1 Grand !! BiG Up To SiZzLa...
Ps: GsPr Ke VoUs CoMprEnEz L'AnGLaiS =)
SIZZLA
By Jeff Chang WITH ROB KENNER
You have released a lot of albums lately. How do you go about making music and writing songs?
It's music, like you choose a school. All the people of the earth should have been to school and they all go to school. As we all know, mommy and daddy send them to school. When I deal with the music I just deal like school and just produce it with no fear, no stress, no worry about money. Nuff vibes is there. And it's words. People just come in and just vibe. It's just music because they are creating instruments even though they might use their own personal money and purchase it same way. We just produce songs. And I live in the ghetto with nuff likkle pickney. And the ghetto ah go stone, you know, and everywhere a ghetto, Tivoli. Rema a go stone, Spanish Town, Jungle, Rema, everywhere man, West Milan, Kingston, Portmore, Hanover, Mass... Saint Jamison to Elizabeth all over stone. Hill Temple, all everywhere, Bobo Hill, Nyabinghi, Scotch Pass, Streetfurry, Ethiopia, Africa. This is about the whole world is beautiful, and it is just this earth here that we have with such natural resources and the streams flowing and the breeze blowing and the trees producing fruit so, we just in our thing and everything just observe it and produce music. Right?
How is everything in Jamaica for you?
Everything's nice because we manage to construct a studio there for the youths. It is there where they really grow, right in the valley there, so you see them growing. That's where you find the natural human being; like any other living beings on the earth stay natural and stay near close to where you got natural resource, like waters. Even though we live on this earth here on this planet with the system there is natural streams. So I just say I and I go forward and I'm doing it like a youth running pon the slave plantation. And I just show the vibes to the nation, and I just stay self producing. My studio, the place finished up now. We put on roof and whole likkle thing.
The media often gets a negative impression of you. What do you think of the press you've been getting?
That's because them know true I'm a Rasta still and mi have to defend that party straight and keep that current there. Sometimes the people don't really have the straight seriousness about it every day, then whenever a time in need come or obstacles they become serious, inveigle, fuss about it. That is the time they begin to sing the songs and say that song is right for true. But sometimes you know it's true that something's gonna happen. You might not like me and my nature, there's time and space for everything. So I live in Jamaica where Rastafari grow me first of all, I and I as a black youth. That is Rastafari, you see mi ah show you. I live in the ghetto amongst Rastafari mothers and fathers. So you have to sing a lot of conscious songs. I am not like my bruddas and sistas who I had grown up with and been to school with and yet still it's not every one of them that have (dread) locks. Some of them been in the dancehall, and as my bruddas and sistas I sing song same way, and keep them happy same way and keep the music same way. Because the music is not killing I. It is whenever you disrespect someone, someone carry that for you, but the music always give you an insight.
Were you born into Rastafari and music?
All black people born into Rasta music, even if you see them scattered out around here. Yeah man, is Rastafari because I follow the words. I know all these people, it's love that they come with and they are governor for the earth. These people rule the earth like his Majesty. So I just sing song and watch them, and their appearance say that is wrong and that is right, king, and that must be there and that must not be there. We just vibe in our joy and our spiritual heart. It's good to look upon the beauty of the earth, and the flowers of the garden, beautiful woman. The conscious young man, dem bout the place who help feed the family. Cause we create ourself and we make love to the woman and make we pickney and we pickney make love to other woman and bring full child in front of our face. So we know weself. Just leave the people to nature, let nature do away with the people, you don't have to go and shed the people blood, let nature do away with the people. Let sun, moon and star, air, and water, deal with it. Yes I.
In Cincinnati, there was martial law and lockdown, there was an uprising against police brutality. What do you think about such action?
