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Ancient Future Album Cover |
Protoje's studio album, Ancient Future is an aptly named, searing look into
Jamaica's history and what can be surmised about the nation's future based on
the mistakes of the past. This message comes
home starkly in the track “Criminal” with its reference to the murder of musical
and social icon, Peter Tosh.
The
sentiment is echoed in the collaborative single “Sudden Flight” with Jesse
Royal and songstress Sevana, which highlights the dangers and hypocrisy of
garrison politics[1].
More than that, the eleven songs on
this album, with references to Walter Rodney and Marcus Garvey ,but also to notorious gang leaders like Claude Massop, weave intriguing
and insightful stories that expertly analyse the complexity of the nation's
strengths and weaknesses; her frailty and beauty. This beauty is on full display in the
video for the smash hit “Who Knows”, performed with Protoje’s compatriot,
Chronixx.
Above all, the concept of Ancient
Future is a musical exploration between the past and present that pays homage
to the Jamaican musicians that paved the way for Protoje and his colleagues.
This respect, coupled with Protoje's skilful storytelling is seen most obviously
in his infectious contemporary take on Prince Buster's "Girl Answer
to Your Name".
There is an open and raw element to this album that shines through from its inception with the song "Protection" and in the reflective, "All Will Have to Change". This is further expressed through the tales of love-lost heard in "Love Gone Cold” and “Stylin'".
There is an open and raw element to this album that shines through from its inception with the song "Protection" and in the reflective, "All Will Have to Change". This is further expressed through the tales of love-lost heard in "Love Gone Cold” and “Stylin'".
Rastafari culture imbues every song on the album.
However, its presence is most prominent in the marijuana-centric, “Bubblin’”
and the introspective “The Flame.” “The Flame” provides an intimate window into
the soul of the man behind the music. It demonstrates that his passion and
dedication to this art form are paramount:
I rather
be spiritually attained than critically acclaimed. Put that pon you brain,
systematically drained. Whatever that dem saying, whoever that dem claim; coulda
never know my pain and never bear my strain. Dem a study weh me sing, me ah sit
and do me thing. Application ah within, supplication ah to Him. Then it becomes
less about the tune dem weh ah spin, but the knowing that the work was the best
it coulda been. Having the team deh pon the road ah tour with me, nuh mean a
thing if the message nuh have the purity. And so me stay substance over hype.
Protoje's lyricism and musical
dexterity have made him one of the most dynamic voices in a highly talented new
generation of conscious reggae performers. His Coachella performance this
spring was the product of hard work, diligence and commitment to his craft. It
is clear from Ancient Future that his popularity and the power of
his music will only intensify. There is certainly no way that Babylon
can out this flame.
[1]
Since Jamaica’s independence in 1962, governance has been dominated by two
political parties: the People’s National Party (PNP) and the Jamaica Labour
Party (JLP). In the late 1960s both parties began to
create “garrison communities” to secure political votes and seats in
parliament. Garrison communities were towns and neighbourhoods controlled by
gang leaders or “dons” who ensured the community’s loyalty to a specific
political party through extortion and violence towards its residents. In
return, these “dons” received financial rewards from the political party with
which they were affiliated, and thus maintained a profound level of power
within the community. According to Rupert Lewis in “Party Politics and the Extradition of Christopher “Dudus” Coke”:
Some
20 per cent of all constituencies and approximately 60 per cent of all urban
constituencies have already been fully or partially garrisoned. Within a
political constituency, a garrison is an area controlled by a leader or don who
dispenses scarce benefits and violence in order to keep the constituents
aligned to a particular party. This control enables an electoral candidate to
win the seat by a large majority and become the Member of Parliament. Garrisons
are therefore a central part of the political system because they provide
“safe” political seats. Moreover, garrison constituents may assist in the task
of political mobilization in other constituencies. Tivoli Gardens has been the
main symbol of a garrison, but it is one of several and was deemed special,
largely because it was well-armed and organized, had its own mechanisms for
dispensing justice, and was informally outside the purview of the state until
May 2010. The extradition of Coke and the subordination of Tivoli Gardens to
the rule of law are the first major assaults on garrison politics and the power
of dons whose financial and gun power give them influence, putting them in a
position to significantly determine the outcomes of both local and national
politics. (p.41)
Source: Lewis,
Rupert. “Party Politics in Jamaica and the Extradition of Christopher “Dudus”
Coke”. The Global South 6.1 (2012): 38–54. << http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/globalsouth.6.1.38
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