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RAS MIDAS
Photo by
Diane 'Livonn' Adam
I was born in
Jamaica in the parish of
Clarendon, over here it would be
known as a state. It was real
exciting and I had plenty of
friends. In the community it was
very close and we as kids really
had a nice time. And so... my
youth days in Jamaica were kind
of cut short because my
grandmother and my grandfather
died and then I had to move and
go to England to live with my
auntie and uncle and that was a
different experience. It was one
experience growing up in Jamaica
until I was 13 and another
experience when I went in
England, because of the
different environment and you
know at that time things weren’t
like now so it was it was a
struggle at that point to adapt
to a new environment and it was
a struggle to create new friends
and learn what England was all
about.
In Jamaica, we go to the river
we have a nice swim, we shake
mangoes from the mango tree and
let them drop into the pool; and
then we jump from the mango tree
and then into the pool to see
who could get it, you know? And
we’d go hunting in the bushes.
There is no jungle in Jamaica,
you know, because its just
forest, like in a redwood forest
like here, only different trees.
We’d go into the woods and look
for different kinds of
fruit...look for apples or
oranges, or probably go look for
wood for our home or something
like that; or get a nice ride
from the donkey. But, sometimes
in the summer it was work time,
you know, because it was cane
time, so people farm the cane
for the factory and then you
have to load the donkey or the
mule with the cane to carry it
down to the main road, so that
the truck can pick it up and
things like that. Then you’d
have time to ride the donkey to
come back. It was kind of very
nice that way and it was playing
and working, you know, playing
cricket and doing soccer,
playing marbles, but everything,
… was very nice.
I didn’t really go to a
traditional school as we think
of in the US, I went to two
different schools. What happened
in my community was they had a
private little school for kids
between 3 and 7, you know. When
you reach 7 you go on to the
next school but what happened,
my grandparents, I had to do
school with them -- I call it
school, you know, because when I
was growing up, every Saturday
was a day of reasoning in my
home. It was a day of reasoning
in which my grandmother and
grandfather would read the bible
and they’d explain certain
things; how things correspond
with certain things and how I
must look upon things and how I
must look at it, you know, and
have different views and some
understanding and history.
History about ancient Egypt and
Ethiopia and Africa was
discussed. And other people
would come there too maybe four
or six other adults and things
like that... Well when I went
out of my home to play childhood
games, I enjoyed my childhood
days. Inside my home was really
learning to do things different;
to be aware of yourself, know
your history and your roots and
to get a better understanding,
shaping you to meet a new
day...for when you become a
mature man, I suppose ...
I moved to Europe when I was
thirteen and a half. First, I
went to England, I went to
Birmingham, and then we moved
from Birmingham to Manchester.
The changes in my location,
well...how I would really
describe it is that I was
leaving the innocence of my
childhood, you know, going into
a different environment which is
not my original environment, and
it takes time to adapt. You
couldn’t get to do the things
that you are accustomed to doing
when you were living in Jamaica
because things were different.
There was no river to run to,
you know. You couldn’t get a
donkey to ride or a horse to
ride anymore. Everything was
different, you know. You
couldn’t go to the river because
it was polluted and it was too
cold and when I spoke to people,
they wouldn’t understand what I
was saying unless they were
people that came from Jamaica or
that part of the Caribbean and
so communication was a problem.
Then in that time in England it
was a terrible time because
there was a lot of race riots
and segregation and things like
that were going on. There was a
neo-nazi group called the United
Front that was fighting against
immigrants and things like that
so it was real difficult. So in
that time it was a struggle for
people from the Caribbean and
third world people in England.
It was a hard time.
I was able to apply what my
grandparents had taught me in
Jamaica while living in Europe…
The more I grew up, I matured
and the things that my
grandmother used to teach me and
tell me about and educate me
about, they came as a natural
reflection to me again. I
started to look into those
things and I started to educate
myself more by getting books and
histories and...to see all what
I could find for myself. I
realized that what my
grandmother was telling me was
reality. I wouldn’t say that all
of what she told me was reality,
you know? But most, like 75
percent of what she told me was
a reality, you know. Then I
continued on with that 75
percent, and I did research and
those things and discovered
those realities for myself. I
then evolved on those things.
And the more you get from
history and to understand other
human beings, it will be easier
for you to get along because you
can never get along with other
people unless you understand
them and they understand you.
You don’t have to understand
everything about them but the
basics, you know, communication,
respect, and acceptance. All
those things are very important
so I have to put all of these
things together and say that my
grandmother and my grandfather
were the foundation and from
that foundation I evolved myself
to the person I am today.
