Wednesday 19 Jul 2006
Reggae Festivals Bring the Islands to Rhode Island
By Reza Corinne Clifton
Excerpt

Internationally acclaimed reggae singer, Mark Messam (formerly known as Shadowz), was born and raised in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica till he moved with his two brothers to the U.S.—to RI—in 1990, when he was 14 years old. The son of a talented singer-songwriter who was highly revered for his “pretty voice”, Messam delivers pleasant, infectious melodies with a skill and quality that dates back to when he began singing at six years old, for a then-local church.

In St. Elizabeth, Messam’s family lived a few doors down from a bar that Messam found himself drawn to, due to the music coming through equipment that amplified the sound outside “for miles around. It wasn’t like it is here in the states; no one was going to come ask you to turn it down,” Messam explained on a stiflingly hot Sunday afternoon. Even though he was a youth, Messam began performing at the bar and, to his father’s dismay, adopting performing habits which mimicked the dancehall style that was becoming more popular at the time; dancehall’s cadence and subject matter are generally more similar to hip hop than to traditional reggae.

Ambitious, and addicted to performing, Messam sought out fellow musicians and producers as early as he could upon arriving in the states. Finding a few producers in Boston willing to take a listen, more than one had the same advice in those early years: “focus on your singing [instead of the dancehall style].” One producer went a step further, suggesting that Messam try to write his own music to truly stand apart from other artists who depend primarily on doing covers. In following this advice, Messam has gained acclaim beyond the local scene, working with producers like Lustre Kings on songs like “No Politics,” “How Long,” and “End of Story”, which have been regularly aired AND frequently requested in places like Jamaica, England, Portugal, New York, and of course here in RI.

Though crediting the tranquility of RI (in comparison to the energetic New York life) with why he was able to write so many songs, Messam knows that, like Bain, he may need to leave RI. For now, though, RI is lucky to house a great talent like Messam, while reggae lovers are glad to have Sound Session, the Ocean State Reggae Festival, and the various dj’s, clubs and bars across the state offering such a diversity of options at their finger tips.