Michael Jackson and Mobay

From MJ’s high to his lows, ‘his heart was always pure’

By Peter Gelzinis
Wednesday, July 8, 2009 - Updated 3d 1h ago




It was a red leather jacket festooned with zippers, not exactly made for the tropical heat of Jamaica’s Montego Bay.

But Cleon James remembered it yesterday with an affection undimmed by time. “Every boy in Jamaica wanted one of those jackets,” he said, as Stevie Wonder’s voice rang out from the flat screen bolted to the wall of his Roxbury barber shop.

“We ran around singing ‘Beat It’ and ‘Thriller,’ dressed up in those leather jackets, pretending we were Michael Jackson,” Cleon said, one eye trained on a customer, the other on a memorial service 3,000 miles away.


“It’s hot enough in Montego Bay as it is,” the barber laughed. “But in a red leather jacket with the zipper up, it’s much worse. But we didn’t care. Every kid wanted to moonwalk like Michael Jackson.”

In the other corner of the “Top Notch Barbershop,” Donald Martin spoke of growing up immersed in the soundtrack of the enigmatic genius now sealed inside a golden coffin.

Jamaica Gleaner News - Queen Ifrica plays, explains 'Montego Bay'

Queen Ifrica plays, explains 'Montego Bay
'Published: Thursday | July 16, 2009
Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

Montego Bay is Queen Ifrica's first album with VP Records.As she presented Montego Bay, her second full-length set, at her first album launch on Tuesday evening, Queen Ifrica's face and posture reflected the mood of the songs.And there was ample time and reason for the changes, Ifrica explaining the background to almost all the songs on the 13-track set in an extended stint at the podium during which she got noticeably more comfortable as time went on, engaging the large audience at Kabana, Hope Road, St Andrew.The trip through an outstanding album actually started with her voice alone, not the actual recording, as after a herald of horns, Ifrica delivered the album's title track a cappella, smiling, the audience cheering at the start and again when she hit the chorus.After the recording was played, Ifrica explained, "Montego Bay is special to me. That's where my whole Rastafari development took place." Still, she noted, the inner-city communities do not see the benefit of the 'lush' from the tourism industry.She was sombre for Streets Are Bloody, dedicating it to 20-year-old Ejaun, "a very close individual to Flames. He was gunned down by a soldier at a club". Ifrica described Ejaun's kindness, respectfulness and computer wizardry, commenting that in the society "the people who do good are the people who die like this". The song has the line "none is immune, Ejaun gone to soon".In My DreamsIfrica smiled as she asked, "Any lovers? Any husband, any wife, any matie?", before In My Dreams was played, rocking away with eyes closed and clasping her left shoulder with her right hand.And when she said "we ago step up the vibe" with Yad To The East, commenting "dis a di man whe dem sey inna Ifrica", Ifrica grinned gloriously as the rhythm hit and the crowd exploded at the opening line, "Selassie I never lose a fight yet".And so it continued, Ifrica often merging her voice with the tail end of the recordings, playfully prodding the audience to more enthusiastic applause and dropping advice on hard work, focus, purpose and the importance of teamwork to younger artistes.She has stuck to a team, as before she sang along to the recorded songs on Tuesday night, Ifrica sang the praises of Tony Rebel, giving the background to starting to work with his Flames Productions in 1998, after performing at a Garnet Silk tribute concert. And among the other persons Ifrica said thanks to was Penthouse's Donovan Germaine who "say I am a granddaughter of Penthouse, because Tony Rebel is a son".Guest speaker Kay Osbourne, general manager of TVJ, heaped praises on Queen Ifrica and Montego Bay, which she described as an awesome collection that showcases the inner workings of Ifrica's mind and soul."It is clear that this unique woman of truth has something to say," Osbourne said, taking a closer look at many of the songs. "She expresses the personal universally," Osbourne said later in her address.However, Osbourne is not impressed with much of Jamaican music being produced currently, pointing out the narcissism, exhibitionism, image manipulation and "the mere ability to attract attention is rewarded".Tony Rebel, who welcomed all to the album launch, spoke about Queen Ifrica's development, from not being able to do a song properly in the studio and having to be told 10 times what to do, that being reduced to thrice, then twice and "now you don't have to say anything".There was a time when she had to be asking producers to go on rhythms; now she is being requested. Long gone are the days when she was trying to get on shows; now there are so many offers she has to decline some."When you have someone like a Queen Ifrica standing up and not taking off her clothes I have to salute her," Rebel said.Extensive exposureIn presenting Montego Bay, Ifrica noted the struggle that her song about incest, Daddy (which appears in English and Spanish), has been going through in terms of getting extensive exposure on the airwaves, although it has connected in the streets and at live performances.When she was asked which track was her favourite Queen Ifrica did not name one, but said that the opening chant, TTPNC, is special, as "it is my whole Rastafarian belief ... That is who I am. I am a Niyabinghi woman".The recordings ended with Far Away, Lady Saw, Assassin, I-Wayne, Capleton and Tarrus Riley embracing Queen Ifrica onstage. It wasn't all over, though, as there was one more a cappella song for her to deliver, the crowd whooping for Keep It To Yourself.

