Sizzla

Sizzla

Sizzla Kalonji, or simply Sizzla is the stage name of Miguel Orlando Collins (born 17 April 1976 in Saint Mary, Jamaica), a reggae musician and Rastafarian.

Career

The 1980s witnessed a dancehall explosion, and with the music came the lifestyle: Love and talent "slackness" (vulgarity). Sizzla watched carefully, collecting his lyrical ammunition. Formally adopting the Rastafari faith, with its no-holds-barred advocacy of repatriation, slavery reparations and the use of ganja, he joined the ranks of the Bobo Ashanti in the mid-1990s.

Sizzla began to develop his own style whilst serving his musical apprenticeship with the Caveman Hi-Fi sound system. He has used his music as a vehicle for his message, kickstarting his recording career in 1995 with a release through the Zagalou label, he then teamed up with "Bobby Digital" Dixon for a series of singles. Extensive touring with fellow roots and culture artist Luciano followed, earning Sizzla critical acclaim.

Jermaine Fagan, the same man who gave Buju Banton his first break, introduced Sizzla to top Jamaican saxophonist Dean Fraser, the musical director for Philip "Fatis" Burrell's Xterminator Family. Fatis was delighted with Sizzla's potential and decided to record him. 1996 marked an important turning point for Sizzla when he began working with Fatis. This union led to a run of successful singles and the release of Sizzla's debut album, Burning Up. The alliance again proved fruitful a year later with the follow-up, Praise Ye Jah . Securing his position as a top reggae artist, as well as one with something to say, he set about cultivating his role as a spiritual messenger. Sizzla's combination of Rasta principles and up-to-the-minute dancehall rhythms made his hard line approach more palatable.

Creatively speaking, Sizzla really came into his own with the release of Praise Ye Jah. Praise Yeh Jah was quickly trumped by the release of the Dixon-produced Black Woman & Child that same year. The title track was a smash hit and became something of a cultural reggae anthem. Sizzla scored several more hits during 1997, including "Like Mountain," "Babylon Cowboy," "Kings of the Earth," and the Luciano duet "Build a Better World." This hot streak kicked off an enormously productive recording binge that lasted over the next several years, with much of his output still done for Burrell.

Bearing all the hallmarks of Bobby "Digital" Dixon's dancehall-influenced production, the impact on both the reggae and mainstream markets was phenomenal. The evocative title track, issued as a single, rapidly achieved anthemic status. Along with universal praise came Sizzla's first nomination for Best International Reggae Artist of the Year at the 1998 MOBO Awards and a place in various magazines' top 100 albums of the year. Sizzla has since released several dozen albums, including 1998's Kalonji and Royal Son of Ethiopia from 1999. 1999 also saw him receive his second MOBO nomination. Sizzla remains a constant presence in the reggae charts worldwide.

Sizzla has an ability to fuse passionate lyrical styling with deceptively simple rhythms that take in a range of genres from staccato dancehall and gentle roots reggae to surprisingly commercial R&B and soul arrangements. The opening track of the album Bobo Ashanti, "The World", is a modern take on the pulsing dub beat and a call to conquer the West by rejoicing in Rastafari. Sizzla's plea for truth on "Courage" from the same album is set against a lilting guitar hook. He asks the ghetto youths to follow King Selassie and "Grow U Locks" on a punching dancehall rhythm. The R&B-influenced closing track of the album Must Rise is an earnest appeal to black people to find strength in unity.

Sizzla, along with reggae recording artists such as Capleton, Buju Banton, and Anthony B, are credited with leading a movement toward a re-embracement of Rastafarian values in contemporary reggae music by recording material which is concerned primarily with spirituality and social consciousness, explores common themes, such as Babylon's corrupting influence, the disenfranchisement of ghetto youth, oppression of the black nation and Sizzla's abiding faith in Jah and resistance against perceived agents of oppression. Sizzla has over 30 full completed albums sold in record stores to date.

Religious beliefs

Sizzla subscribes to the Bobo Ashanti branch of the Rastafari movement, known for its orthodoxy in terms of its stringent rejection of values associated with western culture and colonialism. The "Bobos" stand against all forms of oppression or modern day slavery, which have been forced on them by Babylon, the western world. Shunning institutionalized education and religion they have built self-sufficient communities and live frugally according to their strict beliefs. The Bobos' refusal to toe the establishment line, together with their often controversial pro-change diatribes, inspires supporters and alarms opponents. Sizzla's songs speak to poverty and hopelessness that pervades young Jamaica and obviously oppressed youths worldwide.

Like Bob Marley generations before him, Sizzla's message addresses social issues such as poverty, homelessness, police brutality, cultural pride and political and religious oppression.

On June 15, 2007 Sizzla signed The Reggae Compationate Act solidifying his dedication and comittment towards upholding a philosophy of love, respect and understanding towards all human beings as the cornerstone of reggae music. The Reggae Compassionate Act calls on a return to the following principles as the guiding vision for the future of a healthy Reggae music community:

• Positive Vibrations
• Consciousness raising
• Social and Civic Engagement
• Democracy and Freedom
• Peace
• Mother Nature
• Equal Rights and Justice
• One Love
• Individual Rights
• Humanity

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Discography

Albums

• Burning up (September 5, 1995)
• Black Woman & Child (September 16, 1997)
• Praise Ye Jah (October 21, 1997)
• Kalonji (Europe) / Freedom Cry (U.S.A.) (November 9, 1998)
• Good Ways (December 21, 1998)
• Royal Son of Ethiopia (Jun 22, 1999)
• Be I Strong (Nov 2, 1999)
• Liberate Yourself (February 1, 2000)
• Words of Truth (August 29, 2000)
• Bobo Ashanti (August 31, 2000)
• Taking Over (June 19, 2001)
• Rastafari Teach I Everything (September 4, 2001)
• Black History (June 26, 2001)
• Blaze Up the Chalwa (January 22, 2002)
• Ghetto Revolutionary (September 24, 2002)
• Up In Fire (October 1, 2002)
• Hosanna (November 11, 2002)
• Da Real Thing (November 19, 2002)
• Rise To The Occasion (September 30, 2003)
• Light Of My World (April 22, 2003)
• Red Alert (January 27, 2004)
• Speak Of Jah (February 24, 2004)
• Judgement Yard (Aprilbribri 14, 2004
• Stay Focus (August 24, 2004)
• Jah Knows Best (June 8, 2004)
• Life (October 12, 2004)
• Soul Deep (July 12, 2005)
• Brighter Day (March 8, 2005)
• Burning Fire (March 29, 2005)
• Da Real Live Thing (August 30, 2005)
• Jah Protect (March 14, 2006)
• Ain't Gonna See Us Fall (April 4, 2006)
• Waterhouse Redemption (May 5, 2006)
• The Overstanding (October 17, 2006)
• Children of Jah (April 3, 2007)
• I-Space (June 26, 2007)

External links

• Official website
• Sizzla Kalonji and Judgement Yard