Q: Yes, you mean the 'Inner Circle' album. A: Right, 'Inner Circle' (chuckles), you heard 'bout that, right? Q: I know of the album, but so far I haven't heard it, no. A: Yeah, and he liked that song, and he was just gettin' into the business, involved with the business. So him end up kinda push it in Washington, it was a big hit in Washington (laughs). I end up going up there and doing a couple of shows and it turned out real nice, y'know, real real nice. (Chuckles) That was one of my best performances that I can remember, and the people them give me a welcome, warm welcome there, yunno. And after that him follow it up with some other tracks and release it, we did the album. The album was to called 'Inner Circle', 'cause there was a song on it - it confuse a lot of people, because they thought it was the Inner Circle band that did it (laughs). But that wasn't really the idea, that was just a name of - a name of one of the songs them that was on the album. And from there on, you know how it go - you sing and the money not coming in to take care of the family. You know, a lot of people see me an' ask me why I stop sing, but you have to do other things to take care of the family.

Q: Of course. A: You love the business, you love the business, but hey! You have to put the food on the table for the kids, right? If you're not achieving anything from it as you know most of the producers them, them don't like fe pay artists no money in them days. Q: How did you earn the bread? A: Well, I had to go on and work, I was workin' in-between, y'know, 'cause remember - I come to America before I start sing. Most of the artists them from outa Jamaica inna the ghetto, and them start sing and the producer them jus' do a whole heap a song with them, you have to sing a barrage of music to make a money! And inna Jamaica is a struggle, you go do it. You know what I'm sayin', you know no better, you do it. That's why them - a lot of artists in them days, Toyan, Barrington Levy and all them artists deh, them artists - it's like Junjo had so much, did so much album with Barrington Levy. You know, with me, just one album and a ease off an' come back to the States an' spend time with the family an' don't get no money, you have to work and take care of the family. And that's how it work, and I just get frustrated of it. If I had the money for myself I would've stayed in the business, IF I was making any money from the songs that I was doing. I could've invested it in myself, y'understan' me, an' produce. Q: Did you ever record an album's worth of songs for people like Bunny Lee, or stuff that never got released that could make an album, for whoever? A: No, I didn't do any album for him. I think I did about, must've been two songs for Bunny Lee. One of them, I didn't hear it. I don't know if he had released it in England, 'cause I never really travel out of the United States, was some to United States and Jamaica, and back. Who knows, 'cause sometimes you see songs released in England and you know nutten about it, like how you're tellin' me now that the 'Chip In' album is out (chuckles). I didn't know that! Q: Right, I mentioned that beforehand. It came out a couple of years ago on a cheap release, a little bootleg-ish to say the least. Linval didn't even credit the late Junjo for the production or anything like that, just put it out without a proper artwork and credits. Looks like a pirate, if anything. Even if it wasn't. A: Well, most of them, it have to be pirate! Have to be, had to be. Q: I mean, I know they were close at the time, but Linval doesn't own the rights to Junjo's material, right? A: He doesn't, it's Greensleeves, and it's supposed to be Jah Life. You know, Jah Life I think right now have some good t'ing going on with Greensleeves, because a lot of riddims in that, it was like exchanging riddims with each other. It was like a partnership t'ing that wasn't in writing, y'know (laughs). In them days deh everyt'ing - it was nutten done by writing, it wasn't income paper, yunno, just mutual word.

