Jah Ghatti

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Jah Ghatti
Astute is just the word to describe this artiste known to music industry as Jah Ghatti, simply because it is as a result of his good judgment that his hallowed sound has captivated the ears of his many fans especially in his community of Grants Pen.
Introduced to the world on the 21st of September 1974 as Delmar Orlando Valentine, Jah Ghatti was born at 26 Shortwood Road in St. Andrew in the once volatile community of Grants Pen. Just as quickly as he took his first steps, the roller coaster of life began a rolling, as his young life became one of many moves that only a chess piece could relate to. His first move was with his mother to Mt. Nebo, Guyshill in St. Mary then it was to St. Catherine, where he was relinquished to his father and stepmother at a place called Mt. Mooreland, Richard Hall where he attended the Mt. Mooreland Primary school but just for awhile as they moved again. This time it was with his father and his stepmother to Clarendon where his father is originally from, there he attended the Mocho Primary School. Yet again, he experienced a move to Passage Fort then to Water Fort from there to Richings Avenue to live with his aunts. At the time he was approximately 9 or 10 years old and he then returned to the place of his birth, the place where he would come to bring upliftment to his people and to himself- he along with his mother nested at Lady Huggins Avenue. He then began high school but not in Kingston, it was in Clarendon that he began his voyage into secondary school system. There in Clarendon, he attended the Lennon Secondary High but only for 1st form, next September he started attending one of Jamaica’s traditional high schools- Calabar High through to 4th form. After high school, Jah Ghatti did basic and advanced computer skills at the now defunct Jamaica Consortium Development.
Think a man not less than what he is because of his simply ways, but instead, give him the respect he desires and deserves. Being a product of the ghetto, there is a fallacy that follows, that “nothing good can come out of it,” but a rising artiste like Jah Ghatti has obviously redefined that notion and has set high standards and goals for himself and naturally has relied on what he possess to get what is his- his piece of the pie of the music fraternity in Jamaica and ultimately the world. Jah Ghatti believes that the ghetto has pushed him to exude his masculinity and has obviously allowed him to stand out as the self proclaimed “Revolutionist and not a political activitist;” to him, his ghetto life is the best life. Though one might be exposed to the negative elements of the ghetto it does not have to become you. Someone once said, “Negativity cannot survive on its own but positivity can.” What this simply means is that you decide who you are and who you want to be, and that Jah Ghatti did.
“It all began when I wrote a song about a girl I like when I was about 10/11 years old, her name was Fredericka”, cliché it might sound but that is how it began for most if not all musician-at a tender age. Realizing that he has a talent is good but when he began to hone it, it became great. “Mi used to do bare crude gangsta tune an a bare forward mi get from the friend dem cause mi rhymes dem mad. Yuh see, from yuh see Ghatti, a music…” But before he realized that he was Jah’s instrument to spread the message of Rastafari, Jah Ghatti went by the name John Gotti that was befitting to his persona at the time, given to him by a man in Tivoli Garden, for obvious reasons. It was not until he was recording a song by Fagan Avenue for Mo’ Money Sound that it came to him that Jah Ghatti was his appropriate name to go by. By this time Jah Ghatti was already hanging and doing recording with well know artistes, he linked with Sean P-izzy, did a show with Turbulance, done works with the Steppa Brothers from Barbican, shows in Cooreville Gardens, Barbican, full-dorse Sanchez dance “Sexilous” by Stand Pipe. Whetting his skills on his own has seen this rose pushing through the concretes of the ghetto to become a failure of the Babylonian system. Now Jah Ghatti’s crude ‘killer’ rhymes have been traded in for the love of beautiful positive, cultural music. Today, Jah Ghatti calls his message “songs of joy and redemption songs. My message is one that will give hope, help you with how to cope with things. When my friends heard that I was singing and what I was now singing about, dem can’t believe it, cause dem use to mi a dj gangsta tune. Mi just never have anytime for gangsta nuh more- more me.” What has provided him with the additional push and maintenance of positive music is the fact that he has his daughter, Jahmeilia Amoy Valentine- the light of his world, his joy, born December 25th 2004. He has enjoyed himself “a dj wid Chain Gang, Johnny Cool, Chicken-Mr. Chicken (now)-Little Ritchie and Dodigan (R.I.P.)
With influential, veteran musician, Dennis “Jah D” Fearon, living in his community, Jah Ghatti could do no better than to find himself seeking words of comfort, which he always received. “Jah D tell mi seh mi blessed and have a power and strength. This taught me how to deal with rage and to know my hidden potential.” And that he has done. He emulates the man he describes as “The Magician”-Diavallan “Music Addict” Fearon, known to many in the music world simply as “Dia.” Dia, he says proved to him “that it can happen and will happen. He helped mi do it; Big up Builders fi life.” It was while, he was “sitting in” with Dia that he was provided the opportunity to voice his song “Jail House”. “Mi never know mi coulda sing so- so naturally, mi feel like mi deh pon a stage show or on a cloud. After that, everybody know ‘Jail House’, component set come out and ‘Jail House’ a play and even put it pon repeat, Mi get crazy compliments from Kibaki, Flex, Movado, Jagwa, Singing Sweet, plus whole a Grants Pen a full-dorse mi ting.” His greatest driving force is his daughter, who has inspired him to this point. He admires the Bob Marley’s performances/ the expression on his face when he is bringing the message across, Steel Pulse’s singing that gives him a pushing force towards his dreams of music; Joseph “Culture” Hill- for his unique way (sound and actions) of delivering message; Burning Spear with his naturally relaxed flow. He really admires his brethren Kibaki because he is multitalented and for his genuine, honest and upright characteristics.
His innumerable list of songs include Mr. Hold Down; A Nuh My Girl Dat; Life is Hard; Beautiful Empress; Meagering Down; Love; Vulture; Positive; No Ordinary Love; Get it Right; Elders; Hail the King; Murderer; Judgment Time; My Pen; Virus (as the name suggest it is about the deadly virus that is sweeping the underprivileged-promoting safe sex); Revolutionist; Jah’s Help; Sleepy Eyes and his first cultural hit song “Jail House” done in 2005. This does not complete his list of achievements, as he has done interviews with Quiz from RETV, “On the Corner” with Tavia (now hosted by Empress and Stephen Golding) on News Talk 93 fm and even been in a Yogi video. With all this, Jah Ghatti has been making waves for himself in this wide ocean called the Jamaican music industry. See, Jah Ghatti thinks himself as a very hard working Rasta man and he is a believer in what he is doing and that for one, is probably the most important thing he has done for himself. What really hits you about Jah Ghatti’s character is that he is very concerned about how his music reaches the people, so he is dedicated to making sure that people are actually get the right message that he is sending. He says he is not concerned with bragging about guns, bling bling or disrespecting women but is about sharing and caring. While doing all this, he has worked on the side to maintain himself and his family; he has worked at Dr. Ford’s Tyre Shop on Half Way Tree Road patching tyres. Those days are of old and he is now an ital chef, busy churning his many stews, porridges and natural juices.
The sky is the limit for Jah Ghatti and he expects to get everything good that is there to get with worldwide establishment like Bob Marley and Peter Tosh and making his own mark like the great Marcus Garvey. His underlying philosophy is that he deals “with no discrimination, we just need to mesh and work together.” Jah Ghatti is a real constructive artiste who sings for everybody. “Jah Ghatti is just Jah Ghatti. The road I trod is filled with rock stones,” but Jah Ghatti is just floating by as he aims for the sky.