NEW YORK – The competition is steep among young reggae artists seeking a break and the chances of succeeding can oftentimes seem as daunting as the probability of a small nation securing the World Cup trophy.
One artist who is currently attracting much attention for his distinctive vocalizing and uplifting lyrics fully understands the tough odds of obtaining victory in an competitive field because he is also a former football star.
From 1994 through 1996 Anthony Martin played with the St. Andrew Technical High School football team then went on to become a professional midfielder with the Premier League teams Hazard (now Portmore United) De la Vega and Constant Spring. But shortly thereafter, just prior to the Reggae Boyz’ qualification for the World Cup in 1998, he left professional football because Jamaica’s sports infrastructure did not accept his Rastafarian way of life; instead he went on to pursue his first love: music.
Martin, better known to reggae fans as Lutan Fyan, is now one contemporary roots reggae foremost cultural sing-jays and it is the Rastafarian tenets of honoring the divinity of Hailie Selassie I, resolute self identity and an adherence to a natural lifestyle that inform his lyrics.
However, it is Lutan’s originality in communicating those ideals that sets him apart from the many hopeful singers and deejays congregating daily in Kingston studios awaiting recording opportunities.
Rastafari provides the inspiration for 11 stirring, diversified tracks on Lutan’s VP Records debut ”Healthy Lifestyle” (produced by Philip “Fattis” Burrell) but his messages are easily understood by anyone seeking uncompromising truths and a better way of life. “The life we live, that is how we sing so we live Rasta, we sing Rasta,” explains Lutan. “So in day to day life, the things that happen, we just sing it in a music, because that is our experience and it just come across through the sound.”
The CD begins with the blazing “Thief In Jah Garden” which admonishes those individuals attempting to derail the righteous ambitions of “the soldiers in Jah army”. ”You Can Do It” features an upbeat rhythm that appropriately frames it empowering sentiment aimed specifically at the youth while “Children Are Mine” further expresses Lutan’s concern for the future of young people.
With restrained anger, Lutan issues a stern warning to hypocrites and wrong doers on ”No Draw No Blood” then suddenly adopts heartfelt serenity on the loving tribute to his mother “Mama’s Love”. ”Natural Herbs” extols the healing powers of sarsaparilla, strong back and other vegetable matter while the track cautions against the perils of deviating from an organ approach to health. Throughout, Lutan’s vocals display an engagingly raspy quality while his effortless, inspirational delivery blurs the boundaries between impassioned singing and razor sharp deejaying.
Lutan, now 30, was just a child when he began honing his vocal skills and working out his rhymes on his grandfathers’ sound system The Black Iniverse. He made the requisite rounds at various Kingston studios, encountering varying degrees of indifference and outright rejection but found a welcoming reception at Buju Banton’s Gargamel Music Studios where he went on to record almost twenty tracks.
However it was his release for the Mack D label ”There is No Peace in Spanish Town”, a heartfelt plea to save Jamaica’s original capital city from escalating gang related violence, which brought Lutan Fyah to prominence on the Jamaican music scene. Rastafarian way of life, regardless of the resistance he has endured over the years.
Equally hard hitting messages resonate throughout “Healthy Lifestyle” as Lutan’s energetic yet emotive vocals, framed by the expertly crafted one drop riddims of Kingston’s finest including drum and bass dynamos Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare and guitarist Earl “Chinna” Smith, bring a youthful fyah to roots reggae’s established paradigms of spiritually enriching lyrics and synergistic musical excellence.
