Q: Can you recall that first meeting with Muta? I mean, I can imagine you met several of the stalwarts of the music at Kiddus I's restaurant, he had like an Ital kitchen, some sort of combined cultural center and cafe at the time. A: Actually I think that the first time that I saw or met Kiddus is probably around Bob's yard. Q: OK. Island House, 56 Hope Road. A: Yeah. And then after that I think we just would see each other around... it's interesting, y'know, I have always been saying that one of the reasons coming out of America to want to live in another country, especially a black culturally significantly enriched country like Jamaica, and then moving through the Rastafari path, for some reason I didn't really find myself victimized as a woman. I really felt very supported and nourished by the brothers that I met. Q: That's what I was going to ask you, how you experienced Jamaica having a somewhat conservative view on women's role, at least compared to where you came from. It's not only there, of course, but speaking Jamaica for now. A: Well I think that probably for a Jamaican man, especially those trodding the path of Rastafari, y'know, as in anything each man and each woman has their own path, and they generate around themselves either a magnetic force that attracts people to them that they're interested in, or they repell them because there's no interest in or no open mind to find something new. And I'm pretty sure that I represented quite an enigma to many people. Because as much as I probably was considered an attractive woman, I was very rough and tough in that, I could hold my own, y'know. And as Carl (Gayle) could say I could play soccer barefoot. Q: (Chuckles) A: So you know there's a (chuckles)... And I was articulate, and I was writing these strong poems and lyrics. I mean, we're talking Mutabaruka reading my work and wanting me to publish with him, you understand what I'm saying? And someone who could as easily be performing at a little pub in Ocho Rios, face make-up and glitter, and then afterwards get on the back of a motorcycle and go to a Binghi. So there's a reason if anyone is interested in anything other than the routine ordinary that they would want to find out who and what I am, it's this sort of human nature. You want to expand your horizon, it's usually expanded by virtues of people you surround yourself with. So I think that for myself I rarely ever felt an expulsion from what was considered male society, if anything I was usually maybe the only sister amongst reasoning, y'know, sessions of reasoning or movements. I've been tested in Binghis where it was clear from remnant of lipstic on my mouth, or glitter off of my eyelids and lots of jewellry on that I was not the evident Rasta woman, I had to reason myself on different occasions and I was even welcomed or at least not invited to leave the premises. And then of course I'm also a very demonstrative, loving heart. So whether there was a lot of taboo's about that 'oh, you're not supposed to touch a brother' or this and that, I would greet you with a hug. You know, if you were unsettled about that then you need to let me know that, but that's my prerogative to live how I wanna live. And I'm sure - I mean, it surprised some people where they would see these very big, serious-faced dread brethren, and when I would come - like even with Horsemouth, and just hold his head between my hands and kiss him a little on the forehead or on his nose and just say y'know, 'how you doing?'

