Q: (Laughs) I hear you. Why did you set up the Telegraph label, and when was this?

A: Yeah, what happened at the time was that I didn't get the reward from the producers, then I did 'Jah Jah Children' for myself. 'Miss Hard To Get' I did for meself. 'Sheep & Goat' for meself.

Q: 'Feel No Pain'?

A: Yea, 'Feel No Pain', 'Blue' me did for myself.

Q: 'Bearded Babylon' too.

A: 'Bearded Babylon' I did for myself, 'Girl You Lie', 'I Follow You', 'Knotty Vision'.

Q: 'Knotty Vision', which ended up (giving title to) the compilation of the same name that Nighthawk released back in 1984.

A: Right. I did 'Laura', 'Love Galore', that's for me.

Q: 'Mek Dem Gwaan'.

A: Mmm - I t'ink dat was for Sonia Pottinger, yunno. Now yu diggin' up some t'ings weh me no even did remember, let me... me go out in the livingroom, go inna me bag an' get some more information for some jokes. Yeah man, gwaan!

Q: 'Mek Dem Gwaan' apparently came out on the Suck Finger label according to Roots Knotty Roots, whoever had that one.

A: Who? Yeah?

Q: It says it's your production.

A: Yeah, I think that's produced by me. But you know t'ings too? A lot of piracy go on with me too, because even Palmer (Pama/Jet Star), Mr Palmer put out a lot of me tune dem an' don't give me credit for dem, yunno. 'One Night of Sin', dem released it an' put it as if Slickers do it. 'Bam Bam Lulu', that me do for Pete Weston.

Q: Man behind the Micron label.

A: Yeah. 'Babylon No Jester', me do that for me. 'Close By Your Side', me do that for me. 'Lion Head', me do that for Prince Tony. 'Tag A War (A Yard)', me do that for Prince Tony, an' 'Dread Head' too. 'Love Galore', me do that for me. 'Message To Mary', me do that for me. 'Jah Jah Children' aka 'Feel No Pain', me do that for me. 'High Gear Festival', me t'ink me do that for Hugh King.

Q: Who was Hugh King?

A: He was the guy who did the movie name 'Serious Thing', yeah, the guy that act in the movie. Yeah. The Harry J album was 'Third World Children', the number one track was a tune called 'Poor Man's Portion', then 'One Step Beyond', number three 'One In You', then we did a cover version of '007', that was number four. 'Pon the other side me do 'Things Gettin' Tough', 'When Jah Jah Come', then me do 'Third World Children' the title track, then you have 'Dance With You'. The third one, 'When Jah Jah Come' (sings): 'When Jah Jah come, what will the wicked man say, when Jah Jah come it a go dreader than dread, what yu take from the blind man, yu take from the weak man, yu take from the babe an' sucklin', take a good look, good look around you, when Jah Jah come...'. Yeah man (laughs).

Q: You did 'Uptight Festival' and 'We Miss You' on your own label.

A: 'We miss you...', which one I did that for again?

Q: 'We Miss You' for Suck Finger.

A: Yeah! Yeah, right. I think a Leroy me did that, me give that tune deh to, my brethren named Leroy.

Q: You had another label called Cash.

A: Yeah. 'Cash', yeah, that was a very good label, one of my best label. 'Cause you know why (chuckles)? The people dem wouldn't pay, when you give them record them no waan pay, so me jus' give them me... make the label name 'Cash'.

Q: (Chuckles)

A: (Laughs) That mean from when you see the label ya (chuckles)... dem know seh dem haffe pay cash, y'know!! And Lee Perry was so intrigued. First time Lee Perry saw the label, Lee Perry laughed, man (chuckles). He say, "Bwai, Jackie Brown, yu know yu a genius". Yeah man. Me have another one off the Harry J album name 'Holding On'. 'Tom Drunk', that me do for Prince Tony.

Q: How did that link with Prince Tony come about?

A: My brethren, man. Me used to go a him store, go hang out a daytime, ca' me a check him long time, y'know. Me did 'Let Me Go Girl' (sings): 'Girl you hold me, trying to control me...'. I did that on my label too, yunno. Yeah.

Q: You also did 'Survival Is the Game'.

A: Yeah, Brent Dowe wrote it.

Q: Right, from the Melodians. I think Marcia did the ultimate version of that tune for Mrs Pottinger though. Classic, a true classic.

