Internationally acclaimed singer’s spiritual journey continues… from church to ‘Ism’
Few artists in the Jamaican music fraternity can rival the consistent track record of hits that Mr. Vegas has laid down ever since he first exploded onto the dancehall scene. From early releases like “Nike Air” and “Hot Gal Today” (featuring a young Sean Paul) to the classic 1998 debut album Heads High all the way through the international smash “Pull Up” (which inspired Pitbull’s Top 40 single “Culo”) and the sexy “Bruk It Down” (a favorite of Nicki Minaj) the man born Clifford Smith has proven himself to be a singular artist with a proven ability to create records that capture worldwide airplay and keep the dance floor moving.
But on his new album Ism, Mr. Vegas clearly has a greater objective than to simply “buss the dance.”
Although he made his name within the dancehall reggae genre, like any true artist Mr. Vegas has matured over the years. No matter what style of music, Vegas is quite simply a master hitmaker with a rare gift for crafting compelling melodies that stick in the brain year after year. As his career has progressed and his sound has evolved, Vegas has stayed true to his personal inspiration, recording songs that reflect the real life experiences he’s been going through. That process has been ongoing for over 20 years now and it continues to this day.
Longtime fans will remember his exploration into the roots of Jamaican music on the project Sweet Jamaica and his experimentation with a variety of different sounds and styles on Reggae Euphoria. Just last year Vegas released the gospel album Soul Therapy, a project that spoke to the artist’s spiritual yearning as he endured painful personal challenges that were widely covered in the international press as well as social media. Moreover he had grown increasingly disillusioned with the current state of dancehall music. For a time Mr. Vegas even mentioned that he would be retiring from the dancehall industry altogether and focusing solely on spiritual music.
Fortunately, he has found new inspiration by returning to the foundations of roots rock reggae as well as the spiritual teachings of Rastafari contained in the works of Bob Marley, Burning Spear, and Dennis Brown as well as a new generation of singers known in Jamaica as the “Reggae Revival.” Gaining new appreciation for the powerful legacy of African culture, Vegas set off on a quest for knowledge of self and his place in culture as a black man living in the Caribbean. The result is a breakthrough album called Ism, which reveals a bold new sound and mindset that will compel reggae lovers to sit up, take notice, and listen to this well-known artist with fresh ears.
“Mr Vegas’ total commitment to writing uplifting, meaningful songs whilst creating original and new takes on vintage rhythms is both refreshing and exciting,” raved David Rodigan soon after the renowned British DJ, broadcaster, and tastemaker received an advance copy of Ism. Likewise New York reggae pioneer Clinton Lindsay described Mr. Vegas’s forthcoming body of work as “Very impressive… Musically he is maturing very nicely. This is a big album!”
The album’s title subtly references Peter Tosh’s lyric from the Wailers classic “Get Up Stand Up,” on which reggae’s late great Stepping Razor proclaims “We’re sick and tired of your ism schism game / Die and go to heaven in Jesus name…” Mr. Vegas’s spiritual and musical progression from Christian gospel to Rastafarian reggae represents nothing less than a revolution for the artist.
“After trying to find God, I went into the church,” Mr. Vegas explains of the inspiration behind this new direction in both his life and his music. “It was there that I started reading the Bible in depth for the first time. After coming across some offensive text in regards to slavery and instructions on how to degrade women, I started asking questions—to which the Christians could not give me satisfactory answers. Subsequently I started doing my own research, outside of the Bible and it was then that I found God within myself and my African roots. This album is just the start of my conscious journey.”
The impact of Ism on Vegas’ musical identity is reminiscent Buju Banton’s landmark record Til Shiloh. To hear songs like “Kemet” and “Wake Up” from could be compared to Shabba Ranks’ progression from slackness to consciousness on singles like “Just Reality” and “Roots & Culture.” Indeed, track #9 of Ism, a song entitled “To Jah We Pray,” marks the first time on record that Vegas has ever addressed God using the Rastafarian term.
“I say Jah because I think the Rasta movement is a positive movement and not religious faculty,” the singer explains. “However, I do understand, that all titles were made up by mankind, to go with their spiritual or religious brand.”
Clocking in at 12 tracks, Ism is a powerful statement from an accomplished artist who has nothing to prove and nobody to impress but himself. The entire album sticks to the classical roots reggae music apart from the final track, the playful dancehall cut “Wakanda Jam”—inspired by the African kingdom portrayed in the hit movie Black Panther—and “Love Up There,” an uplifting message set to a gentle uptempo riddim. The remaining 10 songs are inspired by classic Jamaican rhythms, given a fresh sound by Kemist, son of renowned reggae singer Marcia Griffiths, and producers like Frenchie of Maximum Sound and the France-based producer Cisko.
