Old Boy NEWS
Emile returns to Jamaican roots
J
onathan Emile 2003 returned to the sights and sounds of his family home in Jamaica for his most recent album, entitled Spaces-in-Between, released in January 2020 on Bob Marley’s record label, Tuff Gong. The first single, “Savanna” is an ode to his family’s home town of Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland. “My mom’s from Jamaica, so we went there every year or two, so when I go back I speak Patois,” says Jonathan. “It’s like a different language, so when I’m there I speak French or Patois or whatever.” “Whenever I go back to Jamaica it’s like a pilgrimage or a birthright, where I get to rediscover and uncover parts of myself,” says Jonathan. “The song tries to capture and communicate this and the love I feel for a place I call home.” This spirit was conveyed to Selwyn House students in Grades 3-11 when Jonathan visited the school on Feb. 5 to give a unique presentation for Black History Month. Since he graduated from Selwyn House, Jonathan has gone on to become a well-established hip-hop and reggae recording artist, rapper, singer, producer, activist and cancer survivor who has taken his artistry around the world and has worked with some of the biggest names in pop music. He has recorded with Kendrick Lamar, and has opened for artists like Sean Paul and Nelly. He has been named to the longlist for two Grammy awards, one for his solo hip-hop recordings and one as lead vocalist with the Franco Proietti Morphtet, a group he appeared with at the 2014 Montreal Jazz Festival. At Selwyn House, his Black History Month presentation began with a video of his hit song “Heroes,” followed by a talk in which he paid tribute to his father and other real-life heroes, people “larger than life,” such as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Ghandi, and Sir Winston Churchill. This led to the thesis of his talk: music as “a tool for communication and social change.” He spoke of how, when slaves were brought to North America from Africa, Veritas, page 12
they were stripped of their culture, but music allowed them to maintain their roots. “Our language was taken away, our religion, families broken apart, selfdetermination and purpose stripped away. Music remained as a singular force for bringing these people together. And they used music to celebrate, to mourn, to deal with their emotions, and this continues to this day.”
Bob Dylan and “A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke, two songs of protest that were popular during the American civil rights struggle in the 1960s. Jonathan concluded his presentation with a moving rendition of “Redemption Song” by Bob Marley. “Black History Month is not just for black people,” he said. “It’s for everybody, as an example of the human struggle and
“Black History Month is not just for black people. It’s for everybody, as an example of the human struggle and human persistence.” He spoke of Harriet Tubman, an escaped slave who worked through the Underground Railroad to smuggle hundreds of slaves to Canada. He sang “Wade in the Water,” a Negro spiritual that he said is code for a technique runaway slaves used for eluding the dogs searching for them. He played “Blowin’ in the Wind” by
human persistence.” A Taste of Reggae Before his latest album, most of Jonathan’s previous music was hip-hop, so it took his producers by surprise when he undertook to record a reggae album done live in the studio with a live band. “I’ve always had a little taste of reggae
