Capleton

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Capleton on November 13, 2008 in Spain

Capleton , pseudonym of Clifton George Bailey III , (born April 13, 1967 in Saint Mary Parish ) is a Jamaican reggae singer .

Life

Capleton began in 1990 his career as a reggae and dancehall - Deejay .

Greater success could Capleton with the song Tour won that as part of a hip-hop - Remixes in the US charts was represented. Capleton also briefly received a contract with Def Jam and collaborations with some rappers such as Game or the German-speaking Azad took place .

In 2000 he reached another milestone in his career with the hymn Jah Jah City . With the following albums More Fire (2000), Still Blazin ' (2002) and Reign Of Fire (2004) Capleton was able to celebrate further successes.

Capleton is a member of the so-called Bobo Ashanti movement, a group of the Rastafarian movement, which is based on Prince Emmanuel (Charles Edwards), who is regarded by this movement (next to Haile Selassie as 'Jah Rastafari') as a black messiah ( with titles such as 'Prince Emmanuel Charles Edwards, without Mother or Father, a Priest of Melchezideck for I ever, the Black Christ in Flesh'). Other Bobo Ashanti reggae performers include Anthony B. or Sizzla.

Capleton is also called "the prophet", "Fireman" or "king shango".

His half-sister Aleen Bailey was 2004 Olympic champion with the Jamaican 4 × 100-meter relay.

Musical style

Capleton live at the Bob Marley Birthday Bash 2K6 at the MX3 in Negril

Above all, critics criticize Capleton's dancehall tunes, which are mostly based on a so-called “ punchline ” and convey little content. Above all other Rastafarian interpreters (e.g. Luciano ) criticize that this does not correspond to their philosophy. His roots-reggae tunes, however, are usually excluded from this criticism. Capleton is one of the founders of Conscious Reggae , a modern form of Roots Reggae with mostly spiritual and political texts. Today he is arguably one of the most prominent and committed champions of the philosophy of modern Rastafarianism . His tracks, along with those of Anthony B and Sizzla, are considered to be the most charged and haunted on the scene. Many recordings of his live performances (for example in St Vincent in Jamaica) have almost cult status in reggae circles. He is admired for the enormous emotional expression that he puts in his texts, and in doing so he increases in some forms of ecstasy with which he is able to infect the masses.

Homophobia controversy

Capleton's texts contain partially anti- homosexual passages (also called Battyman tunes ). Concerts outside Jamaica have therefore already been boycotted, canceled or ravaged by protests. In some passages of the text, however, one hears sentences that are not anti-gay, but instead demand equal rights for everyone, such as in the song "That Day will come" in which Capleton sings: Equal rights and justice for all, Rise and never fall

Capleton claims to believe in the principle of "word, sound and power" - that only the honestly spoken, human word is omnipotent and violence is justified only in the rarest of cases (protection of one's own life). He defends his lyrics by arguing that many of the terms of the Rasta philosophy that he reproduces in his songs are misinterpreted. The appeal “Fire bun batty bwoy!” (“May the fire burn the gay!”), For example, should be understood metaphorically. The fire is not understood as a phenomenon of chemical combustion, but as a pictorial expression for the “cleansing power of God”. The rhetorical style in which he condemns the Western system, which ostensibly calls for violence, should not be taken literally, but should represent the anger of the Rastafarians against the world order. Wars, materialism, exploitation, environmental destruction, the unjust distribution of wealth and opportunities, the need to adapt and also the abandonment of the traditional and natural gender relationship between men and women through the establishment of homosexuality in society - Rastafarians find all of this to be rejected, and Capleton is a loud proclaimer of these views.

Critics complain that these backgrounds are not accessible to an average European consumer, since this i. d. Usually I only know the lyrics, but not the further statements of the artist or the Rastafarian philosophy. In addition, some of the statements of the Rastafarian philosophy (in particular with regard to gender roles and homosexuality) contradict the principles of pluralistic western societies. Despite signing the Reggae Compassionate Act (RCA) 2008, a concert in Switzerland and the USA tour 2010 were canceled after new hate videos of him surfaced on YouTube.

Most recently, Capleton stressed that he was against violence and all hatred . He hoped his lyrics would be understood in a metaphorical sense as intended. However, since it was precisely this aspect that led to protests against his person and his appearances in the past, he now assured: "In the future I will take responsibility for avoiding such textual misunderstandings."

In 1994 he was the Rastafari converted .

Discography

Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Singles
trip
  US 57 02/04/1995 (14 weeks)
Wings Of The Morning
  US 79 10/28/1995 (10 weeks)

Singles

  • Lotion Man (1991)
  • Double Trouble feat. General Levy (1992)
  • Alms House (1993)
  • Good So (1994)
  • Prophecy (1995)
  • I Testament (1997)
  • One Mission feat. Anthony B (1998)
  • More Fire (2000)
  • Still Blazin (2002)
  • Reign Of Fire (2004)
  • The People Dem (2004)
  • Free Up (2006)
  • Rebel Heart (2006)
  • Rise Them Up (2007)
  • Bun Friend (June 27, 2008)
  • Liberation Time (Azad feat. Capleton) (2009)
  • I-Ternal Fire (2010)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ canceled hatred singer concert in Basel , queer.de, November 5, 2008
  2. ↑ "Hate singer Capleton cancels US tour" (English)
  3. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento from June 27, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ↑ Chart sources: US
personal data
SURNAME Capleton
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bailey, Clifton George III (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Jamaican dancehall and reggae musician
DATE OF BIRTH April 13, 1967
PLACE OF BIRTH Saint Mary Parish