A: Yeah. I was in the studio the night when Marcia (Griffiths) voicin' that tune, and I wanted to sing the tune so bad because I loved the song. But Marcia was doin' a perfect job, ca' funny sometimes when a studio an artist voice a tune, an' the artists nah manage the tune, yunno. And you deh-deh an' yu seh to dem say, "Give me a one-shot 'pon that tune deh?" An' them give yu a one-shot 'pon the tune deh an' you do the tune, yunno. When me an' Marcia fall-out 'pon the tune, Marcia never fall-out 'pon the tune an' seh, "You jus' haffe deh 'pon the tune". So later on up the road now me jus' do the tune, y'know, it come out nice. You know wha' I mean? Come out very nice. Marcia an' Judy (Mowatt) is like me sister, yunno. Yeah, an' Rita? Yeah, me and them three ladies deh come along we up the road, yunno, we always meet an' greet (chuckles). But inna dem time deh everybody inna de music was like family, yeah, everybody was family, straight-up family. Everybody was jus' family. It was no violence t'ing weh a gwaan deh now, cuss everybody 'pon studio or... ya know dem. Because when God give you the gift, the talent of music, there is no higher power. When God give you the gift of music, yunno, is the greatest title that Him give you, y'know. You did know that? Yeah man! When the Father give you the gift of music and when He give you the knowledge of music - the power of music, nutten no lef'. A the greates', Him give yu the greatest honour, when you become a musician, or in entertainment, because God give that to you. You don't know how powerful you are, because you find your purpose. You is a journalis', you goin' mek people know - know, read, and hear of me, who would have never heard of me, read about me, if it hadn't been for you. So you fin' your purpose. So, whether you're a journalis', or a guitaris', whether you are radio personality, whether you're a singer, we're inna one great, big arena. An' me appreciate talkin' to you, because you get a lot out of me weh, normally, nuff people try to get out of me but cyaan get out of me, because me nah feel the vibes an' I haffe go somewhere else, me haffe cut the interview. Right now, a t'ing go down here in New York this week, an' me show you people just after money. The radio station name WLIB is the number one Caribbean station, everybody - whether from Trinidad, Jamaica, Guyana, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, Bermuda, Haiti - anywhere in the Caribbean, every morning and one day of the week, you can hear wha' gwaan inna your country. And you have DJ's a workin' on the station, and up to last week, Monday mornin', station a gwaan same way. And the people dem say 'Lease out the station', dem never even come on the radio an' say to West Indian community, say 'Bwai, changes a gonna go on', an' apologise 'bout it. Nutten! Them jus' switch the station an' talk show an'... like that! You see, is all about money! And we say is all about love. And a lot of people is hurt, because the Caribbean community dedicate themselves to this radio station, and the radio station just cut them off! Me have a lot of friend who work at the radio station who have them bills, have them youth a go a school, dem 'pon de margin, dem have dem rent an' all a dem sorta t'ing, an' dem jus' get up one day and dem no have no job! So, people don't t'ink 'bout other people, they jus' t'ink about them own being, well-being, y'know. You know, dat no right, it no right. Me have some good, good friend a work at the radio station, yunno, people who me see regular, the man dem kick dem lickle t'ing more time, get to a lickle show, get to a lickle dance, an' dem help we fe survive, yunno. Now the man dem nuh have a job, the man dem jus' throw the man dem through de window. We nah give up still, yunno, nah give up.

Q: The album for Prince Tony in '76, this was the debut LP you did for him, titled 'Greatest Hits'. That was your first album as such?

A: Yeah. Well, I give him some of my material too, yunno, I give him some of my product, but yu know somet'ing? I never know the business, so him just say him want the tune dem fe de album, so me jus' give them to him, yunno. Me neva have no agreement with him fe, like, dem fe lease the tracks from me an' all dem sorta t'ing deh, yu know wha' me a seh? Me jus' give them to him, an' him jus' put out what him fe put out. And still him never give me no royalty! Never give me no royalty statement, no give me a dime! You see me? Him neva give me nutten, so I tek back the album now. Take the things an' yu sing fe de man dem an' you don't get pay for your record, dem record your stuff an' tek it an' put it 'pon album an' sell the album, and still don't pay nutten. That's why dem still nah come-come to me an' say anyt'ing, yu see, neva give we nutten. A whole heap a rip-off again inna de business - nuff! Nuff rip-off we get inna de business. But Jah is alive, Jah is alive. We have to pay the price.

