Mutabaruka
Mutabaruka | |
---|---|
Born |
Allan Hope 1952 Rae Town, Kingston, Jamaica |
Pen name | Mutabaruka |
Occupation | Poet, songwriter, musician, educator, radio talk-show host |
Nationality | Jamaican |
Period | Early 1970s–present |
Allan Hope (born 1952), better known as Mutabaruka, is a Jamaican Rastafari dub poet, musician, actor, educator, and talk-show host, who developed two of Jamaica's most popular weekly radio programmes, The Cutting Edge and Steppin' Razor.[1] His name comes from the Rwandan language Kinyarwanda and translates as "one who is always victorious". His themes include politics, culture, Black liberation, social oppression, discrimination, poverty, racism, sexism, and religion.
Biography
Mutabaruka was born in Rae Town, Kingston, where he grew up with his father, mother and two sisters. When he was eight years old his father died. Mutabaruka attended the Kingston Technical High School, where he trained in electronics for four years, going on to work for the Jamaican Telephone Company until quitting in 1971.[2]
Mutabaruka was drawn into black awareness movement of the late 1960s and early '70s. In school he read many "progressive books", including Eldridge Cleaver's Soul on Ice and others that were then illegal in Jamaica, such as The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Raised as a Roman Catholic he began examining and immersing himself in the Rastafari movement. He stopped combing his hair and started growing dreadlocks, and changing to an ital diet, and even stopped wearing shoes as he became a Rastafari.[3] He adopted the name Mutabaruka, a term from the Rwandan language, Kinyarwanda, meaning "one who is always victorious".[2]
Mutabaruka left Kingston in 1971, relocating to the Potosi Hills,[2] where he lived with his wife and two children in a house that he built himself. He was among the new wave of Jamaican poets that emerged in the early 1970s.[4] Early work by Mutabaruka was first presented in the magazine Swing from 1971.[2][5] Introducing Outcry (March 1973), his first collection released as Mutabaruka, John A. L. Golding Jr. wrote: "In July 1971, Swing Magazine published for the first time a poem by Allan Mutabaruka.... Our readers were ecstatic. Since then, and almost in consecutive issues, we have derived much pleasure in further publication of this brother's works.... They tell a story common to most black people born in the ghetto.... And when Muta writes, it's loud and clear".[6] He received attention for "Wailin'" in 1974, a work referencing songs by The Wailers, and in 1976 released the collection Sun and Moon.[2]
In 1977 he began performing live, backed by his band, Truth.[2] He had a hit record in Jamaica the following year with "Outcry", backed by Cedric Brooks' the Light of Saba.[2] After being invited to perform at a Jimmy Cliff concert in the early 1980s, guitarist Earl "Chinna" Smith worked on a backing track for "Every Time a Ear Di Sound", beginning a long working relationship with Smith; Released as a single, it was a hit in Jamaica.[7] He became known internationally after his performance at Reggae Sunsplash in 1981, the first of several performances at the festival.[2] His 1983 release Check It was released on Chicago blues label Alligator Records, and further increased his popularity.[2] He curated the 1983 compilation album Word Sound 'ave Power, released by Heartbeat Records, and in 1984 Shanachie Records released his album The Mystery Unfolds.[2] He went on to record collaborations with both Gregory Isaacs and Dennis Brown, on "Hard Road to Travel" and "Great Kings of Africa" respectively.[2] He continued to record and perform, and in the mid-1990s began presenting a late night talk show on radio station Irie FM called The Cutting Edge, and quickly became one of Jamaica's most sought-after and controversial radio personalities.[2][8]
He had further hits in the latter half of the 1990s with "Wise Up" (with Sugar Minott) and "Psalm 24" (with Luciano).[2]
Mutabaruka gave a lecture at Stanford University in 2000 on the difference between education and indoctrination,[9] and in 2007 he taught African American studies at Merritt College in California. He has lectured and performed at many establishments in Jamaica and the United States.[10][11][12]
In 2008, Mutabaruka was featured as part of the Jamaica episode of the television programme Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. He also served as narrator for filmmaker Stephanie Black's Life and Debt, a documentary about the impact of global economic policy and the IMF on the economy and people of Jamaica.[13]
