Sizzla: Burn to Shine

Sizzla: Burn to Shine
By Ryan B. Patrick
Pride Entertainment Writer
January 11, 2006
pridenewsmagazine.ca

“Sizzla yesterday, Sizzla today and Sizzla tomorrow,” says reggae wunderkind Sizzla Kalonji, when asked if his recent signing to American major record label Def Jam would change him as an artist.
“I’m just here to promote the works of the Most High, the Jah, the truth,” he adds.
I’m speaking with Sizzla in a downtown Toronto hotel, where he has been doing a full day of media interviews.
It’s the day before he headlines a December 11 concert, on a bill that also features local artists Dylan Murray and recent Canadian Urban Music Award (CUMA) winner Blessed.
His publicist tells me this is likely the most press Sizzla has done ever in his eventful career. Even the humble, soft-spoken and normally publicity-shunning artist is savvy enough to recognize that it’s part of the process of building international stardom.
“It feels good. It’s a next level of achievement,” Sizzla says.
He is very personable, respectful, and speaks in quiet, measured tones. “It’s another door open, but it’s the same mission – to keep the people joyful, to keep the people focused, and deal with Most High works.”
The December 11 concert goes on as scheduled – something that almost didn’t happen the last time Sizzla played Toronto.
The last time, he was under a firestorm of controversy, as fellow reggae artist Beenie Man had his Canadian concerts cancelled due to a public uproar over “homophobic” content within certain popular dancehall reggae songs.
Although Beenie Man’s shows were cancelled, Sizzla, a lesser known artist at the time, got to play.
As his profile has risen, though, Sizzla has faced his own problems. In 2004, the artist’s five-date UK tour was cancelled following complaints about his homophobic lyrics.
“I just laugh with them,” Sizzla says of people that may take issue with his music and past remarks on sexuality. Indeed, the interview is peppered with phrases such as “getting rid of deplorable activities”, “love for a woman always” and “replenish the earth” – one can easily read between the lines and grasp his staunch spiritual beliefs, political correctness be damned.
There is no refuting that the talented Sizzla has always had the courage to stand by his convictions, even at the risk of international success.
Sizzla’s message – simply put – is powerful. Sizzla, aka Miguel Collins, was born of devout Rastafarian parents and raised in the close-knit community of August Town, one of Jamaica’s uptown ghettos.
He formally accepted the Rastafarian faith – with its unshakeable advocacy of pro-change, anti-establishment, repatriation, slavery reparations and the use of ganja – when he entered the ranks of the Bobo Ashanti movement in the 1990s.
Then, heavily influenced by the works of Buju Banton, Shabba Ranks and the iconic Bob Marley, Sizzla decided to forego his dreams of becoming an auto mechanic and embarked on a music career.
With his uncanny knack for crafting pleasing melodies and his unconventional vocal approach – along with his trademark half-chatting, half-singing – the soulful artist has crafted socially conscious hits like “Praise Ye Jah”, “Dem a Wonder” and “Black Woman & Child”. His extensive discography already runs 30 albums deep.
Other than a very brief phase in his career where he experimented with some of the baser elements of dancehall reggae – “slackness” or lewd love lyrics – Sizzla is unquestionably the leading light of a new breed of reggae deejay, and is attuned to the “burn fire”, afrocentric and apocalyptic themes of Rasta. Sizzla’s lyrics have traditionally encompassed themes which speak to poverty, homelessness, police brutality, cultural pride and political and religious oppression.
And this message will continue, even now that he is signed to a major deal, Sizzla says. He will remain steadfast and unwavering in his Rastafarian beliefs, despite issue some have taken with his stance on certain hot-button issues.
“Ah, so it stay,” the deejay says matter-of-factly, of those that don’t identify with his devout Rastafari message.
The artist is very laid back considering the recent trials he’s faced. In 2005, he was among 33 people arrested during a police raid on August Town, when nine AK-47 rifles and other guns were seized. After being questioned, and declaring he knew nothing about the firearms, Sizzla was released.
Two years ago, his house was firebombed.
But we aren’t here to talk about the past. We’re here to discuss Sizzla’s future as he becomes poised to attain (reggae artist and international superstar) Sean Paul-level superstardom. Sizzla is actually signed to record imprint Damon Dash Music Group (DDMG) under Def Jam (by hip hop impresario Damon Dash, of rapper Jay-Z and Rocafella fame).
Dash told media recently: “I have always liked Bob Marley’s music, and the reggae stuff I heard on the radio, but I didn’t really know much about reggae-dancehall, but right now, I am learning the music and the roots of it, and the spirituality.
“Sizzla is introducing me to it all, and I love the message of peace and love in the music.” “I tell you this: hip hop people, they love the reggae music,” Sizzla says. “It’s nice, because [Dash] is a free artist, to tell you the truth. He appreciates reggae music; loves reggae music. Damon Dash’s a good youth and [it’s] good vibes he’s dealing with.”
Sizzla’s major label album, tentatively titled, Overstanding, is slated for a February 2006 release. It’s a next stage in his career.
The reggae artist has already inserted himself into the mainstream psyche with a guest appearance on Foxy Brown’s “Come Fly with Me”, and he experienced a recent crossover hit with “Just One Of Those Days (Dry Cry).”
“Basically, it’s the same stage,” Sizzla notes, “but it’s just that we are going to promote it more. It’s the same work to keep the people united, but it’s just that it’s more people [now].”
The tracks for the new album have already been recorded, Sizzla says, adding that the reggae LP will have a bit of a hip hop feel to it, but the positive spiritual message remains the same, he adds.
“It’s a lot of positive messages,” Sizzla says.
“Once people see that it’s always for them, they will always remain.”
He speaks of being able to give back to his community, as a result of his impending mainstream success – of building new facilities such as a school, a theatre and a recording studio back in Jamaica.
It’s about uplifting the culture and building a strong Black nation, he says.
“It’s my duty and responsibility. I do this for me and my children…so the King can inspire them like the King has inspired me.”