Morgan Heritage | It’s Cool to be Conscious

The Interview

IRIE. The Rebelutions and the SOJAs dominate the reggae charts in the US.  Do you foresee a time when Jamaican artists will dominate the reggae charts once again?

Peetah: The reality is that Jamaican artists have handled music as if it was a hustle, because for many, music is a means of survival.  A lot of artists from Jamaica are from the ghetto, so music serves as a way out for them and their families.  But what international artists have done is take what was created by Jamaicans as a means of survival and turn it into a business. Think about how hip-hop got started; the movement began from the streets.  As it became more popular it turned into more of a business.  The only way Jamaican artists will dominate the charts again is if we treat music as a business. You have to put in the work.  When you look at the touring schedule of international reggae musicians, you notice they are touring hard.  Some of these bands have touring schedules thru 2016.  How many artists out of Jamaica have touring schedules that far out right now?  That’s a big part of it.  You have to connect with the audience through live shows in today’s market.  You grow your fan base by touring.  If you just post things on the internet, you are not going to see the results. So when you see the SOJAs and the Rebelutions dominating the iTunes Reggae Charts or the Global Charts, that is because they are putting in the work.  They are reaping what they sow. 

IRIE. I love Morgan Heritage’s live show.  I know the band is in the midst of a worldwide tour. Can you share what is different from your last tour?

Peetah: Well, we will be performing more music from our current release, Strictly Roots.  We have also added a saxophone player to our live band.  On select festivals you will see Morgan Heritage perform with a three horn section (trumpet, trombone, and saxophone).  We’re really stepping up the presentation of the music, giving it a facelift.  We want to perform the music like the elders did.  The greats had a horn section at some points in their career; just look at Bob Marley and Dennis Brown.  It was just part of the music.  Let’s look at Latin music.  There is no Latin music without horns.  Reggae music is almost like that.  We are bringing it back to the roots.

IRIE. You recently performed in Africa.  What is it like to perform in Africa?

Peetah: It is always great to perform in front of an African audience.  I love that the music we created reaches people who reside in the original homes of all men.  It’s amazing to see that reggae music resonates with the people of Africa.  It’s an honor to play them the music that was created for them.  When we play shows in Africa, we play for a minimum of 10,000 people and sometimes more than 60,000.  Europe also has huge audiences at their festivals, but it gives us a special feeling to play reggae music in front of an audience filled with mostly black people.  It’s an overwhelmingly proud feeling.

IRIE. One of the highlights on the album is your track with Chronixx, ‘Child of Jah’.  Did you guys record that track together in the studio?  How did the making of that track come about?

Peetah: The producer sent us the track and while we were recording it we could picture Chronixx on the track, so we sent it to him.  He let us know we could get into the studio as soon as he was finished touring since he was on the road at the time.  This happened to one of the last songs we recorded for this album. We just happened to be in Jamaica when he was there.  We were both in rehearsals.  One day we just arranged to record the track after both of our rehearsals were over and it just worked out.  It was just magical in the studio.  He is so creative and a great young mind doing this music. He’s impressive and it was a joy to see that we have young minds like Chronixx. 

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