That's just the ignorance of those who run the nation. It's just an ignorance of their own self they use upon the people. They would never do that to their wife and their children at all, so why should you come on the street and do that to people? There is so many people on the earth, you don't know if I am here, you don't know what someone is doing around there. All we got to do is hope he is doing good, unless we heard they had done something wrong, unless we had seen it. Unless we have seen them, caught them on the spot. And you shouldn't take your ignorance out on people. First of all, the police stand to defend the church. And first thing the church say is "show love." In the Bible, you go to church and show it say show love to the people, and they will judge we wrongfully. Yet which is the state that should defend the church what speaks his lovely word? You as a police, which is the state doing all those cruelty? Oh no.
In your songs you talk a lot about fire. What's the idea behind the fire?
The fire is the essence to persist, that vigor, and that conscious thought and inspiration about I and I black self and I culture. Cause if I don't speak about black culture even the white won't overstand my nation, what it is on the black side. Cause if I'm born black and him born white I have to speak and sing my joy, and dem know that is what it is on my side. And I look and see what it is on his side. And if there is folly going on on his side, we throw fire over there and bun it down and say, "Wrong!" So even to correct someone in the right and proper way is the fire. Don't get caught in the fire because the fire is a judgement, cause everyone carry a judgment. But at the same time, if they even go to kill we still are going to judgment them. Sometimes people get weak in them sense, they took heart when dem really check it and say "yo, we have to defend weself." Nice. And if him a do fuckery over this, we a go burn him, we a go kick him up, we a go butt him up, man ah shot him and chop him too. And at the same time, if him go do it, we see a man ah go beat him up and say don't kill. When they really see what go on, a just wait for those just take time and balance with nature and go through. Yes I yes.
What about your name Kalonji. What is behind that?
I just call I-self Sizzla Kalonji, cause you done know ah words. And the definition of a Kalonji mean victorious. So when the people call the word "victorious", you know the people know that's it. And Sizzla mean burning essence, just in sound, keep going. So just vibes and the word. When enough people hear the word, the word giveth strength. Music is the breath of life. Blessed.
You've written some of the most beautiful melodies, where does it come from?
It come to me naturally, inspirationally. I just make melodies cause you can't let the people be bored by different words. So different melodies keep occupying the time and the space of the brain for dem to praise. And you find something to say like black woman look nice and sexy, you have to have something that is melodious to the heavens. Like a woman is sexy to a man, so the melodies is music to the ears.
Like Black Woman and Child.
Music come from your head and foot and all over. Cause music is the word, and the word create us all, so all the things in us is the music. One of the highest physicians in the earth is Christ cause Christ go sing the music. Black Christ, the first Rastaman. And come sing the music, and the music heal. Where the injection cannot go, the music go. Where the needle and the drugs cannot go, the music go. You see? You haffi know all these things.
What books would you tell the youths to go and read?
I just tell them read all books. Just read and know. Anywhere you see words it belongs to me. All words belong to me, good words and bad words. Bring it come and let I balance for you and set the equation for you. So read all books and know what is happening, and then you pick out what is good from that. But most of all, read the Bible because that book has been written through the prophecy. And you have books that has been written from wicked people, and you have books that have been written from I-angels. So you mainly read the books of the I-angels. You read all book to know where the magnet dwell. And free the I-angels, and free those who have been brought into slavery in chains.
When you perform your audience says "Hey Sizzla Kalonji start up the fire" What is in their heads when they say that?
Because it's the vibes. A lot of people are troubled some still. The people are troubled, so dem just get a joy from it and see if you're free or say if you're stout or if you boom back. So if you don't know those vibes about the people, you never can live with the people. When you sit up upon the stage a lot of people trouble you. If you say if you're free, if you can run or joke or overjoy. So say, "Hey hey hey!" You know anytime something good happen dem feel nice and come inna dis place, nice. Who can dance dance; who come to share, share; who ah burn the fire, burn the fire. Nice vibes. The people is beautiful. I love the people because I know what powers create the people, man and woman go together and create all these living human beings so we haffi just love them. When you create dem, and you can't manage them--no way--you haffi create them and be with them, OK? Alright?
