Resilience is the message Elihu Morris sends to Jamaican youth facing the challenges of ghetto life, on Any Little Man, his latest song.
Released last summer, Any Little Man is reinforced by a recently released video showing the singer with young people in an inner-city community in Kingston, Jamaica’s capital.
He empathizes with the plight of many who live in squalid conditions with little hope of improving. Morris was raised in Craig Town, near to Trench Town, one of the toughest areas in Jamaica.
“Growing up in Craig Town there was good and bad like anywhere else. Lots of tribal war, community fighting against community. Lots of killing of youths by cops or by rivals,” he recalled. “But I had a lot of mentors and from listening to them, and watching the contributions that they were making, I took it (singing) very serious and capitalize on it in a serious way, which help me to stay focused on my purpose.”
Any Little Man is co-produced by Morris’ Shamalki Roots Production and Andrew Bassie Records, a company owned by veteran bassist Andrew Campbell.
Craig Town is best known for producing the Shocking Vibes Crew, a top dancehall unit that thrived during the 1990’s. Its main act was Grammy winner Beenie Man.
Morris moved to the United States in his late teens to be with his parents. He settled in Boston and New York where he made a name in dance circles.
Fending for himself in Jamaica while his parents worked on getting him abroad, was not easy.
“I had to be on my own by the age of 14, trying to survive and to learn about how hard it was to get through each day. Those are things I would never forget, that’s when I got a taste of what other people was going through, going day by day not knowing where my next meal was coming from, or at times where do I find a place to rest my head. So for a period of time, the street was my refuge,” he said.
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