The Music-Hating Archipelagos

Ras Natty Baby - Let it Be Love (from Seggae Time 1999)

My Madagascar music obsession wandered east once and I ended up on the islands home to both the Dodo bird and the strange French-speaking rastafarian sound of Seggae. One of the originators of the sound, Mauritian musician Ras Natty Baby was accused of trafficking Heroin into the islands in 2003, most likely a setup for the singer who always spoke his mind about the local government. He spent 42 months behind bars, only to be released free of all charges in 2006 due to a main witness claiming his deposition was signed under threat. The officials of the islands over there really don't like Seggae music, as coiner of said genre Kaya was found dead in prison back in 1999, starting riots by the local music fans that resulted in more deaths. Ras Natty Baby took a vacation to his home island of Rodrigues for a minute after he was released from prison in 2006, and still lives in Mauritius with his 8 children. This track is from the album prior to his imprisonment, Seggae Time. Odd twittery synths that warn off duppies and the music hating government. For more info check out these articles over at Freemuse here and here.

Strange happenings in a place with one of the highest GDPs per capita in Africa.

Also, I have just added a Sound Cloud box on the right hand side of the site, so send me more music! Been loving the stuff I have received so far, much appreciated.