Asked about Kiddus I, reggae lovers will immediately connect your name to the movie "Rockers". How did you get involved in that project?
Kiddus I: "I was recording 'Graduation In Zion' in Harry J studio back in 1976, when Jack Ruby brought in Ted Bafaloukos. When he saw me doing the song, Ted asked me to repeat the scene for the movie, so that's what I did two years later."
For years now, rumours about a sequel to the movie have been circulating. Is there any truth to the story?
Kiddus I: "Yes, if Ted, the producer, hadn't died four years ago, it would have been finished by now, but things being as they are, we're still looking for a new producer and funding at this time. The idea is that it will be an extension to the original "Rockers" movie, but set in the present time."
What does your stage name stand for and how did you come by it?
Kiddus I: "From when I was a little boy, people called me "Kid" or "Kid Bangarang" because I loved playing cowboys and Indians. That name kind of stuck. When I got older I decided to change it to Kiddus, which means "the blessed one", on of the mystic names of the Almighty."
If we look at your musical output, your catalogue is rather limited. Was that a conscious choice on your part or just pure bad luck?
Kiddus I: "The time wasn't right and nothing happens before its time. At one point I was the most recorded artist in Jamaica, but nothing ever got released. On top of that I've lost several master tapes of my recordings. Recently I rediscovered two old albums and I've also been recording some new material, so there's plenty to look forward to in the near future (at the time of publishing the French Makasound label has just released Kiddus' first full album 'Green Fa Life', red.)."
The Japanese label Dubstore records released an anthology of the tunes you recorded in the seventies...
Kiddus I: "Yeah, that's part of a three part record set. The second one contains tracks I recorded in New York in the period from 1978 to 1981 and is called 'Jah Power, Jah Glory'."
For the Makasound label you recorded an album for their Inna Di Yard series. Is that Inna Di Yard project something people in Jamaica know about?
Kiddus I: "It's slowly catching on. We recently performed a show there, featuring the whole Ina Di Yard experience. The people who had already heard about the project were very positive about it, but the general public hasn't really heard of it yet."
In an article about the concert that was recently published in the Jamaica Observer, you were called "a reggae cult icon". Is that a title you can live with?
Kiddus I: "(laughs) I've been called that since the seventies. Back then I was the leader of an artist commune. I've always played my part in music, arts and culture and at the same time I've been exploring the revolutionary experience of the mind, trying to change the way people perceive certain things. Just to tell you that that description doesn't surprise me."
Back then you were strongly involved in what was called the Peace Movement; the actions of which eventually resulted in the Peace Treaty (In a strange turn of events, rival gangsters Bucky Marshall and Claudie Massop, were caged in the same jail cell and ended up hammering out grounds for a truce: a "peace concert" to alleviate the violence. Bob Marley, Jamaica's reggae music icon with an international following, would be the key in bringing intransigent Manley and Seaga supporters to share music of reconciliation and redemption, at Kingston National Stadium on April 22, 1978, red.). Is that concept passé now? I'm asking this cause in the current climate in Jamaica an organisation like that seems more vital than ever.
Kiddus I: "It is more vital than ever, both in Jamaica and in the world, but I fear it will only get better after it gets worse. (laughs) A lot of it is up to the individual. You as an individual shouldn't yield to the temptation of letting your anger and frustrations take the upper hand. The more people who understand that, the better things in the world will become. It's not just Jamaica; right now the world is experiencing the consequences of the actions of the "banksters", plunging the world into economical crisis and the people into economical slavery."
One of your best known tunes, 'Security In The Streets', was recorded for Lee Perry...
Kiddus I: "I recorded it at the Black Ark studio, but I produced it myself."
Back then, Lee Perry was in what is now called his X period, where he was marking all kinds of objects with an X.
Kiddus I: "When he had his spiritual transition, he started to see "x" as the missing factor. (laughs) The "x" is like a cross and at the same time it's a balance, because if you just put a "u" at the end you get the infinity symbol. The "x" is like a balance between the yin and the yang, the negative and the positive; the important thing being how you deal with that balance. At that period Lee Perry started x-ing out anything you could imagine. Everywhere you looked, things were marked with an x. In the Black Ark studio, all the portraits on the wall of the artists Scratch had worked with were x-ed out, except mine of course! Mystic times! (laughs)"
When Perry was on a trip like that, was he still easy to work with?
Kiddus I: "Well, I can only say I got on with him. Somehow, I still managed to communicate with him. When I left New York in the early eighties, Lee moved into my flat in Manhattan and by that time he had even become weirder than during that whole x period. We still communicated, but he was clearly in a mystical state where he was able to cut people off and walk free. In Jamaica he was hounded by all kinds of people wanting this and that and by transgressing into this state he allowed himself to become free and light again. (laughs)"
For the Inna Di Yard project as well as for the "Natural Mystic" DVD, you're always working side by side with Earl 'Chinna' Smith. How would you describe your relationship with him?
Kiddus I: "Chinna is like my younger brother. We've been close ever since the early seventies when we both played together with Ras Michael and The Sons of Negus. Through the years Chinna has become a close associate and a good brethren."
In the "Natural Mystic" DVD, you and Chinna take up the role as tour guides in Kingston.
Kiddus I: "Yeah, we took these guys to places where normally they couldn't have gone by themselves and showed them some of the history and background of the Jamaican music industry."
What was striking about the documentary though, is how it showed that virtually everything has severely decayed or even disappeared completely.
Kiddus I: "It's sad, yes. These places held so much vibrations and history, so to see them decay and turn into a dump is hard to watch. I think we're experiencing a revival now though, and the Inna Di Yard experience is part of that. Artists and musicians of all sorts gather in Chinna's yard to reason and, if the vibe is right, pick up an instrument and play music. Back in the seventies I was part of a similar thing on Oxford Road (Kiddus operated a Rasta commune and crafts centre at 1C Oxford Road, Kingston; its location at the juncture of Uptown and Downtown meant persons of all social strata could meet in a harmonious atmosphere, red.). The artists that gather there are all people of substance, no egos or individualism, so whatever will come of it, it will always be positive."
You once said: "Words are very important, because you can mislead with words and you can at the same time stimulate by the very word." What is your opinion then on the issue of the Jamaican Broadcasting Corporation deciding to ban certain songs because of words that are used in them?
Kiddus I: "When I grew up, certain words or sentences you weren't expected to use. What you offer your public influences them. Personally I believe it's our duty as artists to help and instil values in our youths. We used to have burlesque clubs in Jamaica, where only adults were allowed to enter and hear and see certain things. If you were caught or heard as a youth saying certain things or words, you'd get a slap. The freedom we have created now has resulted in a bombardment of the senses of our youths. Young kids are now being exposed to explicit material of all sorts, just because it sells. I understand where the JBC is coming from, because some of these tunes even get to me. It's just sickening sometimes. I don't want to digest that and I'm certain I don't want my kids digesting that type of music either. If you want to listen to it though, see to it that it's in the right place and for the right audience."