 |
|
|
| |
 |
| |
 |
Rastafari has always been a great influence on Jamaican music. Especially in the
seventies when roots reggae reached it's peak with singers like Bob Marley, Peter Tosh,
Burning Spear and Dennis Brown amongst others. In the eighties slackness and gunlyrics
took over, but in nineties the influence of Rastafari could be heard again in the songs
of artists like Garnett Silk Tony Rebel, Capleton, Buju Banton, Luciano and Sizzla, who
are responsible for a new category in Jamaican dancehall music, the new roots.
One of the upcoming artists in the new roots style is Taffari. Born as Boris Anthony
Silvera in the district Bagnol Spring in the Parish of St. Mary on March 8, 1971 he gre
up in the countryside of Jamaica before moving to Kingston at the age of 16. "Music has
always been my greatest interest from birth", Taffari says, "But from the age of 14 I
realised that I could make a career as a musicman and from that time I started to take
the music serious." Like many other Jamaican artists Taffari was a regular visitor of
dancehall sessions and he used to go to sounds like I-Jah Lick Force and Classic One and
started to sing utilizing the name Singing Bird.
His first tune, 'Nice Girl', was recorded in 1988 and was a combination between him and
a singer named Lanny, who was also the
producer of the tune. The both of them grew up together in St. Mary. In 1990/91 Singing
Bird voiced a remake of Millie Small's
'My Boy Lollipop' for producer Phillip 'Fattis' Burrell, owner of the Xterminator label
through a link with one of his friends
named Brokie. The tune was recorded by Syl Gordon at Gussie Clarke's Music Works studio.
After voicing for 'Fattis' Singing Bird recorded for a few other producers like Mikey
Magic, Impact from New York, Super
Blaster and policeman Isiah Laing, but some of these tunes were never released.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
