BY RICHARD JOHNSON—
Observer senior reporter—
Christopher Ellis performing on the Dennis Brown Tribute Concert in downtown Kingston recently. (Photo: Karl Mclarty)—
Christopher Ellis is the son of singer/songwriter Alton Ellis, considered by many to be the ‘Godfather of Rocksteady’.
Born in England, the younger Ellis has trod a similar road as his father and has taken on the path of becoming a recording artiste.
For the past 10 years, Ellis has been affiliated with the Ghetto Youths International label run by another set of second-generation musicians, the Marley brothers. He was signed to that label six months after his father died in October 2008. During this period, Ellis has been working alongside the Marley brothers, namely Stephen, Julian, and Damian. However, now the 30-something-year-old is feeling confident to step out on his own.
It is this confidence, which is front and centre in his recently released single, that speaks to broadening the playing field and for a diversity in the music which is played in the dance and other popular spaces.
“It’s called Still Go a Dance and it’s produced by Junior Gong. It has been out for about two weeks now and has taken on a life of its own. We are set to do a video for it. I feel like the song has come at the right time. In the song I’m talking about how we are missing reggae music inna di dance, but we still a go a dance. I feel like it is going to be a big song this year,” he told the Jamaica Observer.
“If you go to a dance right now, mi nah throw no word, to be honest with you, you are not going to hear an Alton Ellis or a Ken Boothe. I feel there is a space for them all. You can definitely play some a dem songs deh and den go inna di other music dem. ‘Cause me love all music, mi love the dancehall as well. But there is that little element missing, so this song is a good statement to say, please play some of those songs,” Ellis continued.
He further explained that the scene is the same in the United Kingdom.
“We are the same, but back in the UK we are a few months behind. So, for example, a song gets big in Jamaica and then four months later it is big in the UK. So we are a little bit behind. The truth is Jamaica is the hub and you have to get approval here and then you can go to the world…it will always be that way and there is nothing wrong with that, Jamaica is home for the music,” said Ellis.
The second-generation music act was among the artistes who paid tribute to the ‘Crown Prince of Reggae’, Dennis Brown, at the recent tribute concert in downtown Kingston.
“It’s great because most artistes my age, grew up on the music on the era after these musical icons. But I grew up on the music of Alton, The Melodians, the Ken Boothes, John Holt, and Dennis… that is my world and then I learned about the others after,” Ellis shared.
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