Jahmark & the Soulshakers

Music:

Member Since: 10/26/2005
Band Website: jahmark.com
Band Members: Jahmark (Lead Vocal, Rhythm Guitar)
Cedric Bravo (Saxophone, Vocal)
Casey Jones (Drums, Vocal)
Mark Tyson (Lead Guitar, Vocal)
David King (Bass Guitar)
Rudy Richardson (Keyboards)

Influences: Interests

music obviously, metaphysics, world history, travelling, film-making, photography, writing, soccer (real FOOTball), snorkelling (especially in crystal clear, reef-filled tropical waters), dancing, hiking, table-tennis, camping, bicycling, backgammon, fishing, re-establishing the Imperial Monarchy of the Rainbow Kingdom of the Living God upon the Face Of The Earth, etc. ...like a wise man once said, "One Love, One Heart, let's get together and feel alright" ;0)

Music

Musically, to my estimation, the greatest musical artists of the 20th century are BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS and THE BEATLES for these two bands did more than any others on an international level to promote the worldwide rememberance and resurrection of a little simple but often overlooked thing called UNIVERSAL LOVE! Of course, whether directly or indirectly, they were inspired and influenced by the pioneers who came before them and so we must give our due respect to the music of artists like Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddly, James Brown, Curtis Mayfield, etc. As far as child prodigies go, no one and I mean no one beats Michael Jackson in this category, and certainly Ray Charles, B.B. King, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Percy Sledge, Wilson Pickett, Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Kool & The Gang, The Temptations, Sly & The Family Stone, Earth Wind & Fire all deserve the highest honorable mentions as well for being the true pioneers of the musical formulas that bring about the hit songs that we hear on our radios today...supreme respect for artists like Louis Jordan, Roscoe Gordon, Big Joe Turner, and brother Fats Domino (and his own special brand of New Orleans R & B). The early sounds of these artists in combination with traditional Jamaican Mento music in the 50s is what led to the eventual internationally popular genres of various Jamaican style music that we hear on the air-waves today, whether Ska, Rock Steady, Reggae, Dancehall, or Ragga. Mento is a blend of African and European musical traditions dating back to the late 1800s. It reached its golden age in the 1950s with artists such as Lord Tanamo, Count Lasher, and Lord Flea.

When it comes to Rasta Nyahbingi music (or the "Music of the I-ncient African Drum"), Count Ossie & The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari know a thing or two about a thing or two, maximum respect where respect due...To look at Jamaican music in particular, this music that is now accepted as "international" could not have attained such status without the foundation work in the 50s of such legends as Coxsone Dodd (Studio One), Duke Reid (Treasure Isle), and Joe Higgs, as well as the dub-pioneers of the 60s, Lee "Scratch" Perry (Black Ark) and King Tubby...again, in the case of Jamaican music, the highest honorable mentions must also be given to Theophilus Beckford, Cluet Johnson, Prince Buster and The Skatalites (comprising of Jamaican jazz musicians, some from the 40s, such as Ernest Ranglin, Jackie Mittoo, Roland Alphonso, Don Drummond, Tommy McCook, Lester Sterling, etc.). These were the 50s to 60s pioneers of Ska music. 'Nuff respect to Count Matchuki, Sir Lord Comic, and King Stitt (the 60s pioneers of DJ toasting), Desmond Dekker, Alton Ellis, Ken Boothe, The Heptones, The Melodians, The Paragons, The Ethiopians (the 60s pioneers of Rock Steady), Toots Hibbert (who coined the word "Reggae" in the late 60s), Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, Sly & Robbie, Roots Radics, Jimmy Cliff, Jacob Miller & Inner Circle, Black Uhuru, Sugar Minott, Burning Spear, Culture, Israel Vibration, Wailing Souls, Steel Pulse, Aswad, Third World, Ijahman Levi, Barrington Levy, Ras Michael, etc. (all of whom helped to popularize Roots Reggae Music in the 70s), U-Roy, Big Youth and I-Roy (popularized DJ toasting in the 70s), Linton Kwesi Johnson, Oku Onuora, Mutabaruka (original dub poets of the 70s and 80s), Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, Freddie McGregor, and Maxi Priest (the 70s and 80s Lover's Rock specialists), Dean Fraser (Jamaica's premier sax-man), King Yellowman, Supercat, Tiger, Lt. Stitchie, Josey Wales, Charlie Chaplain, Brigadier Jerry, Michigan & Smiley, and the original "sing-jay" Eek-A-Mouse (carried DJ toasting solidly forward into the 80s). It is because of this rich musical culture why we have the likes of artists like Shaggy, Sean Paul, Jr. Gong, and even Matisyahu doing their reggae*ragga*hip-hop thing today...