Ism is an album that must be heard to be fully appreciated, but here is small sampling of the profound lyrical content to be found on what will surely go down in music history as a landmark album from a veteran artist whose best days are still ahead of him.
ISM
1. Black Princess, Smith,Clifford Ray Music (Ascap),Frenchie/Published by Jack Russell Music/ Produced and Arranged by Frenchie for Maximum Sound Productions.
Over a sweet rub a dub rhythm Vegas sings for the Africa queens: “Black woman don’t surrender / Your beauty no buy from no vendor.”
2. Kemet- Clifford Smith, Clifford Ray Music (ASCAP)
Over a track known to reggae lovers from Anthony Johnson’s classic “Everyday is a Gunshot” Vegas dispels the mystery of history. The song is titled after the ancient Egyptian name for the black kingdom from which much science and culture was plundered by the west. “I know a nuff a dem a say we confuse / Give them the truth and them refuse. / It’s time to win a long time we a lose / Dash weh all them guns and them poisonous foods.”
3. Wake up- Clifford Smith, Clifford Ray Music (Ascap), François Laclotte, Copy Right Control.
Over a militant stepper’s beat, Vegas pleads with his listeners to open their eyes to the realities that surround them and free up themselves: “Wake Up Black People It’s Time To Know Your True Self … If you can’t accept the truth you still mentally enslaved.”
4. Mamma Africa- Clifford Ray Music (ASCAP)
In a song that would make Peter Tosh proud, Mr. Vegas professes his Afrocentric pride. “Me know which part me come from. Way down a Mama Africa Land.”
5. Give I Strength -Clifford Smith,Clifford Ray Music (Ascap)
Over an update of the immortal “Heavenless” rhythm, Vegas speaks to the perils of natural disasters and asks for help to survive against all odds. “Give I strength mighty one / From all the disasters and the pollution / They mess with Jah plan and have no solution / As soon as a hurricane gone another one a come”
6. Moral Decayed Society, Clifford Smith, Clifford Ray Music (Ascap), Copyright Control.
Singing over a tasty new version of the “Far East” rhythm, Vegas bemoans the decline of human decency in popular culture and encourages fellow musicians not to lose their way. “Substance over hype,” he sings evoking one of the hooks from Chronixx’s hit single “Likes.” Elsewhere on the song Vegas declares “We nah sell out to buss overnight… Nah push darkness over light.”
7. Bring Back The Reggae- Clifford Ray Music (ASCAP), Copyright Control.
Over the rhythm made famous on Freddie McGregor’s hit “Don’t Hurt My Feelings,” Vegas sings about the heartache he feels over reggae’s music in Jamaica. “Lordy Lord, mek we forward the reggae back a Yard,” Vegas pleads in a bid for reggae to get as much respect in its birthplace as it does overseas. “It feed the poor like peas and rice,” the singer points out. “So maximize and stop minimize. And stop sell out your work fe french fries!”
8. Colorism, Clifford Smith, Clifford Ray Music (ACAP),Nathaniel Anthony Hewitt, Natel Sahi Music (ASCAP
In one of the album’s most poignant tracks, Vegas burns a fire on hypocrites who “Woulda sell you out for one slice of pizza.” He also takes aim at organized religion “Some of them no care for the ancestors / They sit inna church and praise the God of their oppressors” as well as the self-loathing mindset that has made skin-lightening drugs and potions so popular in Jamaica and many African and Caribbean nations. “They have no love for the blackness,” Vegas sings with pain in his voice. “With the bleaching cream nuff a dem obsess.”
9. To Jah We Pray, Clifford Smith, Clifford Ray Music (ASCAP)
On this acoustic ballad Vegas gives “all my praise to the Almighty” while announcing his spiritual evolution without any apology. “When we pray,” he sings, “to Jah Jah alone we pray. Let Jah be praised.”
10. That’s The Way God Planned It (Billy Preston)
On the album’s only cover song, Mr. Vegas delivers a rousing rendition of the Bill Preston classic with a touch of reggae flavor to spice up the song’s uplifting message.
11. Love Up There, Clifford Ray Music(ASCAP), The Kemist (BMI / IPI# 710227198) Kemisphere Music Publishing, Liam Fudge, Artist Publishing Group.
In keeping with the previous song’s vibe, Vegas follows up with a call to praise the Lord in his own way. “Me trust inna God me no trust human… Love me a deal with and not religion / Nuff pastor a liar, God people them a con.”
12. Wakanda Jam, Clifford Smith, Clifford Ray Music (ASCAP), Cleveland Browne, Sony/ATV, Wycliff Johnson, Sony/ATV.
Over a fresh version of the “Duck Dance” riddim, Vegas updates a classic of ‘80s dancehall with a Black Panther twist that is sure to rock any party from here to Wakanda.
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