Q: And Wackies put out 'Bubble Up' in England (via Jet Star) and another one entitled 'Mini Showcase', that Basic Channel did a reissue of the other year. A: Right, the 'Mini Showcase'. And during them times, y'know, you're trying fe get in touch with these producers and in any minute them number change. 'Cause people would see me and tell me these t'ings, if they hear me songs on the internet, see it in England. But then you can't get in touch with none of these producers, numbers that them give you change. Q: By the way, there's some mix up with this deejay from New York named Mikey Jarrett, as if there's belief that that is actually you under a 'deejay alias', like. A: Oh, that's my cousin (laughs)! Q: Yeah? A: Yeah man! It so happened that I found out that Mikey Jarrett was my cousin, you know it's like it was somet'ing that I have to give Bullwackie the credit for that, 'cause that's where the messages was left for me to get in touch with him, that I had this cousin named Mikey Jarrett. That was like 'I know no 'Mikey Jarrett' - I have a brother named Mikey Jarrett, Michael Jarrett. And that's the only family that I can say I know of, from a Jarrett. Then I didn't call him and him come there one night I was there, voicing the same 'Bubble Up' song there, and that's how me an' Mikey Jarrett link up. And we become so close, up until this day (chuckles). Me and him get along with my older brother, and we follow that we're cousins, y'know, on my mother's side. 'Cause my mother had a different set of family that was Jarrett in the countryside that I didn't know, 'cause my father is where I get my name from, the Jarrett. Is a whole different set of family that was Jarrett, a lot of mix up. Q: The latest tune you've done so far, would that be a recut of 'Money Money', the Horace Andy classic, for Ranking Joe a couple of years ago? A: Yeah, you know of that (chuckles). Which I didn't even waan fe get involved in, and Ranking Joe beg me-beg me, must've begged me for about a year and a half to voice that tune, I didn't waan fe touch no Horace Andy, 'cause basically touching people's tune, is like them get upset. And people sing over my song and I didn't get upset, 'cause Dennis Brown did sing over 'Youth Man'. Actually I was proud (chuckles), to know that Dennis Brown sing over one of my song. It didn't bother me (laughs).

Mikey Jarrett

Q: Are you aware of the tunes Bunny Lee has put out in recent times, like 'Live On Jah' on the Attack Gold label as a 10"-inch, and Linval released a song on the Yabby You 'King Pharoah's Plague' rhythm, entitled 'Praise Jah'? That was a Thompson Sound 45 pretty recently I think. A: No sah. Q: I don't know if you even remember those tunes, perhaps they've never been issued until now. Over the past two years those two - or was it three titles that I wasn't familiar with - that has been released in your name lately. A: No sir, I've heard nutten like that. I know I did songs for them and I didn't hear it and I thought them didn't produce it, and you don't get to see these people, 'cause it's like a hustling to them, yunno. It's like how them hustle illegal t'ings, y'know, that was basically what most of them was doing. 'Cause them pirate people's things an' them - I don't even work for them, I've gone to work. I never release no other singer's music or anyt'ing like that, you see me? And that's how them deal with the business, a rat race t'ing, y'know, that's how them is. Q: How do you look back on your career so far, what you've achieved over the years? A: I would say I achieve a name, and I have a name that make people ask 'What's up with Wayne Jarrett, why 'im na sing again?' But as far as on a financial level, I made nutten from it, but I enjoyed the lickle flex around... But some of the producers them was alright, people that I meet, I met a lot of people, interesting people. Q: Which one of the albums are you the most pleased with, the way they turned out to be? A: Mmm, I'd say 'Chip In'. Q: Yeah? A: 'Chip In', 'Chip In' was nice, because... Q: Not 'Bubble Up'? A: No, 'Bubble Up' was not a 'Chip In' album. 'Bubble Up' was alright, but most of the songs them was like I said, they was just - you sing it on a freestyle, you sing out of your head. When I listen to a lot of my songs, I know I could have done them... Q: Better. A: A little better, y'know. More lyrics, add more lyrics to them. (Chuckles) It's just when you listen back to something and you feel like 'Damn, I could have this better, yunno'. But it was just the rush that the producer them was... them had so much artists them a record an' studio time wasn't enough, they didn't put enough money in it. Like it was a hurry done t'ing, if you tell them you want fe write out a song, them say "It sound alright, man", and them leave it at that. And I know if I had the money to do my thing, it would've done better. That's why I didn't have that much interest because of the type of people them that was involved in the business, yunno, it was like a hustling for them. Q: What's ahead for you now, musically speaking, if you have anything scheduled currently? A: To tell you the truth, I've done nothing. You see the last song that I've done for Ranking Joe, the Horace Andy song that I did over, I still have the voice. I've done special for the soundman them still, ca' whenever the lickle songs them I did in the past, 'Chip In' and 'Youth Man' and 'Satta Dread' was all songs that kinda keep me strong with some of the foundation people them that have sound, y'know. The lickle young one them, them might hear original sound play them songs deh an' ask fe it still, but them more into the up-to-date t'ing, the Elephant Man them and whole heap a jump-up t'ing. Not that I'm against it (chuckles), I'm not against it, y'know what I mean. It's not like the music them whe I and I used to deal with, sing reality in the music. The new artists, I admire them, ca' them a do them t'ing, yunno. And them get a better break than I did and most of the artists from them time, if they don't get pirated by Linval or these guys (chuckles). Q: Are you still in touch with Horace these days? A: Yeah, Horace, I talked to Horace - not recently, it was about a year and a half ago, or two years, I saw him in Miami, ca' I live in Miami now. I saw him in the market and I run up an' down, run up an' down with him and go a couple of stores, and that was that. The last time I heard, someone saw him up there in Connecticut where I used to live, I guess him went back up there to go see his kids, y'know. That's it. Q: What is going on nowadays, how do you see the current music? A: Yeah, yeah, I think the lyrics and some of the riddims them, it could be better. But you have some artists out there that is doing good still, like Morgan Heritage, them artists deh, them a put out good music. I respect them artists deh. Bounty Killer and them artists deh, yeah, every jump-up t'ing, me na go dis them, ca' you haffe do wha' you haffe do to survive. I just wish that them would more work together instead of war against each other. But them lucky (chuckles), 'cause them could a make somet'ing out of the business, whether whatever lyrics them a talk. I try fe give everybody them a lickle credit, y'know. I don't put down nutten, y'understan' me, 'cause bad t'ings happen every day an' good t'ings happen. So if you choose to speak the bad t'ings and don't speak of the good t'ings, that's between you and God, yunno. (Chuckles) So I just leave it alone, I no judge no man 'pon it and jus' leave it up to God. But right now when I sit here I have a feeling that I going do a hit song. I don't see it happening yet, but I know it will. One day.

