King Isaac s Coat Of Many Colors - 1064 Words

â€Å"King Isaac’s† Coat of Many Colors African societies have a widely held public opinion that artists, especially reggae artists are either illiterates or take marijuana or other substances of abuse. As much as such stereotypes hold for some, here is a man whose career has broken the barriers of such stereotypes. As the door to the music studio opens, a neatly dressed, huge man of about 5’90† tall, and seemingly in his early 50s, walks in. Call him King Isaac. This is one of the rare occasions when he will allow a journalist to follow him to the studio. With a notebook in hand, he sits and scribbles a few sentences and then move to the drums. As he nods and taps, the rhythms of the reggae base drum sounds out. He whistles and moves over†¦show more content†¦What attracted him to music? â€Å"My interest grew when Bob Marley came in 1980. He had done a song called ‘Zimbabwe,’ commemorating our struggle for independence and our government invited him and he opened a floodgate of reggae music,† he recalls. The youngster’s inspiration and he soon changed his poetic messages of black pride, justice, love and equality, to lyrics. I asked him why he switched to reggae. â€Å"The euphoria for independence, black liberation, those were the basic corner stones of the Zimbabwean experience at that time, and the music was great.† Joining a local band made debut for him and recorded his first gig, â€Å"Simuka†, a reggae ice about the liberation struggle in South Africa, in 1986. Simultaneously, he was studying for a Bachelor’s degree in Economic History and History at the University of Zimbabwe. Listening to and admiring Jamaican reggae artist, â€Å"I became a purist†, he tells me. â€Å"I felt the reggae of Africans was diluted† Despite the early taste of success, King Isaac knew staying local might not be enough for him to make it big. So, he looked for a way to get Jamaica. However, he cannot live in Jamaica because he has no job or residence permit. A scholarship opportunity in 1991 to study for masters and Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology at Indiana University, and he grabs it. â€Å"Coming to the U.S. I knew I would get money to go and record in Jamaica. It brought me closer to Jamaica. Some people might think it’s a