John
Blood
...Granny say doh say nuttin' if yuh have nuttin' good to say. I take that with music and try to say something real, something good. Even as a youth I was drawn to the musical prophets, the ones who spoke of their love for the world, and the ones who expressed their love with their musicianship and skill with their instrument. Plenty ways to talk about love without saying 'I love you baby'. Talkin about the world is talkin 'bout love. Love is not just you and yuh woman. Love is yours and my relationship with the world and everything in it, how we interact with it, how we appreciate it, how we mourn it, how we try to make it better...
I was born in London but Granny raise' me in Trinidad. I sing 'bout those things precious to me; life, love and liberty. I don't pretend to be anything that I never was. I was never a saint. But I have something to say and music is what I choose to use to say it. Or maybe it choose me. When The Almighty bless you with certain things you must accept them and use them. The Most High bless me with his voice and his pen...
So back in Englan' a few years now (about 11) and since that time, I use music to get me outta situations, like the mental stagnation brought on by the depression of my separation from my beloved nation. I use music to express myself when i didn't feel like talking. Or when I didn't feel like feeling, music would 'bring me back', make me feel sane. After writing some songs, I went and bought a guitar and started a musical journey around london's open mics over a few years. I had no direction in terms of where I wanted my music to go or what I wanted to accomplish, but I knew whatever I sang had to have a message of love, love for humanity and the universe in general. I met Natty along the way; two young dreads forging a way in the world through music, both coming from different parts of the London diaspora, both with a mission statement of saying what they had to say...
Now I play music with the Vibes & Pressure family and we backing up Natty making sure we do the ting the way the ting should be done, with honour and respect and love and good vibes. When people ask about my music ting, soon come is what I say, no need to rush nothing. But look out for the day when I come again, to spread a message of love, to play hard and strong for the masses. Bold words maybe, but what you confess is how you progress. Stay blessed. John Blood.