Faybiene Miranda (Photo: Martin Dixon) www.dixondeuxyeux.com

Faybiene Miranda (Photo: Martin Dixon) www.dixondeuxyeux.com

Q: (Chuckles) Mmm. A: 'Cause I just loved the spirit of people, Peter. So I would have conversations actually around why sisters were treated a certain way, 'cause I didn't feel I was being treated in those ways. And that's not to say that I didn't... Q: Of course you didn't want to be treated as an exception from the rule. A: Exactly! Not at all, which is why my writing reflected that. And I remember for a piece that I had written in the book 'I Am That I Am', there was a lot of (inaudible) around that because some people... you know, some brothers thought how this is a woman's liberationist piece and I said well (sighs): "Until women are liberated men definitely are not". And I remember Mikey Smith calling me one day and it wasn't too long before he passed, and he just called me to say "thank you for this poem". He said, "This is so long overdue, thank you, I love it". So my thing was 'why are sisters treated in this way?' And to the sisters: 'why come to Rastafari because the man is there, he can't lead you, you have to lead yourself'. You know, 'if you don't believe in yourself why get involved?' You know, 'are you wearing your head covered and your dresses down to your ancle because this is what you want to do, are you just following or are you respecting the tradition because you are authentic?' Because if not I'd rather be told that I can't come in because I haven't prescribed to the rules and regulations, because these are the rules and regulations and if I cannot abide by them then I'm not gonna force myself but I also wanna be respected for who I am, so you rather just owe yourself that, basically. And any brother or sister, anything that you take up on and you say you're standing on the shoulders of someone else, you gotta be really sure that your feet are grounded, or else you're gonna fall by your own wayside. It's not about somebody else tripping you up or causing you to lose your way. It's how I say: 'who's gonna be your saviour if you can't save yourself? Q: As a poet, how did you find this to fit in the poems to a riddim, adapting it? Was the riddim to 'Prophecy' already something Jack had recorded? A: No, actually I wrote the melody for 'Prophecy', and then Jack had us rehearsing I think at his spot with probably some of his studio musicians. And then we went to... Q: The great Black Disciples band. A: Yes. But then we went to Randy's I believe one day and I just sang the song for them and started doing the arrangements on that tune with Touter, Chinna, Horsemouth... who else...?

Horsemouth

Dirty Harry

Robbie Shakespeare

Q: Robbie (Shakespeare)? A: Robbie. And then the horn section with... Q: Bobby Ellis? A: Bobby Ellis, Dirty Harry, and one more I can't remember. Yeah, and I think we just knocked that out in like two takes or something. And that was it. I remember it got banned... Q: Yeah, 'Prophecy' was apparently banned by both JBC and RJR at the time 'according to Section 15 in the Emergency Act'. A: Right. Q: I mean, how did you feel about that? The first song released and it got banned on the radio (laughs)?! A: I remember... Q: Although it wasn't to your disadvantage this time. A: Right. It was my first recording, so people werenít aware of me, and that was how people were gonna become aware of me. What did happen was... Well, actually Errol Thompson used to be a DJ on Jamaican Broadcasting - JBC. Q: Right, he produced 'Turntable Time'. A: He said to me one day, it's like: "So dem ban 'Prophecy'? You couldn't do supp'm lighter??" And I said: "That was the lightest load I had". Q: (Laughs) A: He started laughing (chuckles). He said: "Man, you didn't even get a chance!", y'know. "You could've done supp'm easier", like. Q: OK, the stations didn't have any obligation to explain to you why they banned your song, the authorities just banned whatever for whatever reason or purpose. But did you hear any explanation somewhere afterwards why they banned this tune specifically? A: Sure. Oh, I heard that it was considered like sort of an outcry or call for people to resist or to sort of rise up against the government, which I thought was strange because of PNP at the time.

Faybiene Miranda

Q: Yeah, Manley. A: And I was like... just really feeling them (laughs)! So I didn't know why they would've considered this... I mean, it was clear it was about Marcus Garvey. But I guess it was also clear that it was speaking directly to the hearts of the people. Because at the same time I think three tunes at that time that had been banned from not only radio airplay but supposedly sound systems wasn't supposed to be playing it either on the streets, it was 'War' (The Wailers) and 'Discrimination' by Ras Karbi. Q: Right, I did an interview earlier this year with Ras Karbi where we touched that era. That was a mighty threesome so to speak (chuckles). What specifically inspired this poem, 'Prophecy', from what you learned about Garvey, how did it come about? A: Why did I write 'Prophecy'? Well, the inspiration was that Marcus Garvey, though he had lived and had passed, that I felt that his work needed to be resurrected. Because he was somewhat of a prophet, and he was letting people know what to expect of things to come. So I wanted to be able to say that spiritually if I was going to really go forward as this writer, that I saw myself as a chronicler of events that were unfolding, then I had to pay tribute to that person who had awakened me from my own slumber. So it was going to be to Garvey. And I had wanted to write like three pieces around that inspiration and I actually did. First was 'Prophecy' and then there was a piece called 'Destiny', which I recorded for Jack also, and then there was a piece called 'Black Tracks'. 'Destiny' became a song. 'Black Tracks' actually... do you know Wayne Jobson?