Jamaica Gleaner News - Queen Ifrica plays, explains 'Montego Bay' - Entertainment - Thursday | July 16, 2009

INTERVIEW: Queen Ifrica discusses her Road to Montego Bay

June 8th, 2009 · Posted by: DEAN ROGERS in Hollywood Insider, Music

Recently I had the honor to interview reggae artist QUEEN IFRICA to discuss her upcoming sophomore album, Road to Montego Bay, which will be released on Tuesday, June 16th.

Eclipse Magazine: So tell us about your new album, Road to Montego Bay?

QUEEN IFRICA: The album is about Queen Ifrica introducing herself to the international Reggae world from a female rastafarian point of view with her views and opinions of how we can make a better society. We also take on the subject of love & relationships and just keeping it real. That is Road to Montego Bay in a nutshell.

EM: I’ve noticed that the song Lioness on the Rise showed us your strong spirit. What was your inspiration to writing this song?

QI: This is a very special song because its about empowering women without being sexist while of doing it. It can be appreciated by a man who will be listening to that song. He could get actually get inspiration from where we’re coming from. Even though its about strengthening women and giving women a pat on the back saying “Yeah, you can be a housewife and also be an hard worker of peace.” Even a husband or a son would want to be one of those persons encouraging her along. It lot of this derives from universal innocence in a way.

EM: Coconut Shells feels like a journey back to your roots. Tell us about its inspiration.

QI: Coconut Shells is it a herb song for the Rastafarian community. I associated with reggae music. Its only fitting to do a herb song. Its not a herb song about smoking all day but its from the point of there are things that you can say and get an education from listening to people as oppose to just burning it. Some people can  provide a good mediation while listening to the song.

EM: Finally, “Daddy” is one of the most powerful songs on your album. What can you tell us about this song?

QI: “Daddy, don’t touch me there” speaks for itself. It deals with incest and the things of what it can do to an individual. I talk about it even though its a taboo subject for a lot people.

EM: Speaking of “Daddy”, I read that you presented UNICEF a copy of the CD  during the World Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse and has drawn controversy when it was released. Do you feel that this song will give the voice all those who are affected by child abuse?

QI: Yes, I definitely feel so. I feel its actually an action from the responses I’ve gotten from people who carried it within them for so long and not been able to come and say it out loud. A lot of people have been talking about  going to the police, going to their Mom or their Dad to talk about this thing. I can pat myself on the back for saying that it was my vainess that gave a lot of people who wanted to do this for a while. The courage to come forward.

EM: Do you think Reggae music is in a good place?
Even though it is in a good place, there’s always is going to be destruction because this world is made up of good & evil, depending on the side you choose. The music of reggae was never about class or creed, it was in the sense of the poor. It was born out of poverty. It was born out of people who are downtrodden by society. Therefore, it doesn’t matter if its in America, or Europe, wherever you find people who are suffering, they will always gravitate to music because it soothes the soul.

Music has the power and ability to go beyond the barriers of languages and culture. There’s going to be that element because we live in a world where goodness is never welcomed by negativity. They will do everything to keep it in the dark. You’ll find that because of what reggae music represents. A lot of negative elements that try to tarnish the image in whatever it can. It’s like your blood, you cannot change the color of your blood. You cannot change the vibe that reggae music brought in the form of Bob Marley.

EM: Who were your musical influences growin up?

QI: Definitely Mr. Tony Rivers because he was the only positive Rasta artist that young rasta people could look up to.

EM: Are you planning to tour the world with your music?

QI: Fortunately for me, I been given the priviledge to come to europe a number of times on the count of Tony Rivers. A year from now, I’ll be going on the road to America to do promotional tour on this album coming. Also, looking forward to coming to Europe. i can safely say when I come to Europe, I am happy that Europe always accepts and love my music.

EM: What parts of Europe?

QI: We have gove to Germany, France, Switzerland. You name it, we go right across the board. I went to  this one European island where its close to Africa and there’s beautiful sunshine around the clock.

EM: If you could pick your ultimate place to tour where and why?

QI: It would be more than one place but it would be Paris. There is this one venue in Paris where I had performed where the energy of the audience was totally overwhelming. In the summertime, it would be Italy. The energy and the people is like over the top. What I find is all the other areas that you go to, like the club and the smaller shows. When it comes to the big shows, there are young people who travel from these area and come into the big cities. They have all the fun when they come to the show like the Sundance festival. It’s beautiful the way the little areas come together and explode with excitement.

EM: What is the one message you hope your listeners can take from this album?

QI: When you are aware of yourself its much easier to be aware of your surroundings and how you go about your daily life. When you listen to Queen Ifrica, I see myself an individual who is on a journey of self–awareness and being appreciate of self. You hear it come out in my music because  i want it to sound as beautiful as I would love to sound myself. I hope that the individual that sit down to listen can find their way to theirselves while listening to me because it was speaking to my peers in the form of instructions and advice. It helped me to find myself along the way through music. We each find strength in each other and I hope that the individual would find strength in me.

Look out for Queen Ifrica’s ROAD TO MONTEGO BAY coming to you on Tuesday, June 16th

For Eclipse Magazine, I’m Dean Rogers