Musicians

This Is Ra Deal: ''Nutten Fi Babylon Nuh Pretty!''

Rhyme for rhyme and flow for flow, Ra Deal's gritty, herb laden vocals are at one with the freshest of sounds that pump through Kingston's recording studios. Lyrically speaking, there are no buts because words certainly never get in the way. No microphone check ever goes wasted as the chanter's peculiar ability to rant it out, sans rehearsal and impromptu delivers the bang for the buck every time.

“Transplant from shoots...”

From the very onset, the stage was set for a musically inclined Ra Deal to emerge. Perhaps it was the greenery; growing up in Gordon Town offered the chanter a chance to commune with nature in humble, quiet surroundings. Unlike many of his musical counterparts, it is nature and not the garrisons that has always been his point of inspiration. It is this mere fact that not only puts him at a lyrical advantage, but clearly gives him a greater validity as one professing and living the Rastafari tradition. “The hills grew me on a natural meditation, which itself linked me to Hailie Selassie,” Deal acknowledges.

The sound of shakers and nyabinghi drums that permeated the air during his childhood helps to define that forever evolving Ra Deal Sound. On the magnificent hip hop flavoured 'Kushite Wissi,' Ra Deal leaps ahead of the pack, in a perfectly synchronized offering of kete' drums and break-beats.

''Ra to the Deal''

Though fully nurtured by Mother Nature and mountain breezes, the artiste is by no means tender around the edges. As above so below and life reflects art and art certainly reflects life it seems. Take the long acquired Ra Deal moniker for instance. His very cut and dry utterings might have easily inspired the Ra Deal name. The name suggests a take him or leave him character and mind you … that’s just what the time is. When musical interest took shape at age nine, Ra Deal did not have to look too far for inspiration. He proudly declares that he was “never inna di gun tune ting.” The likes of Buju Banton and Terro Fabulous worked specifically to fuel Ra Deal’s passion for the entertainment craft.

Professionally, the artiste has spent the last five years or so in the recording studios, giving random interviews and generally honing the craft. Famous Kingston stables like Shocking Vibes; Kingston 6 (Akili Boyd); Jack Scorpio; Joe Gibbs, Anthony Bassie; Scatta (Ruff Cut Band) form an exhaustible list of entities that have taken a keen interest in the Ra Deal sound, a sound that will in the near future come to represent a generation of Rastafari youth firmly charging away from compromise. On Bun Dung Babylon he rings out the chant, “Dasheen and cocoa deh inna di soil again, Congo man can Yat di yat in fine style again...” opting to stay close to nature. If his true nature is that of a burgeoning reggae virtuoso, maybe that’s not such a bad thing. Music or no music, every rebel needs a rebel-unit. Ra Deal has made his musical home on Copper Loxz Recordz, a label that has done nothing less than perfect the Ra Deal sound. Lyrically quick on the draw, the chanter delivers street worthy, yet grass-roots verses… “Kushite Congo weh tell Babylon bout dem bombo…” explains the duality of the Warrior and the Man from the hills. On Bun Dung Babylon the artiste “Dasheen and cocoa deh inna di soil again, Congo man can Yat di yat in fine style again...” the artiste opts to stay close to nature. If his true nature is that of a burgeoning reggae virtuoso, maybe that’s not such a bad thing.