Let us hope what he predicts will come true, it is certainly due to Wayne Jarrett after so many years and ups and downs in the business. You wish he had more recognition than the current status suggests, but I'm sure it will come, eventually. Now is the time to reap his rewards, especially since Greensleeves recently decided to dig deeper into their back catalog and reissue some long unavailable music, including Wayne's 'Chip In' album, just released in the crystal clear CD sound and very welcome it was compared to the cheapish reissue on Thompson Sound some years ago. Still, kudos to Linval for making a rare album see the light of day again. Looking back, it is something I have to agree with Wayne about, it's the man's best album, closely followed by 'Bubble Up' for Bullwackie. Considering the circumstances these albums are recorded under, they are in many instances remarkable achivements of talent delivering the goods through tight schedules, and Wayne is certainly one of the most consistent. There's that voice to begin with, a magnificent instrument, and to me he has received some unnecessary criticism for being just a simple Horace Andy clone, it's more to him than that. The man stands on his own, and did so from pretty early on. 'Is just a style', as they say, and that style has been working fine for the past twenty-five years. If only Jah Life could take the 'What's Wrong With the Youths' album to the pressing plant, then we would have one of Jarrett's better efforts out there again. That his 'Inner Circle' LP would see the light of day once more is, perhaps, the most unlikely as producer Satta Blue is long out of the business as far as I know. What looks like nothing but a marketing ploy but at the same time confusing the record consuming crowd was the retitled 'Bubble Up' LP the other year to 'Showcase Vol. 1'.

Bullwackie

Needless and ridiculous, Wackies. It's still good to see such a solid album available though. Then there's the Attack Gold 10"-inch release of the, as far as I know, unreleased Bunny Lee productions of Wayne's 'Don't Trouble I' and the brilliant 'Live On Jah', both out in 2003. Those two singles might be a bit scarce to find now but well worth an investment if you can locate them. I would assume that Bunny collects both on his 'Attack Gold vol 1 & 2' CD's in a not too distant future. But I'm sure that 'Chip In' will boost his name once again to a new audience, and those in the know would surely replace their worn-out copies of the old vinyl to a fresh CD release, as it also includes the rare 12"-version of 'Saturday Night Jamboree' with an additional toast by New York based deejay Silver Fox. Wayne is now, only recently, aware of the reissue so here's hoping for some just treatment regarding the compensation he's due. More Wayne Jarrett music on the market now, please. 7" single information courtesy Roots Knotty Roots.

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