Legendary reggae artist Sizzla says he believes that artists today have a broader understanding of reggae music, allowing the genre to evolve beyond the roots set by artists like Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. “The artists being a new type of artist in the music they gonna be more advanced, they gonna have a wider knowledge concerning reggae music now and it’s gonna sound much better and at another level. We can’t leave the music and think it’s gonna create itself,” Sizzla said.
Specifically relating to trap dancehall, Sizzla told The Fix Podcast that he is supportive of the new wave. “I have nothing bad to say about it, it’s music, it’s still sounding good. With Jamaica and our people, we like to criticize and scrutinize things. I am seeing the youths trying something new.”
He added, “I don’t fight them or bash them. If it’s being permitted by the most high, it’s something good, they can feed themselves. At least it’s better than firing guns. Youths of today want to make something a little different. To me, it’s like a new phrase in the music. It’s called the music, there are no laws saying you can’t play like this.”
Sizzla’s own journey and approach to music he says has been both prolific and diverse, embodying a relentless work ethic and a deep appreciation for various musical genres. With over 90 albums released to date, he reflects on his ability to create that many bodies of work, confidently stating, “For Sizzla with my work ethic, I can do an album a day,” he says, with 12 songs on the album. “I can do an album a day but for the average I’d say 9-10 (songs) a day.
Jay-Z’s former manager and business partner Damon Dash signed Sizzla in 2006 to his Damon Dash Music Group (DDMG) label, a then imprint of Def Jam and released one album, “The Overstanding.”
The album included re-recordings of classics like “Thank You Mama,” “Black Woman and Child,” and “Take Myself Away.” Initially, it was Jay-Z that had got the offer to sign Sizzla but it never materialized.
“My focus wasn’t to get signed to a major label, I didn’t go out looking for a deal with DefJam,” Sizzla explains. “My deal with DefJam came in the sense that I was just in New York and I met up with a person called BrukDown studio with Cookie and the youths at Church and 31st, and I would be like it’s my culture to sing, I like sharing new songs, new melodies, and new phrases.”
During that time, Sizzla says his commitment to music saw him in the studio every night, creating songs alongside talented individuals and being open to new kings of music. “I would be in the studio every night making songs and then you have this bredrin he makes beats that is Gavin, Foxy Brown’s brother.”
“Gavin said, ‘Dada you know that Jay-Z is doing some recording with my sister and I would like to get some recordings with Jay-Z so he could get some of my beats,’ and I say, ‘Ok, call Jay,'” he recalled.
“They called Jay-Z and we spoke, and Jay-Z arranged for us to come to the studio, but it was all about Gavin.”
The collaboration between himself and Gavin bore fruit when they came up with the song “Sexiness you need some a mine,” which led to discussions about a deal with DefJam through Damon Dash. “He said, ‘Dada you know you can get a deal with DefJam,’ and I said, ‘Ok, shot for it.'”
Sizzla says although he is known as a reggae artist worldwide, “Once I land in America, it’s gonna be dancehall or reggae or hip hop.”
He elaborates on the roots of reggae and dancehall, explaining their origins as a form of redemption for people in slavery. “The reason why you have the reggae and the dancehall is because it’s redemption, singing for a set of people in slavery, the beat of the music and the timing that’s what we gonna put the music on. It’s just the roots rock reggae but it’s still a whole note; at that pace, we can express ourselves.”
Sizzla says it is the same instruments used in reggae and dancehall that are used in other genres and it is left up to the creativity of an artist to decide how he/she will sing on a track. “The same drums and guitars and pianos and keyboards we are using to make this genre of music, dancehall and reggae, it can play hip hop, it can play R&B, it can play classic, it can play country. It’s for you to know the genre of music you want to produce.”
“In Jamaica, if you look now, the kids are rapping, they don’t only do reggae in Jamaica, they do reggae, they do dancehall, they do pop, calypso, soca, R&B. These kids, they make just about anything, original folk song, all those stuff,” he added.
The No Apology singer says his mission is to preserve all forms of music, not just reggae and dancehall. “Good musicians appreciate good music. I have done songs in that genre (maybe not saying soca), I have recorded on all those rides before. Afrobeats, reggaeton, all the same thing all have to do with the bars and how you play with the bars of the music, the tempo.”
In recent years several artist from Jamaica including Shenseea have been bashed for stepping out of the genre and making music on pop beats. In an interview with WMV she responded to those claims by saying others are tapping into reggae-dancehall culture, therefore she is tapping into other genres too. Moves like those Sizzla regard as well-rounded.
“Reggae music is one of the most beautiful music but I don’t think as a reggae artist I should just prove to the world that I can only just do reggae. You have to just make yourself be well-rounded, you are a product, you are your own walking Billboard, your only sources of advertisement,” Sizzla said.
The Rastafarian artist added, “You can’t just see yourself as an artist, you have to see yourself as a brand also, so persons not only seeing you for your music, but for your clothes, and whole iota different stuff. When they can see a reggae artist doing dancehall, doing hip hop, doing country, doing classic music, or any other conventional music, that’s something to expound on.”
