Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
St. Kitts Deejay Crucial Bankie.Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
The bond that music has formed among Caribbean people was underscored on Sunday night with the launch of Crucial Bankie's fourth album, Shakedown.
There was good support at the Jamaica Association of Vintage Artistes and Associates (JAVAA) headquarters on Haining Road, New Kingston, for the reggae singer and the Nine Band from St. Kitts.
However, while the recorded music that was played before the launch and the performance that Crucial Bankie gave after the speeches showed quality, the
proceedings got off to an
excruciatingly late start.
Once started, though, the support was strong. Horace Brown said that Crucial Bankie "has a message and he is planning to go on the road with it and we want to give him support."
world-class
influential music
President of the Jamaica Association of Female Artistes (JAFA), Sandra Alcott, said "he is reclaiming the position of reggae as a world-class influential music which has the power to tear down the walls of oppression." She referred to Winnie Mandela, who said that "it was reggae music that kept oppressed South Africans going through the years of apartheid, so much so that reggae music was banned in South Africa."
President of the Jamaica Federation of Musicians (JFM), Desmond Young, put Crucial Bankie's presence in the perspective of a continuing collaboration. "This evening we are witnessing real Caribbean collaboration. I know you hear about CSME, but this region, is one of the first to deal with it with music."
"We have a situation where a Crucial Bankie collaborates with Anchor, Leggo (studios) and some great Jamaican musicians and comes up with a good album. Bankie is a member of the JFM. We ready for this Caribbean thing long time," Young said, smiling.
Rastafarian testament
And before Crucial Bankie, who performed on Reggae Sunsplash in Jamaica in 1986 and 1988, showed his class, singer EQ dedicated her Rastafarian testament Mama Sey to the St. Kittitian, confirming the regard in which Bankie is held in St. Kitts.
There was no trace of an accent in Crucial Bankie's voice or any signs of the water which separates Jamaica and St. Kitts in his music, as he stepped up to deliver pure reggae with little chatter. And the message was much the same, as, clad in a track suit, Bankie informed 'life hard/it rough and tough/Nuff a de yutes/into the ragamuffin stuff'.
Giving thanks to Jah Rastafari, Bankie sang 'I am the I am/how excellent is thy name', restarting as the song hit a responsive chord with the audience. A strong lead guitar solo complemented the horn section, Bankie's tam falling off and his locks tumbling to his waist as he pointed to the sky.
March To Pretoria, the ninth song on the Shakedown album, was a stirring call to action, as the top of the track suit went the way of the tam and Bankie skanked to the song, which pushed for reclaiming "the land our forefathers controlled before Victoria."
The title track proved worthy of its premier position on the album, Crucial Bankie giving testimony to the power of the music as he sang 'reggae a go shake down earth/shake yu state and church', stamping its credentials as the music that 'make apartheid splurt'.
"Yes, reggae really a shake the earth. No true Bob gone and Peter gone. Nuff man deh ya a do some good work. Jah B! Capelton an' Sizzla a bun fire same way," Crucial Bankie said, before starting another strong reggae track to keep the audience moving.