In the 60s and 70s, many Jamaicans migrated to New York. The Dancehall music of U-Roy, Big Youth, Scotty, and I-Roy gained popularity in the 70s. The youth of NY began tuning in and before you could say "one, two, three...", Hip-Hop artists such as Kool DJ Herc, DJ Hollywood, Afrika Bambaataa (all first or second generation Americans of Caribbean ancestry), The Sugarhill Gang, and Grandmaster Flash (late 70s), began to emerge. Their lyrics were built around more jokes, anecdotes, and a sprinkling of social commentary (as in the case of Afrika Bambaataa). During the 80s, artists such as Public Enemy, Kurtis Blow, Run DMC and The Fat-Boys took Hip-Hop music to much greater heights. In the case of Public Enemy, maximum respect to PE for some truly radical, thought-provoking and Conscious Hip-Hop music...their lyrical messages were so loaded with Consciousness that it made the "status quo" squirm whenever and wherever they heard their music. After the passing of Bob Marley in the early 80s the I-niversal message of One Love to be found in conscious Roots Reggae Music began to take a back seat to the "new" slackness and violence lyrics of Raggamuffin "Ragga" Music (the mid-80s precursor to late 80s / early 90s Gangsta Rap). Some of the leading names associated with Ragga music genre are Shabba Ranks, Daddy Freddy, Ninjaman, Cutty Ranks, Beenie Man, Capleton, Buju Banton, Wayne Wonder, Pinchers, Mad Cobra, Chakademus & Pliers, Bounty Killer, Merciless, Sizzla, and Cocoa Tea (some of these artists managed to produce conscious lyrics even within this period of Jamaican music). In the late 80s, it was the speed-talkin' Ragga artist, Daddy Freddy, who first fused Ragga and Hip-Hop music together. Not long after that, the first Gangsta Rap album was introduced by the N.W.A. posse (or "Niggaz With Attitude"), whose members at the time comprised of the likes of Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and Eazy-E. Not long after, artists such as Ice T, P Diddy, Snoop Doggy Dog, Jay Z, etc. began to gain recognition. In the 90s, Gangsta Rap eventually hit mainstream...As far as the mainstream Gangsta Rap revolution of the 90s goes, there was Tupac and Biggie Smalls (of Jamaican ancestry). Brother Tupac Shakur was more than just a hip-hop artist, he was a conscious stream of knowledge translated into the language of hip-hop, as in it was "so much more about the man" than his music, 'nuff respect...the music of Eminem, 50 Cent (also of Jamaican ancestry), and The Game is only as great as the greats who went before them.

In the meantime, in reaction to the slackness and violence lyrics of Ragga music and Gangsta rap, conscious Roots Reggae Music artists began to emerge again in Jamaica around the mid 90s in the form of Luciano, Tony Rebel and a reformed Buju Banton. While Jamaicans are striving to return to Consciousness lyrics, we find that in the Latino community there has been evolving a music, based on Jamaican Dancehall Ragga music and Gangsta Rap styled slackness and violence lyrics, known as Reggaeton. Some trace the "roots" of this music to Panama, not realizing that a vast majority of Jamaican labor went into the building of the Panama Canal in the early 1900s. The generations of those who remained in Panama since then have maintained a close affiliation to their Jamaican heritage, especially musically. The main beat of Reggaeton music is borrowed from the 90s song "Dem Bow" by Ragga artist, Shabba Ranks. Not long after, Panamanian artist El General did a re-make "Son Bow" which served as the foundation for the emergence of Reggaeton. One of the more popular Reggaeton artists today is known as Daddy Yankee...and the struggle continues, will it be the original One Love message filled God-Consciousness of Roots Rock Reggae, or the sexually explicit and violence filled lyrics of Ragga, Gangsta Rap, and Reggaeton that will eventually win over the minds, hearts, and souls of our youth?! the "new world order" is making every effort through huge bribes of "benjamins and bling-bling" to ensure that it's the latter. In fact, one could say that they are "banking" on it...less Gangsta Rap, more Conscious Hip-Hop, and Babylon and dem "new world order" drop, flop, and pop...WAKE UP AND LIVE MY PEOPLE !!! a wise man once said, "why gain the world just to lose your own soul ?" Go deh Jah Cure ! Go deh Abijah ! Go deh Gyptian! Maximum love and respect to all conscious Roots Reggae artists in this time of here and now who continue to steadfastly chant down Babylon, and to courageously carry the majestic red, gold, and green Banner of Creation forward into I-ration...One Love, One Heart, let's get together and feel alright ;0)