Q: 'Wiser Dread', 'Lion Head', 'Pressure of Babylon', 'Knotty Vision', 'Dread Head', 'Bearded Babylon', songs with clear references to Rasta. What was your connection to Rastafari in those days, even up to now?

A: Well, let me tell you how me see Rasta. You see Rasta business, Rasta business is a love business, is a truth and rights business, but you haffe brave to be a Rasta. But I neva locksed, I believe in the Rasta but I never locks. Beca' you know why I never locksed? Too much tribulation, man, too much tribulation! Rastaman cyaan go no way, Babylon come an' waan go beat him an' all dem sorta t'ing deh, so me just keep my locks inna my heart (chuckles), you understan' wha' me a seh? Me never really carry a locks 'pon me head, but we was born... Me is a Maroon, yunno, me is a Maroon (chuckles). Me is a fighter, my people dem come from Ghana, my ancestors come from Ghana inna Africa. We were kings, yunno, so me was kinda... cut-hair was my game, so me neva really locks. Beca' dem days deh de Rastaman got a whole heap a punishment, police hold you in your hair an' drag you down the road and all dem sort of t'ings deh. I never feel like (chuckles)... I too short fe go draw t'ings for a different Iration (laughs), but me never feel like go through all a dem sort of t'ing deh. Me never do that. Me like Rastaman, me like Rasta business. Them time deh me did like Rasta business, Rasta business was fun, and me like it, y'know.

Q: How did the 'Wiser Dread' (Nighthawk) compilation come about, your song gave the title to that (now deleted) album. This was back in 1981.

A: Yeah, well, I was at home one day when Errol Scorcher come an' tell me somet'ing that they looked for me, yunno. And it was a guy named Bob Schoenfeld and another guy named Leroy Prescott (Pierson), come from St. Louis, Missouri. We go up to the hotel and meet the man dem, they make much of me, tell me them listened to my tunes dem, and they t'ink me a great writer and so forth, so fifth, and them interested in some of my music. So we make some agreement, sign a contract, and they leased the tracks. I make some dollars, y'know. Them take some tracks from Bunny Wailer an' couple more people, Ronnie Davis (Itals) dem. And as a fact of the matter, Nighthawk was the one that sponsored me to this country, y'know. Nighthawk Records, Schoenfeld, he was the man who brought me to America. Good guy, brought me to America. Because politics did a get too hot an' me need it to tek a lickle break, so him say, "Alright Jackie, you want to come to America, mek yu come a America".

Q: What about your brother Castro? Even though he went to England in the seventies and set up the Morpheus and DEB labels, DEB in conjunction with Dennis Brown, did you have any common productions, like ever worked together?

A: No, we never work together. Two bull cyaan reign inna one pen. I'm a bull an' him a bull, we a bredda but... we a jus' bredda.

Q: Never that close together?

A: Yeah, never that close. Beca' him is a bully bredda, y'know, run t'ings an' rule people an' dem sorta t'ing deh. Me no like when man stick to me as friend an' disrespect and fight yu too, I want to say that my pride still intact. Respect is due everytime. And if a man cyaan give me respec' me cyaan deal with him, yunno. You see me? Because me nah disrespect people, ca' me know what it is to be for a one to be disrespected, yunno. For a man disrespect you, you coulda all kill 'im but me nah kill, yu understan' wha' me a say? So me try fe stay away from dem t'ing deh, dem disrespec' business - me no deal with dem t'ing deh. If me have any brethren an' dem respectful to other people, me no like that neither. So me drop them friendship too, y'know. Me old-fashioned, yunno, me from the old school, me grow up with me granny, y'know. And me mother and me grandfather and... so me kind of have the old-fashion part in me, y'know. Me nuh deal with disrespec', boss, if yu disrespec' people then yu cyaan respec' yourself. Everybody is a person, them shall be treated as a person. Anytime you start fe disrespec' people, me nah inna dat, nah inna dat. That's why me nah deal with my bredda, ca' my bredda disrespectful. Yeah, but away from that, me love him, beca' blood thicker than water. Yu understan' wha' me a say (chuckles)?