POPULAR sound system operator Caveman, in association with deejay Sizzla, was instrumental in the establishment of a recording studio in Zimbabwe and is now constructing another in South Africa.
At the start of the year Sizzla, who one newspaper from the continent reports, has since christened himself Ishe Sizzla Kalonji, was invited to Zimbabwe, courtesy of that country’s tourism authority in conjunction with the Ministry of Media, Information and Publicity, to participate in the 21st February Movement Gala and President Robert Mugabe’s 86th birthday celebration.
Included in Ishe Sizzla’s entourage was Caveman (Everton Moore), who gained widespread attention at home and abroad for his sound system called Caveman International High Power, through which he has introduced many to numerous Jamaican artistes, including Sizzla.
Although Sizzla has been back from Zimbabwe since April, Caveman has just returned only two weeks ago. “The 21st February Movement Youth movement is a programme that President Mugabe initiated for the youths dem coinciding with his 86th birthday. So he invited Sizzla Kalonji and myself to be there… I stayed there to set up a studio called Munuhputah,” Caveman told Splash.
“Because when we went there,” he continued, “we heard that Bob Marley, when he was going to perform there, buy a brand new PA system and left it. He never took it out of the country. And they have Bob as a National Hero there.”
Having said that, the first cousin of Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry added: “The studio is up and running. The people dem need reggae and there is no one there to get it going. But mi have programmes running, and mi have a next studio setting up in South Africa, too. Went there for two months and stayed for seven months. It’s so overwhelming, it’s like the people dem need help, the people dem need reggae and there’s no one there to help them get it going. ”
Still excited about the experience of his first sojourn to Africa, Caveman also spoke about his trip to Ghana, all of which came about because of his his lifelong relationship with Sizzla.
Expressing his deep appreciation for this opportunity which connected him to his ancestry, Caveman, who is in possession of a return ticket to Africa, admitted, “It is the best thing that ever happened to me. That I could go back and touch the Motherland and say yes… I feel so connected going there and being among the people dem. The people dem make me feel at home.
“I don’t know when the Western world will catch up to where Africa is now. In terms of infrastructure, in terms of good livity. I was so surprised when I went there and I said to myself, why the Western media keep miseducating the people dem. Mi go deh and see fi myself what is what.”
Source: JamaicaObserver
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