Jah Device in Collaboration with Sly and Robbie

Jah Device

Till now, Nigeria’s biggest reggae indices had been Majek Fashek and Ras Kimono. With the death of of Ras Kimono and the dormancy of Fashek, a huge void seemed to have opened. But, that is not true; Jah Device is set to take over and has been making an impact on many who care to tune their ears in the direction of Reggae Music. With long hair-locks, he is an eccentric and brutally passionate reggae artist.

Nigerians have no reason to worry about the creation of a void in the reggae fraternity; Jah Device is big and an embodiment of many artists in one. He went to St. Joseph College, Vom, Plateau State, his home state. After that, he studied at the Plateau State Polytechnic and decided that he wasn’t going to walk the streets with a small derisive folder in the name of job searching. He took to reggae music with a lot of energy that goes kaput when he is on stage, the long matted hair often ferociously whipping the air.  

Between 2017 and now (2020), a lot has happened to promise Nigerians that finally, there is a successor to Kimono and Fashek. Device started doing dub session in late 2017. These he sent to international reggae promoters like Zige Dub and the Reggae Boyz. After Zige Dub listened, he decided that Jah Device deserved to be heard by a global audience.  So, he held Device’s hand and led him to the largest reggae music label in Europe, the Stringray Records. That year, Stingray tested him and Daddy West, another Nigerian, with the 1-2-3 Rhythm. The rhythm was to feature globally famous reggae artists of which Luciano was one.  For Jah Device, it was eureka; his song found its way into the compilation. He was featured in two additional compilations leading to contract litigation that ensured he found himself under the canopy of Stingray Records. 

Having been signed, his Ray of Light EP project with Stringray started. It included seven tracks and was released in August 2019. One of the songs, the Ships of Tarshish featured a Jamaican giant, Natty King, famous for his song Bring no Guns to Town.

Meeting with Natty King was a huge milestone, not just because King is a global brand, but because it paved the way for additional leaps. Natty King has an annual fund-raising concert in Jamaica, the Wellofest. It brings reggae artists from around the world to perform and help raise funds to support needy children within Jamaica and around the world.  Jah Device became the first African artist to perform at the event. The performance took place in November 2019. 

The visit to Jamaica helped him to travel across the country, promoting his EP and visiting places that included Bob Marley’s home. But the groundbreaking event of the tour was meeting with the famous Luciano and Duo, Sly and Robbie. We have been hearing about these names since we were kids some forty years behind. Sly and Robbie worked with nearly every name across many decades: Bennie Man, Sean Paul, Peter Tosh, Black Uhuru, Gregory Isaac, Dennis Brown, Ini Kamoze, Spanner Banner, etc. Thus, meeting the duo was an extraordinary milestone. It led to collaboration. It will be a major project that will be consuming Device’s time and energy this year. The duo is taking very seriously, so much that Sly said, "Jah Device 2020 is for us to do some work." 

Of the many songs, they will be doing with Sly and Robbie, one will be released by WelloWell Records, which is owned by Natty King. Hopefully, the project will drop this year. 

Jah Device is a modest reggae artist and an envoy of his nation; he believes there are more reggae talents in Nigeria that are better than he is. He says, “I may be here talking, but may not be the best from Jos because the Bible says, ‘time and chance happen to everyone.’” 

His music is all about glorifying God, something that is mirrored in his name. 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHLytIFGNddajPEnt2Ry_Xg

 

Enable GingerCannot connect to Ginger Check your internet connection
or reload the browserDisable in this text fieldEditEdit in GingerEdit in Ginger×

The Theory behind Peter Tosh’s killing

I am a reggae fan. I prefer reggae from the golden generation. Of this generation, I consider Winston Hubert Macintosh, better known as Peter Tosh, as one of the most extraordinary artists ever to walk the soil of this earth. It is the reason why my attention is drawn to anything that mentions his name. It was in so doing that I found a video that chronicled how he was killed in September of 1987.

Tosh was killed by a friend named, Dennis “Leppo” Loban. It is said that Leppo went to Tosh’s house alongside two other men and asked for money, holding a gun at Tosh and all others who were in the house. When Tosh could not provide the money, Leppo shot him in the head, twice. 

Tosh had gone to jail a couple of times for “ganja possession.” It is generally believed that the actual motives for his prison terms were often the constant criticism of the Establishment. It was while serving one of such sentences that he met Leppo. 

In the video, Tosh’s friends who were with him at the time of the murder said that Leppo had taken advantage of Tosh’s generosity. Every two or three weeks, he came around, asking for hand-outs. One day, sadly, he came with a gun to ask for the money, when he couldn’t get it, he then shot the singer.  

A Jamaican man, who was asked to give his opinion about the incident, said that, prior to Tosh’s death, a police random search of a car in which Tosh and friends were driving, uncovered an unlicensed gun. Of the friends that were in the car, there was Leppo. But, instead of Tosh going to jail, Leppo was the one who, in the end,  went to jail. After his prison term, Leppo came out feeling bitter because Tosh couldn’t adequately compensate him for the sacrifice he had made for him.   

The Theory

When Leppo agreed to serve the sentence, he was hoping that, in return, Tosh will make him a wealthy man. But, Tosh felt that Leppo was doing that to show appreciation for favours he had done him in the past and those to come, after Leppo would have finished serving the sentence. The misunderstanding came because the covenant was not clearly spelt out in writing; Leppo simply assumed he would be made wealthy.  But when he came out and all that the singer could do was to give him enough to last for two weeks, each time he came, Leppo felt betrayed. Then he said things that hurt and ended the friendship. The singer, seeing how the friendship had ended because of money, went on to record the song, Lessons in My Life, which was released in the No Nuclear War album. Some lines of the song went thus:

 

I've learned some lessons in my life
Always be careful of mankind
They'll make you promises today
But tomorrow they change their mind...

...I've learned some lessons in my life
Always be careful of my friends
Money can make friendship end

But I'm an upfull man
And I love upfull people
I'm a progressive man
And I love progressive people
I'm an honest man
I love honest people
I'm an intelligent man
And I love intelligent people

When Leppo heard the song, he felt Tosh was referring to him. And, considering the sacrifice he made for him, he felt the betrayal had gone past the red line.

Leppo’s trial lasted for only eleven minutes. He was sentenced to death, but later commuted to life imprisonment.