Dehdeh Blacks invited me to meet him during the Autumn last year when The Heptones were in the UK for a few events; especially the Skamouth weekend during which they received their second award in five years. We spent several hours chatting about many things and he also agreed to include a short, written interview. In addition, I was treated by Dehdeh to an in-depth tour of his cousin's garden which is where this pic was taken. It was really good to see home grown produce, which, as someone without so much as a window ledge can fully appreciate! Sadly, I only have a short clip on YouTube as the rest failed to record.
Our discussion revolved around Dehdeh's aspirations and journey as opposed to The Heptone's path to fame. Its Braap is about being inspired and it is good for us to find connections with people and possibly generate new interests within ourselves. This interview is written pretty much verbatim as usual, and I really want to comment on the first question- I love the opening answer in which Dehdeh adds so much strength to his statements through his directness- and I also love how he shuts me down every time when I border on an assumption!
Where did your interest in music arise?
At birth I would say. From I know myself, I’ve been
interested in it and from I know myself I‘ve been singing.
Where you one of those children who would sing at all the
family gatherings?
No, I was a very shy kid so I wasn’t that type of guy who
would get up and sing at family gatherings or church or anything else. But I
did sing at school and I joined the choir at any school I went to. If asked to
sing I would usually do that at school but not at church or any family events.
So why do you think you had that extra confidence at
school?
It’s nothing to do with confidence, I guess it’s just the
type of song that I gravitated to.
What kind of songs did you gravitate to?
Usually not the kinds of songs that you can sing at church
or family gatherings. When you sing at school it’s things that you hear on the
radio or a sound system or a juke box, passing by a bar or something.
They had a slightly more commercial flavour, did they? Is
that what was drawing you?
No because I wasn’t thinking about commercial flavour back
then. Just the beats? No, I was thinking about the song, what they sound
like and how they appeal to me and other people because you can’t just sing
songs that appeal to you. Earlier I was telling you that I relate to popular
songs and popular artists because that’s what you hear. You might like other
things, but the ones that mean the most people relate to worldwide. It’s the
ones that sound good that you gravitate towards. You don’t really think about
it so if you ask a question like that you can’t say much, it just sounds good
to you, you just like it, like people- you don’t think about it you just like
the person and it’s love at first sight or something. Well, that’s a very
straight forward approach. I’m a straight forward guy.
What were the interim steps between singing in the school
and doing this professionally?
No average Jamaican family would want their sons back then
to grow up being singers so it’s not something I was looking at as a
profession. It was just something that I liked. Coming up through the years,
onward, you see where a lot of people got quite successful at their art form
and you see you can make money out of that. Before that I was not looking at
music as a career but when I saw the Beatles, James Brown and Manfred Man and
the Rolling Stones, Impressions Music- those guys you know, American and
English artists that were very popular, even Elvis Presley and it looked very
glamourous; so sometimes you imagine yourself doing something like that. You
know you have the talent, and usually when people have the talent they are the
first one to know, and I knew I had that talent way back when- way back.
So how did that talent develop you into the person you
are today? How did you become a professional musician?
I actually started being a professional musician 50 years
ago at age 16, but at the same time, not a fulltime professional living.
Usually, when people say professional musician they mean something you do
fulltime. To me, professional musician means somebody who gets paid to perform.
It doesn’t have to be a fulltime job and a lot of musicians have to have other
means of maintaining themselves and their families. Back in the days most
artists, unless you had a big number one hit, weren’t getting real pay for their
music, and the music I used to do was like singing in bands and not actually
recording- performing you know and I got paid for that early on from age 16. I
sang with quite a few bands. That progressed. I never stopped singing. All
through my teenage life and adult life I’m always aligned to a band or a group
or even a solo private act.
What day to day jobs did you do?
I had so much job it would make your head spin. Jack of all
trades, yeah. I won’t mention everything but I work in transportation, solid
waste management, certain other government entities in Jamaica. I taught at art
school and I lectured at two universities. What did you lecture about? I
lectured in marketing and industrial relations, but as for school subjects I
taught the regular primary curriculum that the Ministry of Education
sanctioned. I also taught Afro-Centric curriculum which is not a part of the
regular curriculum so we teach about Marcus Garvey, Africa, things that let
children focus not only on what the ministry say you should learn, but focus on
things that we feel they need to learn because it’s a part of their history and
nobody’s teaching them that. Most of the schools I taught were not government
schools but they would teach the curriculum and could teach their own thing.
