Five Questions with Junior Kelly (Part 1)


Junior Kelly - CARLINGTON WILMOT

TODAY THE STAR poses one of five probing questions to our featured artist for April, Junior Kelly.

Q: What do you see as the positives of our music?

A: "The first one is that different avenues start open up now in the music. Once upon a time you either a produce the music or a play an instrument or yu a perform, but now yu have the dub poets a pop up and now yu have people a make a good living from choreography. People who dancing inna the dancehall and who get a name and who a go pon tour. Jah bless him soul the same Bogle and others widen the scope and the business aspect of it that a one of the positives of it, more people a feed from it as opposed to the traditional singing and musicians etc.

The next positive is that yu have dancehall music (don't know who started that term) start open up some avenues within different genres like the hip hop market to name one. People now have their eyes on the dancehall music and therefore have their eyes on the rest of the industry. If more and more artistes can get signed, it will get wider and wider till it get colossal.

Another one is that some of the time we have outside people, particularly people from Europe making offers. I have tons of offers from European people who want to voice me and carry me on tours all over, so one of the good things is that a lot of outside people, whenever they hear an artist like me, they don't judge me based on the amount of airplay or street credibility which is in Jamaica. No, they judge me by the work that I put out, the richness and the quality of the work. That's how I am as big as I am in Europe and those places, because they don't watch the charts here, they don't listen to what is going on here. That's a positive because it makes people outside looking in do not judge us on street credibility and hype. They look beyond it 'cause they look on it from the days of Bob even when we don't see the richness.

(See Kelly's responses to other questions about the music, the country, and other issues tomorrow and later this week.)

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Kelly makes 'madness meal'

By GERMAINE SMITH, Staff Reporter



JUST LIKE HIS performance on the stage, Junior Kelly's kitchen antics were just as lively and rich.

His bite it seems is louder than his bark, as before the cooking day, Kelly quietly stated, without hype, and without conceit, that he had talent around the stove.

Kelly prepared french-fried Cauliflower, with tofu marinated in a special sauce, and pasta soaked in coconut milk. To wash it down, there was a special mixture of pineapple, melon, and paw paw fruits blended together.

Playing chef

Kelly tied his locks under a blue bandana, and wrapped a towel as an apron around his waist. he seemed as if he was going to war, but as he noted, it was all part of playing the chef role.

"The first time mi cook was about age six or seven. Yu know when yu little yu ambitious, mi have the guidance of my mother, but me decide di something on my own," he explained. "Mi put on a pot with some dumpling and leave the pot go play football, and as yu expect the results never pretty."

Now, many pots later, Kelly explained how he prepares his meal, titled in friendly terms as the 'Madness meal.' Nothing was mad about it however, as in just over two hours it was ready.Here is the procedure in summary.

Procedure:

Set to boil in a pot one or two packets of coconut milk mixed with a little water as desired. Add pasta, and allow to cook.

For the tofu, cut them into small strips to personal liking, then season with garlic, onion, pimento, escallion, thyme, pepper etc.

Coat lightly with flour before frying. Fry until they are golden brown.For the cauliflower, cut them into halves, Coat lightly with flour then put to fry until brown.

For the tofu sauce, mix strips of carrot, onions, pepper, tomato, scotch bonnett pepper, sweet pepper, garlic and tomato ketchup.

Add water to this while cooking it under a low fire to desired taste and texture.

When finished add to the tofu and cauliflower.

Junior Kelly's meal served about 10 people, who seemed completely satisfied after eating. Were it not for a strong will, and pressing deadlines, THE STAR team would not budge either.

If we were to grade it on THE STAR scale, he would get a full five stars.

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Aquarius filled with Kelly Fans

By TEINO EVANS, Staff Reporter


Junior Kelly - file

IT WAS AN hour of fanfare inside the Aquarius record shop when THE STAR's Artiste of the Month for April, Junior Kelly, entertained his fans and onlookers by signing autographs, giving out posters, T-shirts (for females only) and chit-chatted with others.

The session which got under way way at about 1:00 p.m., may not have had the fantastic start that was anticipated, as heavy rains pelted Kingston, limiting the movements and actions of persons inside York Plaza in Half-Way Tree.

Little shy

The ladies were a little shy also at first, but with a little prompting from members of the Aquarius staff, they were led inside the record shop where they took a seat beside the artiste.

They were all smiles and blushes, while some managed to maintain a straight face while dictating to Junior Kelly, word for word, what they wanted him to write on the poster and who to sign it to.

For the men, they preferred to hold a serious face, but once they got to talking with Junior Kelly, they couldn't help but realise that this artiste was 'crazy cool'.

For Kelly, it was a 'blessing', to be able to sit and talk with his fans while snapping a few pictures.

Hardcore fans

"It was lovely, my fan base are the hardcore people weh listen mi, a di average Joe, and I love this. It is more up close and personal. The level of appreciation weh dem show fi I, it really nuh get nuh better dan dat. Mi even prefer this more than a stage show," a very satisfied Junior Kelly told THE STAR.

After leaving the Aquarius studio, Junior Kelly zipped off to an interview with a radio station, leaving behind a few 'schoolers', fans and others who had turned out in the wet environs to show their love.

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5 Questions with Junior Kelly

STAR's 'Artiste of the Month' Junior Kelly strikes a pose during a day with him recently. - Carlington Wilmot

SEEING JUNIOR KELLY'S wide smile now, one may forget the militant place where he is from.

