Release the Cure!
It was about 8:00am, and I was driving along Shamrock Road. Dionne Matthis was up to her usual long chatting on the Vibe FM powered air waves and I was not really listening, because sometimes she chats a lot of shyte. Just play the music nuh, Dionne…
The first melodies of the acoustic guitar began, followed shortly thereafter by that voice, the one that sounds so haunting, so full of feeling…
“Only you can make me feel,
just like a king.
The love you give to me so real,
makes me give in.Girl, just like magnet to steel your loves
just pulling me in.
If it’s a battle I’ll fight for you,
I have to win!”
“Longing for” has been playing here for awhile now, and I love it! Everywhere I go I hear it. Its on the radio… when you stop to buy a beer at a local bar, they are playing it. Shyte, a bredrin at work has this song as the ringtone on his cellie!
The thing is, nobody I knew could tell me who the singer was, and so I didn’t know how to find it online to share it with you.
“Longing for,
my baby to love me more,
What am I longing for?
Babylon, release the Cure!”“When, when, when, when,
will we see each other again?”
Yeah, I like the song… so I decided to research it for you… I discovered that its singer is called ‘Jah Cure‘. The song was done on a riddim called the ‘Drop Leaf Riddim’… who the hell comes up with these riddim names anyway?
The ‘Drop Leaf’ is a very popular riddim nowadays, its the same one T.O.K. did ‘Footprints’ on. There are several other songs on the riddim too, in true Jamaican dancehall style. What of the lyrics? I didn’t understand what they were all about. What the hell did the singer mean?
“Longing for,
my baby to love me more,
What am I longing for?
Babylon, release the Cure!”
Whats that last bit about? “Babylon, release the Cure!” Well, my search has been informative. Jah Cure is currently a guest of the Governor General, people. Yes, he is serving 15 years for a controversial rape charge. I know that jurys don’t always come to the right conclusion re a defendant’s guilt still, and so I am hoping that the rude bwoy didn’t commit the crime!
Anyway, I am not sure how this rude bwoy does it, but he has been making music even while in prison! That must have taken some doing, especially in Yard *, where the babylon dem (police and prison warders and such) are not known for caring and warmth! To do this must have taken considerable drive and determination, thats all I can say!
Its good that the rude bwoy has this determination, because it augers well for the possibility of hearing more from him even though he is “Dung in deh”. After all, now that I have him on my dancehall radar, I don’t want to lose track of him, now do I?
Here is a little piece of the song so that you can listen to it if you want to. Check it out nuh?
So, what oonoo think?
Loading ...
Hi Mad Bull-What a way you know your music. Nice tidbits to know. Have a good night.
MAdbull, I quite like the song. In fact, it’s one of the new wave of ‘One Drop’ songs that have been credited for returning the art of music and proper song writing to the Jamaican Reggae scene. Maxi priest and Morgan’s Heritage has two lovely songs on the same ‘drop leaf’ rhythm as well.
BTW..Jah Cure was refused permission by the local prison authorities to perform on Sting 2005. So, your comments are quite heartening as every man deserves another chance in life in spite of what he has done.
Hi Madbull
I agree with you that Jah Cure is obviously a great talent emerging on the music scene. But I wouldn’t be to quick to assume anything about his guilt or innocence.
I heard that Jah Cure had consensual sex with a girl, and then invited in two ‘bredrin’ for a piece.
If that is true then he deserves his sentence.
Spare a thought for the girl who went through that ordeal.
I think Jah Cure has tremendous talent - good voice, and his songs are worth listening to, as the lyrical content is refreshing.
I am a fan. I hope he maintains his tenacity and determination. I keep wondering - how did he ever get to prison…
Well, I would love to get full story of his arrest and subsequent 15 years sentence. If you could do that story, I would be greatful.