Q: For lyrical inspiration, who did you take the most impressions from in those days?
A: Various stuff. No, I listen to artists and then after a while I decide I wanna do singin', y'know, I hear them say 'You know, you can sing, you could do singin'', and stuff like that. And, I decide I would love to write songs, and that's when I get a course about writing, then I get a little input how to go about it. You know, how to form the words to write it with music, writing the lyrics. And that's where I started. At first I didn't know how to get it together, how to do it, but then it's motivating that way. But wherein, it's a lot of man I get inspiration from. Music is something I wanted to do, because as a kid I used to play the harmonica. So, it's something I just wanted to do, and I knew that I wanted to write and I did it and it became like a hobby. I wouldn't say I was really inspired by other artists. I was inspired in many ways like... You know, in music you listen to a song, it's like Aretha Franklin? I mean, I would lay in my bed in the morning when they used to play Aretha Franklin, when I listen to her, man, she goes through your body! You know, it's just the song I loved. It's many things that inspire me about life, what I know is what you're gonna hear.
Q: But you pretty much stuck to the same course even when returning to work for Harry J in the mid seventies, Rasta was the happening thing but you kept the love torch burning, by sticking to the same romantic type of lyrics. Not much had changed.
A: No, I had one song... Yeah, because Rasta lyrics is for just a few, y'know, not the majority, I found out. And Rasta, I liked the Rasta-ism because I grew up amongst some true Rastaman, whose words were real. Those were real Rastaman, I mean spiritual Rastaman. I used to even dance Nyabinghi music because we used to go to those type of things and bang the drums and singin' Nyabinghi songs and stuff like that. When I was there growing up in Ghost Town I was hangin' out amongst those people. So, after a while when the Rasta-ism came in, it's like people would just start adapting themselves to the Rasta cause like some macho-ism. Now with Bob Marley, Bob Marley was a true Rastaman, I can tell anybody that. Because that time, he's just a quiet, full-time musician, and so inspired. And his thoughts and stuff was all good, we appreciated him. He's a guy, the little I know about him and seen of him, is that he never turned his back on anybody. If Bob's driving his car down the street, so many would stop to say something, somebody's asking him for something, he's gonna listen, man. It pays to be humble, y'know, and he was a humble guy. So, I didn't go into the Rasta thing. I wrote one Rasta tune though, and it's 'Praise Jah'.
Q: A solo track, yes.
A: And I wrote it, because if you listen to the words of it wherein you see a lot of the people thought it was about me, and that's why I put that in where it says: 'See all them kids starting praise Rasta, hail o Jah, but we know them a wolf in a sheep clothing...'. You know, because a lot of people they locks up their hair but they're not a Rasta, they're only a dreadlocks.
Q: Just projecting an image without any sign of, well, any substance behind it.
A: Yeah! Yes, just an image. They're just adapting that, and after a while that's all you could see. And people they used the dreadlocks for many things, you see, a macho, and people think they are badman. Some use it for cover up, to do crime and all a them stuff. So, because I have an understanding of what true Rasta is and what it's about, is like people are using it, and is all doing anolgy. Because if I was to locks my hair and stuff it would've been in the days when the true Rastaman them I used to move 'mongst. At one time Harry J wanted us to locks our hair...
Q: (Laughs)
A: Because that was the in-thing, and I said, "No Harry". I say, "Hey, if I'm makin' it I'm makin' it as Cables, to let the people know who I am". I said, "I wanna be who I am!" I said, "Everybody can't be a Bob Marley, because Bob Marley is Bob Marley", and it doesn't matter how you try. There are some that would locks up their hair, yes, and they make a little fame. But what is happening now? Are they still in fame as them was then? At the time, you had people who does that, but now Rasta - Rasta isn't now. Is a form of fashion. You understan' what I'm saying? Because, you find that they are folly players, they have their dreadlocks, you have all different type of... it's just a fashion, it's a style, y'know. How many true Rastaman out there, how many of them you can look at and say they are dedicated, true Rastas? You can't tell. You know, everybody are doing all them stuff, you can't even get big in a dreadlocks way. So, I didn't go into it because I know it won't pay, it won't pay.
Q: Right, you even felt that at the time.
A: Oh yes, I felt it because you see I knew the root of it all, what it's all about. And it was disgusting, and hurtful, to see this. I know what is true Rastas. So I knew and so I didn't want to go into this. You know, it's like a form of religion, and you don't use a religion. And when people start using Rasta-ism and start act like macho, y'know, I didn't like it. Because, it's like I said when those people start using religion and mess up all kinda stuff, you know, from abuse, I mean you name it! You know what I mean? So, like I said I'm different in that way.
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