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Interview: Bushman
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Interview: Bushman
"Peter Tosh hasn't got the kind of recognition of Bob but they have done the great work together"
Sampler
Bushman, born Dwight Duncan in the parish of St Thomas, Jamaica, is a long-time favourite of international audiences for his old school roots and culture message and rich, deep singing voice. Through the years he has been compared to many singers who came before him such as Luciano and Dennis Brown, but recently he has been paying tribute to Peter Tosh in the form of forthcoming album 'Bushman Sings The Bush Doctor', currently slated for release on October 19th 2010 [This album has now been put back to December]. To raise the profile of this repeatedly-shelved personal project, he’s torn down the European Festival circuit over the summer, backed by the highly accomplished French group No More Babylon. When being interviewed Bushman is always moving to his own internal rhythm and when he spits his plosives - the "p" and "b" sounds in his speech - they hit you in the chest like sound system bass. Yet despite these distractions, Angus Taylor, was able to get the latest info on his album release backstage at Rototom Sunsplash 2010.
Tell me a bit about your upcoming project 'Bushman Sings The Bush Doctor'.
Bushman Sings The Bush Doctor? Well Peter Tosh has been such an influence on me. For me Peter Tosh hasn't got the kind of recognition of Bob but they have done the great work together. Also Bunny and Bob but Bunny is living anyway. So I took it on myself to do a tribute to Peter to establish - to RE-establish! - some of the great works that he has done.
You covered Buckingham Palace on your 2008 album 'Get It In Your Mind'. Was this where the idea started or were you thinking of this long before?
It was Lighthouse that song from the album Signs [2004]. I was doing this interview with Richie B, and Omar Davies, the Minister Of Finance in Jamaica, he was listening to the interview and got in touch with my manager. And he told my manager, "Oh! This man reminds me so much of Peter Tosh!" This was when I started to dig deeper into Peter Tosh's folklore and find out what this man is really about. 
Then someone came to me with Lighthouse, because Lighthouse wasn't written by myself, and the way the lyrics were written and they were projecting to me sounded like Peter yearning to come out. The sound of the instruments and everything. So this was when I sung Lighthouse with a Peter Tosh spirit and a lot of people listening to it said, "it sounds like Peter Tosh!" so this is where it starts. Then Glen Brownie from the Brownie Bunch who are famous in Jamaica - Cleveland Brownie, Danny Brownie and them - well Glen the bass player who used to play with Peter, he came to me with Buckingham Palace. He asked me to do Buckingham Palace and I told him, "Really and truly Glen, I would like to do an album of Peter called Bushman Sings The Bush Doctor". But Glen was a bit busy, I guess, and the word went across to Donovan Germain from Penthouse and he liked it and he said we would do it together as co-producers - Burning Bushes Music and Penthouse.
Music is a magnet. For me "singers and players of instruments - all my springs are in thee"
You've been talking about this album since at least 2008. When is it coming out?
It comes out on Peter Tosh's birthday [19th October but this album has now been put back to December] this year. It's been three years in the pipeline, this album, because of negotiations to get rights for things and stuff like that. For myself, I'm trying to work with the Peter Tosh Foundation so that a dollar from every sale of the album goes to the Foundation and when we tour the Bushman Sings The Bush Doctor Tour, a dollar for every ticket to the concert goes to the Foundation. So these are things we are working on and hopefully we'll get it proper together. Hail Peter Tosh and the fans of Peter Tosh and reggae music.
You've really got a real synergy with your band on this tour No More Babylon. How did you both gel together so well?
Yes I Give Thanks and Praise. It's a good band. It was not a thing that was planned. Where great people desire to play music and where great singers desire to play with great musicians, we come together because music is a magnet. For me "singers and players of instruments - all my springs are in thee" so we feel each other. And this music - reggae music - is a great music. It's a soul food. It's not based on digital - it's based on ten or twelve or four or five hearts coming together to play music to a hundred million people. So we just play music - no borders no barriers. Rasta.
Reggae music - is a soul food. It's not based on digital - it's based on ten or twelve or four or five hearts coming together to play music to a hundred million people
Now on stage at Rototom tonight you said the United Nations is "a front". Can you go into some more detail about that?
Well really and truly for me now, the United Nations is the world police. They are the one who steps in and says when war should stop and when war should break. Now we take so much to fight wars that are really conflicts of interest, we all know - because there are a lot of hypocrites out there. If you take a million dollars to maintain a Stealth Bomber in the Middle East, yet Unicef and Smile.org say these these kids in Indonesia and places are being born... (pauses) retarded because of biological warfare and all these things. 
We should fix these things! What do you call "inhumane"? What do we call "inhumane"? Are we the civilizers? Are we the civilized people when we prey upon our own people? Let us ask ourselves. Because it's not about just pointing the finger at one person - it's us. Are WE civilized? Not until we come together as one people with one heart, seeing no colour, no race, no class, no creed or these things will never change.
Do you have anything to say to Bushman fans?
Be yourself. Know yourself. Know what you stand for. Know your purpose in life. Know what you're about. Love Jah. Love Yourself. There's a thin line between love and hate - between wrong and right - and there's a balance. Evil on the back side, righteousness on the front side. Negative and positive govern the world - from the street bulb to the ignition from your car. All of these things work through negative and positive energy. They are all one but it is which one that govern that one? Good over evil I say. Be right with yourself. Love Jah and live. Yes Rastafari. Bless.
Are WE civilized? Not until we come together as one people with one heart, seeing no colour, no race, no class, no creed
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Read comments (4)
| Posted by misssunshine on 10.29.2010 | |
| Brilliant interview. | |
| Posted by SISTA VEE on 12.07.2010 | |
| AS A PETER TOSH FAN WHO HAD THE PLEASURE OF MEETING IN @JFK AIRPORT1983,WE HAD ANICE CONVERSATION & I STILL HAVE AUTOGRAPHER PHOTO OF HIM ON MYSHELF,BUSHMAN HAS CHOOSEN A GREAT RASTA TO STUDY!JAH GUIDE | |
| Posted by Marsha Farmer on 01.28.2011 | |
| Blessing Bushman keep trodding! and releasing the lyrics from da heart! sister in-law! | |
| Posted by takunda katiyo on 10.03.2011 | |
| More works Bushman I really love your vibes | |
Comments actually desactivated due to too much spams
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