Yellowman: The Journey Continues - Veteran deejay bemoans state of dancehall

"Dancehall is at a standstill, it stops at Shaggy and Sean Paul. I already put it on the world map, Sean Paul and Shaggy took it to another level. You are not hearing any more dancehall artistes breaking out like them on the international scene," is the sentiment being expressed by the deejay who is dubbed the real king of dancehall by many, Winston 'Yellowman' Foster.

Having recorded over 75 albums, and with a string of hits to his credit, Yellowman expressed the view that the only way for dancehall to earn the respect it once had is for the deejays to "clean it up and start doing songs the world wants to hear," he stressed.

According to Yellowman there is no real growth and even when the artistes claim to be on 'tour' they are just performing in parts of the United States populated by a lot of Jamaicans.

"They have to start doing music that people can dance to instead of just putting something out there," he warned.

Part of the problem, Yellowman feels is that artistes are no longer putting the Creator at the centre. "I understand that a whole lot of entertainers are moving away from the Christian faith to start worshipping the devil for money and vanity -- it's their business, but the thing that gets to me is that the talent they are using belongs to the Almighty God and they are using it for evil."

The popular entertainer hardly performs in his homeland and this he says is something that's deliberate. "Most of the shows I am not going to do it. I don't like certain environment, don't like how some artistes go about misleading and confusing the youths. Entertainment is not about picking sides in dancehall — I'm the people's entertainer, I'm not into that," he stressed.

With the distinction of being one of the first dancehall artistes to be nominated in the Reggae category Yellowman is in high demand on the international circuit. This he accredits to the kind of work he puts out there. He has just wrapped up this year's tour which has seen him performing in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Australia as well as on the European circuit.

"It's just rest, rest and more rest until next March," he shared adding that in between doing a few local gigs he will be commuting to the United States to spend time with his family there.

Yellowman could not hide the pride in his voice as he spoke about his children who now live in the United States.

"My first son is Karil Christopher is now in first year of medical school, he want to be a cardiologist," Yellowman shared adding that his daughter Kareema (you will remember the little girl he used to introduce on stage at Tastee to delight with her voice) is a paramedic.

Quizzed on whether he had dreams of her following his footsteps in the music business, Yellowman was emphatic in his response. "I have always told them that I want them to be better than me. They have to pursue their own path."

Yellowman has an incredible history in Reggae music. His upbringing at the Maxfield Park Children's Home -- an orphanage in Kingston — and being albino in Jamaica were two obstacles the he overcame and went on to be (at one time) the biggest reggae artiste since Bob Marley.

After winning the popular Tastee talent contest in Kingston, he went on to excite reggae crowds all over Jamaica and the rest of the world with his boastful and sometimes bodacious lyrics. His ability to ride rhythm and excite a crowd made Yellow an instant hit in Jamaica. He also began to work with the Ace Sound System in St Thomas and drew big crowds at his dancehall performances. Later in his career, Yellow began to spread out and work for a number of different producers, sometimes releasing as many as five albums per year. This led to a recording contract with CBS Records.

Yellowman recorded one album with them before he was diagnosed with cancer and was given six months to live. This was in 1986. After surgery an extended leave of absence from the record industry, Yellowman began his comeback with the song Blueberry Hill, and his career was re-launched.

The deejay has not looked back since.

With 2010 almost over Yellowman is now getting looking forward to another hectic season in 2011. "It will be the same cycle, nothing will change, this is my purpose in life to entertain the masses and left them enjoy themselves."

Source: Jamaica Observer