They were like prep schools, private learning centres. We would teach things
that average Jamaican child no matter what their colour or religion should
know.
That’s a big part of your personal legacy really, isn’t
it?
Yes, because I’m also an environmentalist and I’m a human
rights advocate as well. So, in terms of passion, your passion is divided
across a lot of areas? Yes, other people will say it but not really be an
activist in in. They will say, 'yes, I’m an environmentalist,' or an advocate for
human rights but they just say it. Does your waste management fit in with your
environmental beliefs? No, it was just one of the many jobs I had. I was a
public cleansing inspector, that was my title. So, what do you do to
actively promote environmental issues? No, you don’t have to be out there
in the front line or in the papers or anything like that to be an activist for
anything at all. Once you know that and you do your little part that’s good
enough. But yes, I march, I have been involved in march and all that of course.
Look at the Cockpit Country. They are mining there and we have many endemic
species in that particular area, the Cockpit Country. And it’s environmentally
protected but people still go in there and do what they want to do. And those
that should be monitoring it are the gatekeepers and they’re not doing a good
job-as people can still go in there and mine and do what they want, upset the
eco system, because the water table of Jamaica exists and originated in the Cockpit Country.
Returning to music, did you play with any other big bands
besides The Heptones?
In Jamaica I used to back up a guy named Junior Sinclair, Roots Radics band, and they have a band- I don’t like calling the name of some of these people you know, trust me. You know what I’m saying. Sometimes when it’s not a good experience you don’t want to call their names. Other well know people like The Jays; when a certain member was away I’d do a stint with them. I have sung with many other bands on shows- and Lloyd Parks, We The People. Fab Five of course being a member of JAVAA, Jamaica Association of Vintage Artists and Affiliates. The leader of Fab Five band is also the chairman of JAVAA. I have a personal connection with that one but I have sung with many, many bands in Jamaica, not as an actual member of the band but backed by them you know.
Do you have a favourite moment from any point in your
career?
I have a lot of those you know. I can’t pinpoint one but I’m
thinking. Sometimes it doesn’t have to be big it can just be subtle and you
still remember it, and it does not necessarily have to be on a big stage, you
understand me. But like I said, many moments like that man, at home and abroad
you know.
So how many countries have you travelled to?
A few in Europe, I’ve been to Mexico, well England and we’re
in England now, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Spain- you know the whole gamut. What
about Japan? That’s one place I’ve never been and I want to go there. We’ve
been to the Czech Republic and I think that’s the most Easterly country we’ve
been to. US, you can’t leave out US. I’ve also been to Cuba and you can’t leave
out Cuba. Quite a few.
What have been the most challenging changes in the last
few years that affect your music?
It’s not a challenge but the biggest thing to affect the
industry is the challenge of listening to the music. It’s good and it’s bad,
well not all that bad but as far as returns, monetary returns, no records so
people can just download their music. People don’t really have to buy music
these days you know. And you have a lot of good artists out there that can’t
make a living off music because if they not have a super hit or two or three
good songs in them repertoire, well half a dozen then- but one of them has to be
big. They can’t really earn off that because records don’t sell anymore. I love
the revival with the vinyl industry. We want to keep it going and make more
turntables. People don’t understand the pleasure you get from spinning discs,
playing vinyl- it’s a pleasure sitting down and putting them on the turntable
and playing them. Not punching in something and listening but actually sitting
down and playing. It sounds different let me tell you. I can see from your
face while you’re talking. Yeah man, I still have my turntable and some of
my records.
So, what else have you planned in the near future?
Well, Sunday we’re in Coventry, Two Tone Village, meet and greet
the Heptones and everybody’s meant to be there and we’re doing recordings of
course but for friends, not for no money or nothing, we have a lot of friends
here, and we have a show at Margate coming up and we have a few
shows lined up in Jamaica for the end of the year and next year. I’m also
liaising with some people in Europe for Rosslau, Eastern Germany and Cologne.
I’m glad we’re out of Covid and I’m glad there ain’t no mandates because I
wouldn’t be going there. My immune system is up on top so I’m ready!
A big Thank You to Dehdeh for this interview, which I hope had you engaged and I found it very enlightening.
Jaz McKenzie~ The Word Magician
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