Back in the early 1990s when he was a young Rastafarian, Kelly recorded the or anti-politics song Go To Hell.

The stance on the track was so hard-edge that it was banned from the radio. Since that time, Kelly has seemingly shied away from pressing such controversial views in his music.

Today, THE STAR asks Kelly how much of this is true.

"Nuff people woulda think seh yes, him a sugar-coat the thing or water down the thing and nuh know seh we have a war still a rage yuh know," he explains.

Time and place

"No a nuh dat. There is a time and place fi everything and we naa force fi be militant or anything. We are militant but the lyrics dem yu no haffi juice it, it's like a honeycomb. When yuh cut off the comb, yuh can see the rich honey a drip offa it. That mean seh yu naa fight the thing fi make it happen, yu see something weh catch yu eye, and it's like something manifest inside a yuh."

"When yuh go pigeon hole yuhself or mek dem typecast you and seh everything you do is a political one, it will defeat the purpose of being an artiste. An artiste supposed to go certain place and draw things fi the woman dem, the Rastas, the baldhead, and fi everybody 'cause everybody, have their songs, that's why they love the artiste."

"I think that as an artiste you are supposed to educate, entertain and inform, mek people enjoy themselves and any day mi realise seh mi caa do that, I need to go back to the drawing board. Mi no waa fi be pigeon-holed or typecast 'cause that is wrong fi an artiste."

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5 Questions with Junior Kelly - Part 3

LAST WEEK, JUNIOR Kelly discussed the positives about Jamaica. Today, he speaks about the negatives he sees in the country.

"Right now mi a tell yu the truth, the biggest negative weh a hold we back and is of major concern, both locally and internationally, is violence, the crime rate, the killings. We a run close behind or a run past some place like Iraq, and we not at war. This is a serious issue, cause the movers and shakers weh inna the politics of this country weh we elect and select, we have to do something about it.

"We need fi do something inna our society cause we caan just seh a major concern and leave it at that. People a look pon we and the only thing they can come up with is the crime status. It is not a good thing for any society to be famous for its crime. The approach to politics is wrong in Jamaica and I think we need to change it.

"We have too much fossils and in politics yu have to recruit young blood. Don't taint the blood before it get in the business, if mi a recruit you to take over my post and mi train you just like me, nutten naa go happen.

"Yu caan confine a young youth meditation to your thinking, cause your thinking outdated. Yu need young blood to stimulate the dying politics in Jamaica; we need the youth dem fi brainstorm, hold dem panel discussion and get new ideas fi the budget, the economy and the society. Stop choking the youths.

"We need people who will make the society better and in order fi do that the youths need free thinking fi make the ting better. It naa go get better until the dinosaur dem realise sey we need some fresh youths with new ideas, cause dem have good ideas and them need fi get them out."


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5 Questions with Junior Kelly part 4

WITH GREAT POWER comes great responsibility, they say. So today, Junior Kelly states what he would do if he became the country's prime minister tomorrow.

"Yu know seh running a country is not an easy thing to do. I woulda prefer to use the term that if I become one of the 'biggest influential persons' in the society, I would implement certain things in the society.

"Mi waan the readers fi know seh before we can do anything, we need fi get rid of our debt, so that foreign countries can stop dump dem products pon we and tell we seh it can sell cheaper than our home-grown things weh make our farmer them suffer.

Music can pay debts

"The music can pay our debts dem, cause it's a billion dollar industry per annum, if not more. I woulda implement or enforce sound scan. To people weh no know, it keeps a direct check of the amount of records weh sell inna Jamaica.

"Secondly, I would incorporate a locally-based international record company. If I were the PM and I call the head of BET and invite him to discuss business here because we are now the big company, and all the little reggae labels dem who no comply, we put dem out of business.

"They are the ones who are hustling out the music and the artistes dem and the musicians and the people dem inna the country. If the PM call up Mr. BET and say 'let's do business', you will find that reggae get more international, cause everyting come under one umbrella.

Big money in music

"When a man get him cheque it fat so inna the music. How we fi have a multi-billion dollar industry and none a the money don't come back here in Jamaica?

"It's not that our music is not good. They always come up with the politics and say that the videos are not good or something, and we know that our music is so influential on the world scale. Can you imagine if we have a giant company in Jamaica and have the support of all these people in the industry?

"Yu find out seh, we have a company where we can demand things from the world, and make them listen to us. Our artistes then wouldn't have to hope and pray to get signed from a foreign company. They would get signed by our own Jamaican international recording company that is regulated by the government.

More money from the industry that is scattered around the globe will come back to we ... we no have no factory, so we must realise that the biggest industry we have is reggae.

"If we can set up our company weh set up our own satellite and beam our own music into space and into people's homes internationally, that's how we want to do it."


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Five questions with Junior Kelly (P. 5)

Junior Kelly - Carlington Wilmot Photo

AS OUR FEATURED artiste for April, we have learnt much about Junior Kelly's past. Today, Junior Kelly talks about his future.

"Mi waan start write some short scripts, some short stories cause we haffi start with low budget. Mi a no George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, but mi know mi have the ability to write some short script. Even on the local cable, there are so many avenues where mi waan expand mi horizons.

"There are so many sides of me weh people don't see. That's where I want to head in the near future, not in front of the camera, but behind the scenes directing some things, cause all the world is a stage, so Shakespeare seh, and when mi look on all the aspects of our Jamaican life and our society, every day yu see movie.

"It don't have to be a gun show, just look at everyday life. I won't stop performing ever, that's a part of me.