Melodious monarch

Roots and dancehall meet under the reign
of Jamaica’s Warrior King, a standout at this summer’s Montreal Reggae Festival

ROOTS ROYALTY: Warrior King

by ERIN MACLEOD

Back in 2001, the tune “Virtuous Woman” absolutely ran Jamaica. A roots and culture vibe with a dancehall feel, the song was a huge hit that let the reggae-listening world in on Warrior King. His conscious combination of roots, dancehall and a spectacular voice won over fans. In 2005, Warrior King didn’t disappoint with his sophomore album, Hold the Faith. Now he’s got a recent #1 tune, “Mercy Please,” another album up his sleeve and an upcoming performance at the Montreal Reggae Festival. The man with the “power to chant” spoke to the Mirror about the role of roots reggae, changes in the music industry in Jamaica and what the crowd can expect when Warrior King takes the stage.

Mirror: Your music seems to connect dancehall with roots.

Warrior King: Well, you got to have sound, have the vibe, have the… (sings) melody, melody, melody in my vibes! We sing music from the heart, music that people can relate to.

M: Do you think that roots reggae has been eclipsed by dancehall?

WK: It’s there now, but I think more emphasis could be placed on the roots reggae here in Jamaica. There has to be a balance, because everyone, they have to eat the food at the same time. When I listen to the radio station in Jamaica, you have a portion of the time when they play the dancehall and a portion of the time when they play the roots and culture. It’s getting to the point, though, that there should be more roots, because it’s more positive and uplifting. What we need right now is more positive music that sends a message to youths especially. With all the violence and the crime, I think the music has some form of influence, so we should put more emphasis on the positive, and then we’ll get a more positive result.

Platter matters

M: There have been many changes in the reggae industry as of recently.

WK: I’ve noticed it a lot. Through the Internet, downloading and all those things that’s coming right now, so people are not pressing 45s nowadays. They’re working on CDs and putting them on the Internet, selling on the Internet. In Jamaica nowadays, you don’t have sound selectors who even buy vinyl. But you still have some people in places like Europe, Brazil and Japan, they like the original thing—they purchase vinyl by the bulk. You still have the vinyl being manufactured, but not as it used to be.

M: Is there still a market for dubplates?

WK: Every day, you can do some dubplate as an artist. So if you have a MySpace out there, people can contact you who want to—it’s much easier right now. Before, it was tough for people, but now through the MySpace, it’s close communication. Before, if someone wanted to link up, they wouldn’t be able to be put in direct contact. They might have to go through someone, pay them and they pay the artist to get some dubs. Now the people who want to can link directly. For me, it’s much better right now. I am here in Jamaica, but I can make dubplates for all over the world.

Charts and minds

M: Tell me about the Teflon Blood track, “Mercy Please.”

WK: Dillon Judah and Sugar Black have a group called Black Judah. Sugar was originally from the Flames camp, Tony Rebel’s camp. Even before I got the break in the music business, I was familiar with him. We did the recording in 2006, but it just came out this year. It went number one in Jamaica recently.

M: And now?

WK: I’m working on a third album. I can’t really talk about it totally, but I can tell you about the message and the collaborations. I’m working with Beres Hammond, Barrington Levy and Ras Protector. The main producer on this album is Bulby from the Fat Eyes label. I also worked with Sly and Robbie—they produced about one or two tracks on the album, and Steely and Clevie as well. I’ve worked with some great people.

M: Are you going to be playing any of these new tunes at the reggae fest?

WK: I’ll introduce some new tracks from the upcoming album, which will be called Tell Me in a Song. Right now I am in dialogue with different companies to try and distribute it, because we’re not really with VP anymore as such. VP has too much artists and not many are getting that much attention.

M: At the reggae fest, you’ll be playing the same weekend as Steel Pulse.

WK: Steel Pulse has a more mature audience, but our music, what we sing, is something that the old and the young can relate to. Put me in front of the elders, put me in front of the youth, I deliver my message the same way. It’s a big responsibility.

With Morgan Heritage, Mikey
Dangerous, Mello G and Earthquake Sound
Crew at the Reggae Festival’s main
stage at the Old Port’s Place Bonsecours on
Saturday, July 12, 5 p.m., $30

Dreadlocks in stock

An overview of the fifth
Montreal Reggae Festival

ALL IN THE FAMILY: Morgan Heritage

by ERIN MACLEOD

Five years ago, the first edition of the Montreal Reggae Festival immediately established it as the most important Canadian reggae event of the year. It looks like this year’s line-up isn’t going to disappoint fans of Jamaica’s number one export. With a mix of artists live and direct from Jamaica as well as acts from Montreal and beyond, the festival has always been committed to making sure that it presents the widest range of reggae music, presenting superstars as well as up-and-comers.

As the festival has grown, there’s been a free daytime stage added alongside the evening’s main stage for headliners. Some highlights you won’t have to pay for include the genre-bending Killawatt on Saturday and perennial Montreal favourites Jojoe and the Crowded Bus Band on Sunday.

TIGHTNESS: Inword’s Jah Faith IRON MAN: David Hinds of Steel Pulse

Friday’s main stage will be an all-Canadian affair with Empire Isis’s multilingual mix of hip hop, dancehall and R&B followed by the roots sounds of Inword, one of the tightest bands in Montreal, reggae or otherwise.

On Saturday, Morgan Heritage headlines. With 10 albums under their belt, this group of siblings is known for impressing audiences by bringing a number of different styles to the table, all overlaid with phenomenal vocals. Warming up the stage are the sweet sounds of transplanted Jamaican Mello G, Montreal’s dancehall don Mikey Dangerous and one of the best roots acts to come out of Jamaica in the past 10 years, Warrior King, whose sneak peak at his new material should absolutely not be missed.

The final night’s acts will showcase a range of reggae, from Iley Dread, Rochelle and Jah Cutta’s roots to the conscious dancehall vibes of Junior Kelly (who was a big highlight of the fest in 2003) to the legendary Steel Pulse.

All the main stage acts will be complemented by the music of Montreal’s best sound systems—Examin Sound Crew on Friday, Earthquake Soundcrew on Saturday and Little Thunder on Sunday.

In addition to all the main festival action are shows at various venues in Quartier Latin—the House of Reggae, Pub St-Ciboire and Alizé Showbar—continuing until July 12. For folks who like surprises, there’s also a mystery show on July 12 at EB Resto Bar in NDG.

For more info, go to
www.montrealreggaefest.com