By MEL COOKE, Freelance WriterWestern Bureau:
WHILE MUSIC HAS taken Louie Culture as far away from his birthplace of Windsor Forest, Portland, as Austria and Japan, being on stage at the Livity Restaurant on Wednesday night was a very special occasion.
"Give thanks. It is a long time. We a foundation," Louie Culture said at Hope Road, St. Andrew restaurant, early into his performance at the launch of his third album, The Uprising. He noted that it was the first time he was having an album launch, this being his third full-length effort.
Album launch
The affair was billed as an album launch party and, after the speeches by Jamaica Federation of Musicians (JFM) president Desmond Young and Roger Grant were out of the way, that is exactly what it was. Grant outlined the history, credentials and vision of Marvin 'Justice' Halsall's Reggae Central, based in Jacksonville, Florida, the outfit handling The Uprising, and which also did Sizzla's Hosanna.
An album by Luciano is next on their agenda.
The talking over, it was a happy Louie Culture who took to the stage, as his Gangalee Band thumped out the rhythm to one of his signature songs, Bogus Badge. He invited the persons who were relatively far from the stage to come closer. "Oonu come fi support Louie Culture an Louie Culture dey yah fi yu," he said and they duly drew much nearer to the stage.
Louie Culture moved from Bogus Badge to the continent of Africa, as he warmed up the party with a reminder of his deep musical roots, doing a take-off of Onward Christian Soldiers, in which he encouraged all to Circle Africa. There were telling lines in:
Let off a lesson to Nelson Mandela
Tell him fi come out a white man cellar
To shelter white rain yu need a black umbrella
His signature song Gangalee got an a capella start before the band came in. Excellence, Education and the chant that 'Babylon fin' de herb' were all well delivered and received.
"Yeah, we a go touch some new tune," Louie Culture said, moving into the title track from The Uprising album.
The song was very well received, but the real 'forward' was to come.
"This one is for all those going through pressure," Louie Culture said. "This one called 'too much pressure on de donkey back'. We say too much pressure on the people back," Louie Culture explained the metaphor.
The band started the mento rhythm, flute sound and all, hips started swaying, Louie Culture hit the lyrics in perfect timing - and the roars for a 'forward' went up.
"Yea man, haffi mek de system know sey yu a feel it," he said.
He had to wheel again several other times including when he hit the third verse, on which the donkey got away, brayed 'hee-haw' and said 'no I am not coming back your way/ I got to find a place where I can kneel an' pray.'
Louie Culture paid respects to Luciano, who features on the track Chant Nyabunghi, and Sizzla, who features on If We No Love. Other songs on the 18-track album are Free Flow Information, Ten Miles From The City, Herb Spice and Roots and Love That Land.
Musical juggling
The party was to take on another dimension, though, as Sizzla joined Louie Culture on-stage. Suddenly there were more people than before inside the Livity Restaurant and they enjoyed themselves immensely as Sizzla started out with Simplicity, alternating songs with Louie Culture, Thriller U also dropping My God Is Real into the mix.
"We waan mek de yutes know de mus' keep de music pon a positive level. We waan de media know sey dem fi keep it pon a level deh too. A long time dem a hol' it, but some negativity still inna it. Nuff a we weh out deh, if we inna music a nuff people dead an we all dead too," Louie Culture said in a break between the selections.
And when the stage performance section of The Uprising launch was over, Chant Nyahbinghi by Luciano and Louie Culture kept the well-wishers gathered inside the Livity Restaurant rocking.
