Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer

Capleton - File

Yesterday we had gone through Capleton's early years in St Mary and reached his first recording, BmbRed, done with the Firehouse Band for producer Phillip 'Fattis' Burrell. Today, he 'hears himself' for the first time.

STAR: So de first time yu hear it was soun system? It woulden be radio.

Capleton: Me waan tell yu sey a me an me ol' lady a trod de day too y'nuh, de firs' time me hear da song deh a pass bout tree different record store downtown y'nuh. Cause me used to deh Techniques, roun' Riley dem, cause me voice bout four ting pon Riley label from dem time deh, so a long time we deh pon de street. A walk from downtown all bout de place, Waterhouse, studio to studio. Cause at one point me sey cho, leggo de work ting now cause every work whe me go an open me mout people sey yow, a was' yu a was' time yasso. So a dem ting deh strengthen me too, fe go out deh. An me a sey Ninja is a great strengt' towards my career.

STAR: No matter wha.

Capleton: No matter wha, even dough im did tek me style an' whatever, but im still open me eye to de business. Ninja wi tell yu, sey me is a man whe wi deh ina de dance an every man go deejay, cause me is not like a up front man or a man whe push tings. Me is a man wi stay so boom an brace an gwaan watch every man. Till every man done work till all inna de mornin' now wen de people dem a go whey, a dem time deh me get de mic. So all dem people whe leave an go outside deh turn forward, cause dem a wonder what is goin' on. Yu overs (Understand)? So we prove weself to de ting man, fe real. Is a inborn ting. Dis is not all about hype an' fame an popularity an publicity. Greater elements surroun' de ting more valuable dan dat. Humility govern de ting.

STAR: You were walking wid yu modda de firs' time yu hear.

Capleton: Yeah.

STAR: How yu feel wen yu hear it?

Capleton: Great.

STAR: Yu did know is you right away?

Capleton: From me hear it me know a me. Call all me ol' lady attention too y'nuh.

STAR: Cause she neva know sey a you.

Capleton: No, she neva know sey a me. She a sey it soun' good, but she no like de bad word (laughter all around). Cause she know me is a yute whe ave culture song, but she no know sey dem time deh yu haffi a sey certain ting fe really, y'nuh, fe get a break an den yu can show de worl' sey a did me did ave, y'nuh. Cause yu know sey more time a gun ting a gwaan an girl ting a gwaan, yu know wha a mean? So yu haffi prove yusself, yu know wha a mean.

STAR: So if it was up to you yu woulda do de culture fe break firs?

Capleton: Fe real, cause a me dat from long time. Dem time deh we inna de Bible from Genesis to Revelation, until de transition to de levels of Rastafari, although we not even reach desso yet, cause it tek me to Def Jam.

STAR: How de name come about dough, Capleton?

Capleton: Oh, Capleton. Capleton come tru a attorney-at-law.

STAR: From St Mary?

Capleton: Yeah, from St Mary.

STAR: So yu have de name Capleton from yu come from St Mary come a town?

Capleton: Yeah man, from me start me ave it. Because me get it mongst me breadren dem y'nuh, cause dem a sey yow. How de name come up is like dem ave a conversation, I wasn't on the scene. So I approach de scene, come hear de argument, get involve, start talk now like me did de deh wen de argument started. So a man se yow yu can talk so man, yu a mus lawyer Capleton. Dem call me lawyer, dem call me Capleton, lawyer Capleton, de whole hundred.

STAR: So, come true now.

Here the interview takes a diversion into a interview (a long interview) on the phone to Ghana. Since his one-week visit to The Gambia the buzz for Africa is on. Then he looks through part of a recording of his Gambia trip and the crowds that came out as he travelled from the airport. When we resume, it is much later and, after a reminder, we are off again into the earlier days, hitting the early 1990s.

STAR: So yu tink wen yu go rastafari dat is when Rastafari reintroduce into dancehall?

Capleton: Mos' definitely. Rastafari was always. I woulden sey re-entry into dancehall, because Rastafari always been there, de whole a de ancient. But like a likkle more strength to de ting. Like me come, whe dem seyÉ Dem sey me come wake up suppen anadda dem time deh. Me a try memba de exac' word dem did use.

STAR: We go true de era wid de gun wid Ninja side an de girls wid Shabba side. An yu come wid Tour. Dat was de firs' Rasta tune from you?

Capleton: No, dat wasn't, cause memba sey me did come wid like de 'Trinity' (he breaks into deejay voice again) "woah if yu dis Marcus, yu mus bite de dus', equal rights an' justice is what he taught us". Dat was before Tour. An den Tour come now an den Light Up De Chalice an den Why Do De Heathen Rage, Wicked a Go Fall. Yu done know, we always love de works of Rastafari. I an I did born Rasta, because we coulden turn Rasta. Every black man an woman a Rasta, cause Rasta is de head a civilisation. Haile Selassie is de head a civilisation. An de word Ras mean head too yu know what ah mean. So whether yu have locks or not, as black man an black woman yu done know. Ras. Cause we deh a de head a de ting. A desso it start from.

STAR: Yu have any special moment when yu decide a it dis?

Capleton: Well, special moment. We see nuff mystic happen. Yu ave one particular one where we draw fe dictionaries an encyclopaedia an Bible, trying to figure out 'Selah'. An de dictionary an encyclopaedia sey 'Selah' is a word of unknown meanin'. (He goes through a number of possible meanings).

One a sey perhaps, one a sey probably. An me a sey now, if yu don' know de meanin of de word, why contemplate it? Den yu a try to stray my heavens (mind), because de dictionary suppose to tell me de meanin' of de word an de encyclopaedia suppose to tell me de meaning of de word, so why it a tell me de word is dis an de word is dat? Firs' yu sey is a word of unknown meanin' dat mean yu shoulden even a speculate. An wen me examine de whole ting me sey de closes' ting to Selassi is Selah, so me figure dem a try hide suppen right desso. Me have a likkle baby in dem time deh sey Selassie I. Police faint wid im gun, me see de soldier freeze like im no know wha a gwaan. Me see so much natural mystic happen an we did know sey de powers of Rastafari did ago lead I to da dimension ya, cause I an I did done born as a godly yute from dem time deh, love de Almighty but no really know a im.

Tomorrow: the Def Jam years.