On 20 February 2010, Mutabaruka was honoured by the National Centre for Youth Development (NCYD) and the Rotaract Club of Mandeville for over 30 years of outstanding work in the field of the arts. Also, later on in 2010, he was recognized by Senegal with a hut built in his honour.[14]
On 28 September 2010, he recited a tribute poem in honour of Lucky Dube, whose music he said sought to "liberate the oppressed".[15] He spoke at the First Jamaica Poetry Festival on 17 August 2011 in honour of Marcus Garvey and Louise Bennett. On the final day of the Rastafari Studies Conference, Mutabaruka was examined as an Icon by the professors of the West Indies.[16]
His outspoken statements on theology and the oppressive roles played by religious institutions have generated much controversy,.[17][18][19]
Although he is a non-smoker, Mutabaraku has campaigned for the legalization of cannabis, especially for medical purposes.[20]
In 2016, the government of Jamaica awarded Mutabaruka the Order of Distinction, Commander Class (one of the highest distinctions in the country), in recognition of his cultural contributions.[21]
Discography
Year | Title | Label |
---|---|---|
1982 | Live at Reggae Sunsplash | Sunsplash |
1983 | Check It! | Alligator |
1983 | Dub Poets Dub | Heartbeat |
1984 | Outcry | Shanachie |
1986 | The Mystery Unfolds | Shanachie |
1989 | Any Which Way...Freedom | Shanachie |
1990 | Mutabaruka | Rounder |
1991 | Blakk Wi Blak...K...K... | Shanachie |
1994 | Melanin Man | Shanachie |
1998 | Gathering of the Spirits | Shanachie |
1998 | Muta in Dub | Blackheart |
2002 | Life Squared | Heartbeat |
2006 | In Combination | Revolver |
2009 | Life And Lessons | Gallo Record Company |
- Compilations
- The Ultimate Collection (1992), Greensleeves
DVD/Video
- Live at Reggae Sumfest (1993) (VHS/DVD)
- The Return to the Motherland (2011) (DVD)
Books of poetry
- Outcry (1973)
- Sun and Moon (1976) - with Faybiene
- The Book: First Poems (1980)
- The Next Poems (2005)
Filmography
- Land of Look Behind (1981) - Himself
- Sankofa (1993) - Shango
- One Love (2003) - Rasta elder
References
- ↑ Irie FM website.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Thompson, Dave (2002) Reggae & Caribbean Music, Backbeat Books, ISBN 0-87930-655-6, pp. 192–194.
- ↑ Dunn, Pat, & Pamela Mordecai (2004), "Matubaruka". In Encyclopedia of Latin American and Caribbean Literature, 1900-2003. Daniel Balderston & Mike Gonzalez, eds. London: Routledge, p. 374. ISBN 0-415-30687-6, ISBN 978-0-415-30687-4.
- ↑ Habekost (1993), Verbal Riddim: Politics and Aesthetics of African-Caribbean Dub Poetry, Editions Bodopi BV, ISBN 978-9051835496, p. 25.
- ↑ Boyne, Ian (2012), "Mutabaruka For Jamaica 50 Honour", Jamaica Gleaner, 15 July 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
- ↑ Culture Workers Bureau, CWB. "Ideas need to be explored, not ignored". "Mutabaruka". 1990, p. 4.
- ↑ Cooke, Mel (2009), "'Everytime A Ear di Sound' makes Mutabaruka heard", Jamaica Gleaner, 12 July 2009. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
- ↑ Johnson, Linton Kwesi (2005) "Cutting edge of dub: Linton Kwesi Johnson on the spreading influence of Jamaica's poet of protest", The Observer, 27 August 2005. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
- ↑ Mutbaruka Lecture. mutabaruka.com. "Stanford University".
- ↑ Adams, Anne-Marie (2013), "Mutabaruka Comes to Hartford, Gives Lecture on Rastafarianism", The Hartford Guardian, 23 July 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
- ↑ Cooke, Mel (2011), "'There Is No Rebel'", Jamaica Gleaner, 5 July 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
- ↑ "Mutabaruka Talks Religion", Jamaica Gleaner, 16 March 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
- ↑ Life and Debt website.
- ↑ Walters, Basil (2010), "Muta recognised by Senegal; song on World Cup compilation", Jamaica Observer, 20 May 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
- ↑ Hewshe, Francis (2010), "Poet Mutabaruka pays homage to slain Dube", Sowetan, 28 September 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
- ↑ "Examined as a Icon, A Visionary". The Gleaner, 27 August 2010. Article.
- ↑ Cooke, Mel (2011), "Mutabaruka Questions Creation Story", Jamaica Gleaner, 27 March 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
- ↑ Cooke, Mel (2012), "Mutabaruka Dares Deity", Jamaica Gleaner, 27 April 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
- ↑ Dick, Devon (2011), "Answering Mutabaruka's God Talk", Jamaica Gleaner, 31 March 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
- ↑ "Jamaican poet urges Gambia to legalize cannabis", StarAfrica, 13 May 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
- ↑ http://www.jamaicaempire.net/mutabaruka-among-jamaican-elite-group-of-entertainers-lauded-with-order-of-distinction/
Further reading
- Morris, M. (1996). "Mutabaruka". Critical Quarterly 38(4): 39–49.