When you listen to the
album, ‘Live On: Tribute to Culture’ by the son of the legendary Jamaican
reggae outfit’s front man Joseph ‘Culture’ Hill you realise how a true musical
son he is to his father.
I really do not know if
his situation can be compared to the other sons that took over from their
fathers, like the Black Missionaries back home, for example, but in the case of
Kenyatta Hill one would really be tempted to
believe what is written on the website called http://www.fastlaneintl.com/khill_live_on.htm that his career began the day his father’s
ended.
Kenyatta’s dad, Joseph, who was the front man and
songwriter for the Jamaican vocal trio, Culture. He collapsed and died while on
a 2006 tour of Europe . The website notes that
to the amazement of promoters, fans and critics alike, Kenyatta stepped onstage
and delivered electrifying performances time and again - nineteen shows in all
- until the tour was complete. And this was unheard of in any genre of music at
any time, it states.
“Kenyatta gave of himself so totally – as his
father had for so many years – that the two seemed to become one, the eerily
similar voices and the vibes igniting the critics and yielding a new reggae
mantra ‘magic, not tragic!’” the website reports.
As if what he displayed with the remaining shows of
his father was not enough, at the Ranny Williams Centre in Kingston ,
Jamaica , at the memorial
concert for Joseph, the website states that Kenyatta’s performance with Culture
was the highlight in the star-studded night and garnered him the rousing applause
of the hard-to-please Kingston
reggae audience. It further notes that Kenyatta went on to front Culture in a
series of performances in the US ,
Caribbean, Brazil , Argentina and Peru , again leaving audiences
amazed and delighted.
The coming on the scene by the young Hill is said
to be influenced by elements of dancehall grounded in the roots tradition and
motivated to carry on his father’s work. Kenyatta set to writing, finishing
songs that Joseph had started and creating new music of his own.
“On his poignant debut single, “Daddy”, (Tafari
Records) backed by a masterful roster of musicians, including Sly Dunbar and
Dean Fraser, and produced by Lynford “Fatta” Marshall , he confronted the emotional pain
and uncertainty he felt after the loss of his father. He cried while he wrote,
just as audiences in Europe had cried while he
sang,” the website states.
I am getting all that the website wrote because it
truly expresses what I wanted to say about Kenyatta having listened to his
album this week. The website marks ‘Pass the Torch’ as the complete CD having
“a collector’s item feel” which was released in 2007 to long-time Culture fans
and critics who have embraced the son, named after Jomo Kenyatta, the first President
of Kenya.
“With its very lovely and high level vibe Kenyatta
Hill’s first CD prompted one long-time Culture fan to proclaim, ‘Culture is
ALIVE’,” states the website matter-of-factly.
The website says indeed Culture, featuring Kenyatta,
continues to share the wisdom of Joseph’s conscious reggae, overlaid with
Kenyatta’s own lively and youthful musical vision. Kenyatta toured in support
of ‘Pass the Torch’ with a number of festival appearances throughout 2009 as
well as a highly successful US
tour with Beres Hammond in 2009 and 2010.
It was after these tours that in 2011 he released ‘Live
On’, a highly-acclaimed tribute to the music of Joseph Hill and Culture with
Kenyatta performing fresh renditions of some of their classic compositions.
2011 also saw Kenyatta Hill on tour with a hot new band and expands his musical
horizons beyond his formidable roots.
Of course, the father
is always the father, but listening to ‘Live On’ one cannot help it but realise
that indeed the father, Joseph Hill, is still alive in the son, Kenyatta Hill.
One big question back
home would then be: is it the same with the living sons? Is Robert Fumulani still
alive in the persons of Anjiru and Chizondi?
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