Latest update April 25th, 2024 12:10 AM
Jun 06, 2016 News
For over 45 years, their music which often features a quintessential creole sound has been become a traditional expression of the Guyanese culture.
Power and spirituality weave in and out of their music which utilizes concepts of identity, Guyanese beliefs, creativity and relationships. For this and more, the Yoruba Band has earned its rightful place in Guyana’s history books as a legendary pioneer of the true Guyanese sound.
Eze Rockcliffe is the only surviving member since the formation of the Band. He intimated that the Band has changed about 70 members since its inception for various reasons.
But Rockcliffe who packs intoxicatingly spiritual chords explained that the Band’s survival is certainly a commendable achievement as it did so in a country that has failed to foster a music industry that encourages artistes to make music that lasts.
Candidly, he shared his view that Guyanese music was and still is not on the country’s top agenda. As such, Rockcliffe said that the respect meted out to performers from a national standpoint has degenerated. In this exclusive interview, we delve into the mind of one of Guyana’s musical legends.
Kaieteur News (KN): Which of your songs are you most connected to and why?
Eze Rockcliffe (ER): Well, that’s a long story. I did a piece called, “Abuasaue” which means Tell it like it is. I’m connected to that piece because it’s one of my earlier songs which I wrote when I was about 20 years old and recorded some 30 years later. The next song that I am connected to is called “Bleeding with hate”. That too, tells a great story which is on my second album called “Fighting for Survival.” Of course, my popular pieces like “Creketeh” are more connected to me from a different standpoint; from a more indigenous, cultural standpoint.
You know, most of the Africans came from Ghana and songs like that, passed on from generation to generation. But getting back to “Abuasaue”, when I released that song, young children would meet me in the streets and say ‘Mr. I love that song’… I believe that there is some spiritual connection with the song’s lyrics.
Part of that song says, “Knowing your history is priority to guide us and give us the strength, we made our mark in the universe, yes we contribute to world events…” And you know there are some who think that we never did anything in terms of recorded history but in the song I say, “…We contribute to world events…” then I cite the pyramids of Egypt, the discovery of the alphabet, blood transfusion etc and those are significant contributions our race made to the world.
KN: What would you say is the band’s greatest accomplishment to date?
ER: In terms of commercial accomplishments, we sold at one time, the most records in this country which was at that time 12, 000 copies. The record that did that for us was Black pepper with the flipside, called “Bassa bongo”. We are also the only Guyanese group to perform at Madison Square Garden and we performed there on two occasions. It is considered the epitome of entertainment centers in the world and we are proud of that.
KN: Is there any other accomplishment you wish you had achieved with your music?
ER: Yes, I wanted to sell a million records.
KN: What would you say is the goal of the Yoruba music?
ER: The goal of our music is to spread our Guyanese sound to the worldwide audience so that Guyana could get the recognition it deserves. Over the years, we have had lots and lots of talented artistes and the world is yet to hear from Guyana. But the goal was not achieved because there was never a leveled playing field that accommodated the artistry. There was never emphasis on exploring the possibilities of selling the art form effectively.
KN: What do you consider as the essential elements of the Yoruba music?
ER: The essential elements would have to be the originality of the music that speaks to the pulse of the grass roots. And that ingredient comes not only from a physical standpoint but from a spiritual standpoint. In other words, the inspiration for the music and even most of the people who wrote songs for the band was spiritually motivated.
They include Jojo Felix Terrence better known as “Fat boy”, Wilfred Wellington Lashleigh better known as “Kuckle” or “Baby” and those guys have been prolific writers over the years. Also the Small Bothers: Hodari and Eddie Small; Keith Prophet and William Bascome. There was also Sampson Robertson, Merleen Jardin and Leeman John.
KN: How would you say music in Guyana has evolved since your start with the Yoruba Band?
ER: The evolutionary process was never really followed from a Yoruba standpoint. Three bands tried to follow in our footsteps and they are “Shango on the Loose”, “Zulu Combo” and “The Originals” but they did not stand the test of time. I believe that the Yoruba band is a gift not only to me but to this nation and we must cherish that gift.
KN: There are two sister countries that are well known for having a strong and undisputed musical identity; Jamaica and Trinidad. Now there is the perception that Guyana’s music industry is struggling to find an identity as well as a placement with its own sound in the regional and international platforms because there are artistes who are too consumed with mimicking the Trinidadian or Jamaican sound. What is your take on this?
ER: That I have to agree with wholesale. And there is a reason for that and I would chalk it up to the orientation of our media. In that regard, I’m talking about the radio and television
. Everything that is non-Guyanese is very good and everything that is Guyanese is not good and they feed the populace that all the time so what do you expect from the consumers of this message? Did you see the invasion of foreign and Caribbean artistes during our 50th Independence celebrations? And just imagine the Yoruba band got one job when we survived for 45 years non-stop. May 25 last, marked 45 years of dedicated service to this nation and the authorities, whether it’s corporate or government, decided that they will give this 45-year-old most creative band, one job for the entire season.
And that hurts. Every Tom, Dick and Harry around the place, even the ordinary flat foot citizen thought that Eze Rockcliffe and the Yoruba band was not going to be able to keep their eyes open because they would have been too tired from the amount of jobs they would have gotten for that season. Everyone thought that would have been a given except those in authority.
KN: With what you explained there, do you believe that our local artistes were somewhat placed in the background given the invasion of the foreign artistes you spoke of ?
See answer in next Monday’s edition…By: Kiana A. Wilburg
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