulers would not change. If we keep quiet like this, our children will continue to suffer. Until we make a change, we will continue to suffer in silence. Without revolution, things will remain this way in Nigeria.
You sound so passionate about Nigeria and change, don’t you think that with this kind of mindset, people like you should venture into leadership positions to salvage what is left of this country?
I thought so but probably this is not the time. All these sycophants and vampires have to be cleared before we can have a good political system. If you put me in Abuja today, they will corrupt me tomorrow, if they don’t succeed, they will kill me. Look at what happened to Dora Akunyili. She was a good woman but her death was not natural. It was not God’s time for her to die. There are people behind her death. They would inflict you with all sorts of sicknesses and diseases and make you die just to cover up their sins. So, if I go there now and I don’t play by the game, they will kill me. I don’t want to die yet.
Talking about women, how have you been able to handle the attention and love?
Without women, musicians can’t stand. So, women are our pillars and that is why I respect them regardless of age or class. I don’t ignore the ladies; I appreciate them whenever the opportunity surfaces because they are special. Any man who beats a woman is not fit to be called a man. Such persons should hide their faces in shame.
Have you ever been harassed by a female fan in the course of your career?
Yes, my brother…(laughs). The first Benson and Hedges concert I performed in Benin in 1993, a lady came on the stage like she wanted to dance with me. The next thing she did was to grab me and bit me on my neck. I was shouting and people thought I was just excited and singing not knowing that I was in serious pains. Before the security could pull her away, she had really injured me. She was crying that she came because of me from Ekpoma, that she loved me. After the concert, I went back to my hotel room and after changing from my costume, I went to sit at the lobby to relax a little. Before I knew it, this same lady rushed into my room and I ran to the organisers of the show to tell them that the same lady that bit me on my neck while on stage traced me to my hotel room. It was after then that the security men dragged her away from the hotel.
That was one of the scariest moments of my music career; I can never forget that day. I knew she was a huge fan of mine who had probably been looking forward to meeting me but the way she went about it really got me scared. It was like fatal attraction. The memories would always remain with me
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