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Greenwich Town Seen Through the Eyes of Prince Alla

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Greenwich Town Seen Through the Eyes of Prince Alla

Greenwich Town Seen Through the Eyes of Prince Alla

By Marc Ismail on Wednesday, January 9, 2008 - Photos by Prince Alla - Comment

You know Prince Alla as a singer? Let's discover Jamaican ghetto Greenwich Town with pictures from Prince Alla as a photographer.

Prince Alla (by Marc Ismail)

Cameras are not welcome in the ghetto. For visitors, taking pictures in these no-go areas is a hard and sometimes dangerous task. With Prince Alla by my side, I was able to visit Greenwich Town every day for two months. But I still didn't have pictures. I couldn't show my friends where roots reggae was coming from. I couldn't show them the people, the warm smiles, or the tough looks.

That's why I asked Prince Alla to take my little camera and hang around in his Greenwich Town. Because Prince Alla was born and raised there, because it’s been his world for 57 years, that was the best way to show how his world looked like. As a singer and a rastaman, Prince Alla is respected and loved there. He could do what I couldn’t and it was then easier for him to get a more realistic vision of the whole atmosphere. Get the natural feelings of the people. Find the smiles behind violence and poverty. I didn't know what to expect, but the result just amazed me.

These pictures are just a beginning. Prince Alla is not only a good man and an outstanding singer, he's also a great photographer. Please enjoy discovering Greenwich Town through the eyes of one of its children.