Multi-talented Ajamu lets ‘Compassion Reign’
HOT AT HAITI! ‘Vodou Roots’ embraces Black identity
Caribbean L 30 ife, January 15-21, 2021
and reconciliation,” she said. “It
offers an open invitation to students,
educators and community
members to explore issues of
historical mis-representation,
structural/institutional power
and privilege, and internalized
oppression in relation to African
and Diaspora religions (ADR).”
Roman said “Vodou Roots”
— curated through film, oral
storytelling (podcast) and
live performances to preserve
Vodou’s cultural expressions and
indigenous knowledge — dispels
xenophobic biases towards
it while promoting equity and
tolerance of “Black indigenous
ways of being.”
She said “Vodou Roots” is
an outgrowth of 25-plus years
of anthropological research,
teaching and personal practice,
highlighted through “Brooklyn
to Benin: A Vodou Pilgrimage;”
“Vodou Roots: A Love
Story Musical;” and “WaWaWa
Diaspora Centre.”
Romain said “Brooklyn to
Benin: A Vodou Pilgrimage”
is a short film chronicling her
three-year sojourn to Benin, formerly
Dahomey, the birthplace
of Vodou, an ancient West African
religion.
“’Brooklyn to Benin’ is my
personal pilgrimage into Vodou
and its artistic and cultural survival
throughout the Diaspora,”
she said, adding that Vodou,
also spelled Vodun, is “a spiritual
and religious practice that
originates with the Fon and
Ewe of Benin, West Africa.”
“Vodou Roots: A Love
Story Musical” is an intimate
audio-narrative journey about
Romain’s life and her relationship
with Vodou and other traditional
African religions/spiritual
practices.
She said this 32-minute podcast
explores Vodou’s historical
survival, cultural impact, universal
values, arts and healing
modalities.
Romain said “WaWaWa
Diaspora Centre” is a mobile
platform created in Benin
(2016) and incorporated in New
York State as a not-for-profit
(2018).
She said it “advances racial
harmony and healing” for
the Black descendants of the
Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
on both sides of the Atlantic
Ocean, through inter-generational
arts, education and
exchange programs.
With over 20 years of teaching,
training and supporting
diverse communities, Romain
said she uses photographs/film/
performance as mixed-media
educational tools “to promote
love, understanding and respect
in addressing issues of race, representation
and justice through
participatory and reflective
learning practices.”
Through an extensive global
network, she said she produces
culturally-transformative curricula,
workshops, salons, performances,
forums, exhibits/
festivals and tours.
Romain is the founder of
Urban PhotoPoets, Brooklyn
Photo Salon and the Brooklyn
to Benin projects.
Portraits for “Self-Determining
Haiti,” Romain’s photographs
of Haiti after the devastating
7.0 earthquake, was
featured at A.I.R. Gallery as her
first solo exhibition as a 2011-
2012 Fellow.
tempo.”
Driven said Gouyad “involves
aggressive sexual dancing that
usually partakes in the whining
of the hips.
“Zouk-Love consists of more
sensual love jams, Mini Jazz
enlists of groovy small big
bands, and Rasin is classified
as voodoo rock,” she said. “To
get a better sense of the music,
what’s a better application to
use than Audiomack right?”
Driven said the platform
has been bringing the vibrant
Caribbean worldwide recently,
adding that “it will continue to
do so for years to come.”
Continued from Page 29
Continued from Page 29
lockdown,” Ajamu told Caribbean
Life in an exclusive interview
on Monday.
He said the idea behind the
project was initiated by his friend
Troy Garvey, a former program
director of the Grenada Broadcasting
Network (GBN), in a telephone
conversation after releasing
two compositions soon after
his dad died on April 2, 2020.
Ajamu said one of the songs
was a tribute to his dad, entitled
“Rudolph Mitchell,” and the
other was on “COVID-19.”
“At the time, the country of
Grenada was on lockdown,” he
said. “So, when the frustration of
dealing with the loss of my dad
and the pandemic started getting
me down, I took (went to)
my recording studio and started
doing music.
“Troy thought I was in creative
state of mind,” Ajamu added.
“So, he suggested that I write
a song of inspiration that I can
get some of our local singers
to perform with me. So, this is
where the idea of the song came
from.”
The musician – singer, song
writer and composer – said “Let
Compassion Reign,” seeks to
convey the message: “If tomorrow
should yield another chance
for us to be in this life, we should
try to make the best of that
chance.
“So, bringing compassion to
each other is a perfect way to
start,” he said.
The 25 Grenadian artists
who joined Ajuma on the video,
released on July 23, comprise:
Christy, Boyze, Black Man,
Val Adams, Stumpy, Mr. Legz,
Randell Thomas, Randy Isaac,
Speckey, Brother B, Tall Pree,
Otis, Rita Augustine, Kerleen
Duncan Lewis, Arlene Joseph,
Melanie Frazer, Beverly Victor,
Young Sound, Pappy Boy, Valene
Nedd, Akeem, Smallies, Riggy
Derigs and Reggie Charles.
In 2016, Ajamu said he was hit
by a potentially life-threatening
illness in which many doctors
predicted the worse.
But, he said, his “warrior lion
spirit prevailed,” clawing his way
back from the deadly grips of the
Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS)
to make a return to his love and
passion — creating world class
music.
According to Wikipedia, the
free online encyclopedia, GBS
is a rapid-onset muscle weakness
caused by the immune system
damaging the peripheral
nervous system.
“Typically, both sides of the
body are involved, and the initial
symptoms are changes in sensation
or pain often in the back
along with muscle weakness,
beginning in the feet and hands,
often spreading to the arms and
upper body,” Wikipedia said.
“The symptoms may develop
over hours to a few weeks.”
During the acute phase, it said
the disorder can be life-threatening,
with about 15 percent
of people developing weakness
of the breathing muscles and,
therefore, requiring mechanical
ventilation.
Wikipedia said some people
are affected by changes in the
function of the autonomic nervous
system, “which can lead
to dangerous abnormalities
in heart rate and blood pressure.”
Ajamu, who is also known as
“Kingman,” said he has been
working diligently on his reggae
album, carded for release
this year.
He said his music reflects the
variety of spices and musical art
forms prevalent in Grenada and
the Caribbean. Ajamu is adept
in calypso, soca, parang and reggae.
As a truly multi-talented
entertainer, few Caribbean
entertainers arguably can match
Ajamu for his ability to write and
arrange music, and compose
sharp and deep lyrics.
Ajamu, whose real name is
Edison Mitchell, said he began
singing calypso in 1983 after a
one-year stint in Trinidad and
Tobago, where he experienced
firsthand “the great calypso
stars in action.”
Once he arrived on the calypso
scene, he said Grenadian
calypso aficionados welcomed
“this breath of fresh air,” dubbing
him “King Ajamu.”
Continued from Page 29
DJ Stakz at the controls. DJ Michelattie
Grenadian calypsonian, King Ajamu. Ritchie Francis/
Ritchimage