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Music has always been a natural
thing for me…part of living and breathing... My grandmother
dealt with music also within her spiritual social activities. It
was a West African tradition, which was derived from people that
came to Jamaica in her era. Some people in Jamaica still carried
on that tradition with the drums, communicating with the
different energies of the Earth. So she was into that way and,
you know, she sang. She mostly sang traditional folk songs. Some
folk songs are mixed with some African or things from the
Caribbean or something like that. There is a real conscious
aspect of what she was doing so, you know, I used to go along
with her sometimes. Then she taught me to play the drums and the
kettledrums and she let me know that drums are where the
original sound of music starts from because it is the originator
of rhythms. I learned to sing from the formation of drums and
you know, she... at an early age recognized that I was talented,
and so she said, "You listen, no matter where you are going in
the world, no matter what school you go, anything you learn,
that is something they are teaching you, but you must remember
that your music is something that you are born with so you must
utilize it and put the positive love, and share it with other
people in the world if you get the opportunity." When I was in
school in Europe I always had my interests in music anyway, so
when I was 14 I had a friend and his father who knew a producer
in Jamaica by the name of Harry Johnson; otherwise known as
Harry J. When I was in Jamaica, I had two other friends and we
used to rehearse and we were making songs and these friends
introduced me to Harry J and I sang for him and he said he liked
the melody and the voice.
I sang Kude-A-Bamba because that song is a song about my
grandmother. Kude - A – Bamba - let me tell you how the whole
song comes up -- When I was about 12 years old I was reading a
book from Africa, it came from Ghana, and it was talking about
the Ashanti Tribe and my grandmother was telling me that a lot
of Africans that came to Jamaica are from the Ashanti Tribe and
some were from the Aruba tribe and other tribes. So I come upon
this word and I was always making a little melody,... I always
liked the word "kude-a-bamba". Kude-a-bamba, you know? What I
did with it was kind of put life into it with song, the way that
my grandmother used to live, everything into a nice little story
about life in the country, you know? Because the word
kude-a-bamba means "love of the common people", you know, the
shantytowns and things like that. I am just relating the life of
the common people in the vicinity of where I was born and grew
up and what was going on sometimes and that was the story....
Then I never recorded that song until 1979, after I went to
Africa for the first time and I had experiences and I said,
"WOW! This is the time to do that song!"
I know that the first song that I sang was Kude-A-bamba and
Harry J said, "Yeah, I really like that one." Then I sang a song
called Troubletown and he said, "Hey, I like that one too." I
said "What does that mean?" He replied, "You sound like you’re
ready now." Four days, maybe a week later something like that, I
was sitting there with some old friends, because I came from
England on holiday, and one of them said, "Hey Midas, I heard
that Harry J the producer is looking for you." I said, ‘Tell him
to come down here then", you know, because I didn’t believe it.
So Harry J came down and said, "You know, I lined up some studio
time and Sly and Robbie will be there too." At that time Sly and
Robbie weren’t as popular as they are now -- real talented guys
though. Sticky Thompson and some other artists...one of the
Inner Circle was there too. So that’s how I started. I recorded,
and what they have you do is do it in an African style way and
then in the English way and that’s how it goes. Then two days
after I finished the song, they said, "We think we are going to
put background vocals in it," but then Harry J said, "Well,
Midas’ voice is really kind of young and cool and raw and I
don’t want to mess up nothing with the background vocals and
make it too sweet or nothing you know." So we just decided to
mix it as it was. Then Chris Blackwell (who produced Bob Marley)
came into the studio because at that time Harry J was a producer
for Island Records and so...Chris listened to it and he liked it
and Island Records put it out on their label. And that was my
first hit!
Musically the most important person in my life was my
grandmother because she taught me a lot of things from the time
of the drums. Regarding influences other than his grandmother, I
like some of the Wailers’ music, I like some of Stevie Wonder,
and some of what Elvis Presley did. I like some of what Michael
Jackson did, Aretha Franklin, you know, those people and so
forth. I enjoy a lot of peoples’ music but I try not to let
other peoples’ music influence me, that’s the thing. If you
listen too much to other peoples’ music it will be embedded in
your own self and it will always get in your head and distract.
But I learned how music evolved and learned from everyday life.
You see, my music is from everyday life, within the system, how
life really turns, how people relate to each other, that’s how
my music is.
The Music of
Ras Midas - Track List
Ras
Midas Web
Links:
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