Of course we cannot forget that whether in the Caribbean, or North and South America, those Africans who were enslaved arrived on these shores with the beat of African drums pounding in their hearts, and it is this which is the REAL ROOT of all so-called "popular music". Maximum respect to Fela, Baaba Maal, King Sunny Ade, etc. JAH bless Africa for-I-ver! All of these nuances listed above, whether perceived as positive or negative, can be listed as influences on not only the music of Jahmark & The Soulshakers music, but on a vast majority of artists on the air-waves today if they could take the time out to be truly open and honest enough about it. Artists such as No Doubt, Boy George, The Clash, and The Police (Sting's vocals are very reminiscent of David Hinds vocals of Steel Pulse if one really listens) have at least been open about the massive Reggae influence on their music. I enjoy listening and dancing to all kinds of music besides Reggae as long as it honestly stirs something POSITIVE inside me. Big props to guitar virtuosos Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana, George Benson, Eric Clapton and The Edge. I truly appreci-love and embrace the music of various cultures, and I love dancing to salsa music!

Movies

Countryman, Rockers, Harder They Come, Ali, Malcolm X, Mississippi Burning, Hotel Rwanda, John Q, Lords Of War, The Green Mile, Ray, Mo' Better Blues, Monster's Ball, Remember The Titans, The Scorpion King, Geronimo: An American Legend, Dances With Wolves, Last Of The Mohicans, Walkout, The Last Emperor, Enter The Dragon, Memoirs Of A Geisha, Braveheart, Pay It Forward, War Of The Worlds, Deliverance, The Excorcist, Misery, Cool Runnings, Dave Chappelle's Block Party, Club Paradise, The Wedding Crashers, Be Cool, Shark Tale, Finding Nemo, etc.

Television

The Chapelle Show, Shaka Zulu mini-series, Roots mini-series, Into The West mini-series, The X-Files, HBO Comedy Specials, The History Channel, Comedy Central, Discovery, Saturday Night Live, Animal Planet, National Geographic, etc.

Heroes

I 'n I family and relatives (for it has been proven to I 'n I over and over again in life that blood is so much thicker than water especially at the most crucial of times...for how can there be love out in the world without there being first and foremost true, "love inna di house"), I 'n I very good and trusted friends, a.k.a. I 'n I bredren and sistren (for the many joyous times and for their continued support in I 'n I endeavors, and for not being "yes men / yes women" at times when an honest opinion is called for)...

Emperor Haile Selassie 1 (Father of the fatherless, and Husband to the widows), Marcus Garvey, Bob Marley, Rosa Parks, John Lennon, Nelson Mandela, Bruce Lee, Queen Nefertiti, Muhammad Ali, Cochise, Peter Tosh, Empress Menen, Martin Luther King, Nanny, the Dali Lama, Hannibal, Queen of Sheba, Chief Sitting Bull, Ptah-Hotep, King Solomon, Pele, Angela Davis, Mohondas Gandhi, Cudjoe, Princess Di, Jomo Kenyatta, Leonard Howell, Geronimo, Pharaoh Akhenaton, Queen Isis-Meri, Saladin, Malcolm X, Paul Bogle, Moctezuma, Pharaoh Rameses, etc., NOT Rambo, nor the Terminator, nor Tarzan, nor Tom Cruise, nor Britney Spears, etc., get it?! generally when I think of heroes I think of SUBSTANCE not of fantastically cunning distractions, ha-ha ;0) this does not mean that I would not see a Tom Cruise movie or say hi to Britney if our paths happened to cross but everything in its proper perspective, seen?!

Also last but not least, I have got to say that some of I 'n I biggest heroes are I 'n I enemies, especially those who try to disguise themselves as "friends" at I 'n I dinner table so to speak (for it is they who most of all who have taught I 'n I HOW NOT TO BE on this wonderful and glorious journey called LIFE...SELAH !!!).

Books

Proverbs of Ptah-Hotep, Psalms of Akhenaton, The 42 Principles of Maat, The Autobiography of Haile Selassie 1, Utterances of H.I.M. Emperor Haile Selassie 1, Holy Piby, Kebra Negast, Behold A Pale Horse, The African Ark, Black Biblical Heritage, The Book Your Church Does Not Want You To Read, The Holy Bible, etc.

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Sounds Like: Jahmark & the Soulshakers sound has evolved into a very cutting edge, innovative, new millennium form of up-tempo roots rock reggae with just the right amount of laid back cuts for the nostalgic roots lovers. Definitely fresh and original, definitely timeless music, definitely SOULSHAKIN’!!!
Record Label: Banana Boat Records
Type of Label: Indie