Veteran Jamaican reggae singer Anthony B will thrill Kenyans next week in two big shows slated for Mombasa and Nairobi. The singer, known for his righteous lyrics and positive attitude, will perform next Saturday at the New Big Tree in Mombasa and the following day in Nairobi.
Anthony B is widely seen as a defender of the downtrodden whose dancehall style is rich, powerful and uplifting.
His music praises love and spirituality, peace and unity. But he is no pushover; a fearless lyricist, he warns in the song Bad From Long Time off the album Life Over Death, "if you diss me you’ll step on a landmine".
His album Untouchables (2004) that features Wyclef Jean and Snoop Dogg showcases his ability as a prolific composer whose music boasts of long shelf life. Anthony B also collaborated with Capleton, Sizzla and Luciano in his long career that has seen him release 24 albums and more than 1,000 singles.
Always complex, Anthony B’s music challenges the listener to become a better person by way of the sometimes-dueling disciplines of compassion and self-expression. He challenges the thug to grow into a man, from a dog to lion. In the same vein, his songs about women are full of passion, desire and respect.
African teacher
But the art always gives away the heart of the artiste, and it is clear that Anthony B’s dearest love is for Africa. In his song dedicated to the continent, Hello Mama Africa.
He stayed for some time in the Ethiopian community of Shashamane, which was donated in 1948 by the Emperor Haile Selassie I as a place for Rastafarians to settle and repatriate to their ancestral homeland in Africa. MarleyÌ’ music is chock full of anthems and ballads dedicated to African praise and liberation, including the reggae classics Africa Unite and Zimbabwe.
Anthony B has this love for Africa, and much else, in common with Bob Marley. Both artistes were born in rural Jamaica and both forged their musical talent in their community church choir. Both looked to music as their escape route out of poverty. And both entered the Mansions of the Rastafarian religion as a source of spiritual redemption and black pride.
While Bob Marley associated with the Twelve Tribes of Israel, Anthony B is of the Bobo Shanti house, an order known for its long flowing robes and tightly wrapped turbans, African nationalism and spiritual separation from everyday society.
But that doesn’t stop Anthony B from travelling the globe spreading songs of peace and promoting Rastafarian beliefs and culture. Dubbed The Trendsetter, his fierce, relentless style is powerful enough to knock your socks off. A dancehall king, he spits fire, simultaneously mixing the sensual with the mystic and the sacred.
Hit songs
The reggae/hip hop-infused Mystic Roots out of California and Boulder’s own DJ Iya Blaze open the show this weekend. The party is hosted by Boulder’s Zionway Recordings, known throughout Colorado for purveying the hottest underground and aboveground sounds and for showcasing some of the best reggae talent from around the world.
He grew up in the northwestern parish of Trelawny in Jamaica with his mother who was a Seventh-day Adventist and his grandmother a Revivalist and imbued him with a profound spirituality.
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