ROOTS SINGER MESSENJAH SELAH WAITING FOR HIS BIG BREAK!

AFTER playing the California festival and club scene for over a decade, roots singer Messenjah Selah reached a career crossroads two years ago.

“Mi sey to myself, ‘Killer, wey yuh waan go from here?’ An’ same time Jamaica jus’ enter mi mind,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

Last year, the dreadlocked artist spent over four months in Jamaica, recording songs for various producers including Andrew ‘Bassie’ Campbell. Some of these were compiled for the aptly titled Coming Home to Me EP.

Messenjah Selah is back in Kingston for another round of recording. He says his priority is making an impact in the land of reggae.

“This is the epicentre of the energy…the mecca. At the same mi nuh deal wid limitations, like mi haffi bus’ a Jamaica,” he said.

Much of Messenjah Selah’s career has been in California where he has performed on major events such as the Sierra Nevada Music Festival and Reggae On The River. He has also made several tours of Hawaii, another American state with strong ties to roots-reggae.

Born Everton Clarke in Red Hills, St Andrew, Messenjah Selah spent five years in the United States Virgin Islands territory of St Croix, before moving to Atlanta, Georgia, where he started his recording career in 1997.

He relocated to the Golden State for greater recording opportunities, but has returned to Jamaica to collaborate with top acts like Sizzla (on the song Joy) and Luciano (I Will Survive). In 2003, he recorded his first album, Whosoever Will; a second album, Breaking Babylon Curse, was released in 2009.

Messenjah Selah performs on Sunday at the Kingston 13: From Ska to Dancehall show at Caribbean Palm Estate, Spanish Town Road.

— By Howard Campbell