Q: Yeah, he was member of this white Jamaican group Native, I think. A: Yes. Well, Wayne and I was supposedly collaborating musically at one point, and Wayne took the song and recorded it for Native. And I really didn't like how... I did not feel respected by Wayne as a collaborator, artistic collaborator. The poem wasn't complete when he took it, so he actually recorded it without the pre-amble to the song. It was a piece that was dedicated to the people of South Africa and their struggle for autonomy against the Apartheid regime. And he took the song and recorded it, and I had published it in the 'Itations of Jamaica and I, Rastafari' - you're familiar with those books, right? Q: Yes I have the first volume. A: OK. So those were pieces that were inspired by Garvey's desire to unite people of the African descent throughout the diaspora. So I decided that if I was going to be doing anything, then I really wanted to acknowledge what my purpose and motivation was to be writing. So one could expect what was to come after that based on what I was doing in the beginning. Q: So 'Black Tracks' was never recorded for Jack? A: No. Q: How many songs were actually laid for Jack at the time, because I was about to ask you about any unreleased songs in the can there, if there is an unfinished album somewhere, or any talk of doing such? A: No, we just did the two. We did 'Prophecy' and we did 'Destiny', and we had talked about doing something beyond that but my movements took me away from Jamaica after that.

Jack Ruby

Q: In '77? A: Yes. Q: You recorded something for someone in Canada in the late seventies. A: Right. I went to Canada, and I recorded 'Destiny' in French. And I think I did a couple of other independent recordings. I did... Q: You cut something called 'Everybody Needs Love'? A: Yeah... how did you know about that?! Q: (Chuckles) A: You're good. Q: No, I've seen it on the web somewhere, that one was released in '77. A: Right. And also a song called 'Fire' and a song called 'Leaving For Jamaica'. Q: All the same year? A: Pretty close. Q: Who produced those in Canada, who did you work with on those? A: Well in Canada - I actually had gone there with a musician by the name of Joe Cooper who's a keyboard player, and I think he was a studio musician for 'Scratch' Perry. He played on 'Police & Thieves' and several others, studio musicians, studio artists. But we began collaborating also and we actually created a band called Tropical Energy and played in Montreal and Toronto, Canada. Made a pretty good impression there. I mean, we ended up doing a lot started in the Caribbean community but very soon after that started playing in the mainstream Canadian nightclubs, etc, doing recordings for CBC Radio and getting lot's of coverage from the major newspapers. Because once again it was this whole thing about a woman doing reggae music that was doing this hard, conscious, revolutionary kind of lyrics, and sort of presenting another kind of reggae woman, y'know. Not necessarily the red, gold and green fatigues - just whatever spirit dressed in like satin to long dress or army gear vibe or just street roots if I chose, whatever, it was like you didn't really know how to pinpoint me, it has always been that kind of... Q: OK. A: Not easily marketable (laughs)!

Ishan People

Carlene Davis

Q: Yeah, I understand. How did you find the reggae scene in Canada at this time? I mean, it was still at a baby-stage at that time despite a large Jamaican community in Toronto for instance. A: Right. It was a little difficult at first, but as I said we kind of branched out into the mainstream Canadian community where, I mean, it was pretty good actually. We worked. We had at that time in Canada I think people like Ernie Smith, Ishan People, Carlene Davis, y'know... who else was there...? Q: Leroy Sibbles. A: Leroy Sibbles, right. Q: Willie Williams, Jackie Mittoo, Stranger Cole. A: Stranger Cole, right. So, it was pretty good for us. And then I came back to Jamaica. Q: In '78? A: '79 I think.

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Article: Peter I (Please do not reproduce without permission)