Touring good, but Jamaica is home

Yellowman has his eyes tested in Sovereign Centre by Dr. Bryan Wiliamson in 1998. The deejay was walking his children through the mall when he became a part of this Leo Club initiative. File

Some claim are born Kings, some attain Kingship and others have Kingship thrust upon themselves. However he got there, Winston Foster is King Yellowman, the deejay royalty of them all. Tanya Batson, a loyal subject, sat with her liege and recorded his thoughts, the third part of which is now available to his kingdom.

TB: I'm going to get deeper into your actual career. Is there anything you ever did, any show you ever played, any song you ever sang, that you really regret doing? You know, you wish you'd never, ever done?

Yellowman: Well no, y'know.

TB: So you have done nothing you really regret. On the other hand, is there anything that you think is the best thing you ever did in your entire career?

Yellowman: Well di bes' ting I ever do is Tastee, because Tastee is the first start, y'know, so dat is di good part. Y'know an di good part is dat di people support me, an dem still support me. Y'know even di radio man y'know, becau, mos' a di radio people dem 'ave deejay, deejay have dem on dem payroll, but me don' have dem on my payroll, dem jus' love me. Dem jus' know seh my music good an dem love me. Jus' like Bob Marley, an dem play my song, jus like Josey Wales, Charley Chaplin. Yuh know wa mi mean? So, it's good when y'... aahhm, when yuh have dat together. An I don't think I regret any song that I do, because ah do it, y'know. An people already know it. The only ting is dat people remin' me of certain songs that I don't do again, y'know. An' show like Haiti... That was di worse show I ever do eena mi career, because after every song everybody fight. Everybody. Every song mi do is a fight. (Yellowman sings) Zung-gu-zung-gugu-zung-gu-zeng -- Blup! Blup! Blup! (Sings again) Mr. Chin. Blup! Blup! Blup! Dem jus' y'know, fight right tru di show. Di show only go up to 45 minutes an mi supposed to do two hour an a half.

TB: Do you remember why they were fighting?

Yellowman: I don't know y'know. I don' know. Maybe is de music, because even sometime when I do like festival, you have people come up on the stage an jus jump off eena di crowd an dem catch dem. Y'know like rock concert, dem kina concert. So maybe is di music. But ah laugh still, yuh know, because it was like fun yuh know?

TB: So on the other side, what is the best concert or the best tour you've ever been on?

Yellowman: All a dem. Everyone a dem. Brazil, y'know... France yuh know, Far East, Europe, America, yuh know. Dem did all good, yuh know, but di worse show was Haiti, yuh know.

TB: So how has all this touring affected your view of Jamaica?

Yellowman: No it can't affect di view of Jamaica. Because when I tour, I don't tour just because I want to go and make money. Money, yes, but money is not important to me like Jamaica, y'know. Because Jamaica is my country. I love every country Ah go all over di worl', including America, Europe, y'know, but Jamaica I love wid all my heart. Jamaica I will live and I will stay, y'know. I cyaa live anywhere else. Ah might go dere fi like a month, or two or t'ree or four month, or maybe a year.

But no place cyaa change me to be like dem, y'know, becau Jamaica is my country an di people of Jamaica love me. I respec' dem, an when I go out dere, I go out dere to big up my country, let dem figet di negatives tings about my country, yuh know. When I go out dere I don't talk bad tings about my country. I talk good tings about my country, yuh know, an dat is Jamaica. Not'ing don't affect ... tour can't affect, yuh know. Because even when I done finish di tour, I come straight back here, yuh know.

Nobody cyaa run me from Jamaica, y'know. Dem cyan run yuh from America, or run you from Europe or ban yuh from here or dere. Nobody cyan ban me from Jamaica. Jamaica is my country. So when I go out dere I try to tell all di people dat Jamaica is a beautiful country, y'know. Don' worry bout di crime, caa crime is everywhere, y'know.

TB: You've worked with quite a few artistes throughout your career. Is there any particular artiste or even a few, that you've most enjoyed working with?

Yellowman: All a dem. Everyone a dem. From Anthony B, Junior Reid, Frankie Paul, y'know. People like, aahhm, Beenie Man, y'know. People like Gregory Isaac, Tinga Stewart, Josey Wales, Charlie Chaplin, y'know, Cutty Ranks, It's all good y'know. Ah work wid foreign artistes like Run DMC, people like Grand Master Flash, Doug E. Fresh, Wycliff Jean y'know, people like Helacoute from Africa, so y'know, it all good. It good when yuh combine adda music wid your music, y'know. It give it more strength. The music have strength, but y'know dem seh two head better dan one.

Tomorrow in The Star -- The state of the dancehall.