Sizzla Blasts Rastafarian Reggae Artists For ‘Being Hypocrites Unto To Themselves, Haile Selassie And Jamaica’
Sizzla has rebuked Reggae artists, who have declared themselves Rastafarians, yet have never visited any Rastafarian tabernacle in their lives, have no clue about Rastafarian religious rites, and are even failing to observe Haile Selassie’s birthday in the prescribed manner.
According to Sizzla, among the litany of the Rastafari artists’ transgressions is the fact that none of them have been praying; they were failing to keep the Sabbath; they were not contributing to the upkeep of or fixing the roads to the holy temples and other spiritual places; and they were not attending the Selassie birthday services for their names to be “registered in the Rastafarian Holy Book of Life”.
“You Rastafari artist wearing locks and have turban, you are not cleaning up your holy sanctuary,” Sizzla said in an Instagram Live on Friday, as he released a new album titled On A High.
“Nuffa wi weh a Rasta artiste, weh mek millions a dollas offa Rastafari name and culture- wi a start wid wiself; wi not going to di tabernacle. Wi don’t know di reverence; wi don’t know di Ethiopia anthem; wi don’t know di Psalms; wi don’t know how to hold di banner. You don’t know nothing dung a Binghi grung; yuh don’t know how to do nothing up a Bobo Hill, but you a sing bout pretty girls,” Sizzla said.
Sizzla also said none of the artists, including himself, were innocent of the transgressions and that the likes Buju Banton, Capleton, and Bugle were among the wayward Rastas who were guilty of not paying reverence to His Imperial Majesty, as they were absent from the tabernacles on Haile Selassie’s birthday and were not carrying out the works of Rastafari or helping the Rasta community.
“Not even one a oonu big artiste – a mi alone a guh up deh to and fro. Mi tiad, but mi naw stop do di work. None a oonu mi nuh si wid oonu Benz and Bimma a climb guh Bobo Hill inna tabernacle guh siddung and clap one, two” Sizzla said before adding that he was not excluding himself from blame either.
“Mi need fi si Buju Banton, Capleton, Bugle, Sizzla, all Jamaica Rastafari artiste once yuh have locks pon yuh head, once Selassie birthday forward, yuh supposed to deh inna tabernacle; once yuh have di turban pon yuh head, yuh supposed to deh a Bobo Hill, a chant. Once yuh have locks or turban, yuh supposed to deh a Twelve Tribe, Bobo Hill, Nyahbinghi or Ethiopia World Federation or dung a Ethiopian Orthodx Church,” he added.
The August Town native said the Rasta artists were also failing to visit the Rastafarian sacred grounds like Bobo Hill to pray to Jah, a stark contrast to adherents of Jamaica’s other religions who show devotion to their respective faiths.
“How wi can si di whole heap a Muslim an di Christian dem a pray on a Sunday or whatever time respectfully, an wi caan have no video wid 1000 artiste praying? Anthony B a weh yuh deh? Weh yuh a deal wid determine? Capleton? How wi nuh deh a Bobo Hill in di tabernacle praying?” he asked.
“We Jamaican artistes must stop being hypocrites to ourselves and the nation. A nation who have been supporting you through all the good and the bad things. Di Rastaman em alone upa Bobo Hill; all dem can see is Sizzla? A who oonu a ramp wid?” the Good Ways artist added.
Sizzla, in an implicit response to Foota Hype who accused the Rastas of not being united, and being weak like kittens for not speaking out against the alleged trimming of Nzinga King, said that because the artists were failing to honour their sacred duties to His Majesty, there was no way they, in good conscience, could go out and speak on behalf of Rastafarians.
“We need to see more youths going to the tabernacle and once wi start going to the tabernacle, then we can go to the street in the perfect order set by Prince Emmanuel, Marcus Garvey and Selassie I, our fathers and mothers, and then we can start can protest in a good sense,” Sizzla said.
“The reason why di people can’t get di protest, to deal with Babylon case, we the artists are not united and remember the prophesy seh: ‘singers and players of instruments my springs are in thee’ so we the artistes need to go before,” he continued.
Added Sizzla: “The nation depend on the artiste and the Rastaman especially, for their redemption and for their well-being. The nation depend on the politician and di government fi fix up di country and fix up di road and fix up di school system and di health system and dem suppm deh. We the artiste di people deal wid I and I more serious.”
In calling for “boots on the ground” and “hands on the handle”, Sizzla said it was not just the male artists who have been transgressing, but their female counterparts as well.
“Mi need fi si di nice sexy female artiste a guh up a Bobo Hill and dung a Binghi, because di female artistes not going to Bobo Hill, and di female artistes they are not going to Nyahbinghi and all these black cultural churches and associations like the UNIA, Marcus Garvey place. We the artistes and the women in the music industry, the millionarire women in the music industry, they are not goin to these places…,” he added.
Wi a start wid wielf an mi a start wid myelf. When yuh si sizla go on di bike a wheelie and him an di crow and di bag a prtty girls dem. Oonu fi ask dem if dem a come from tabernacle. A lot of u wearing di turban and di robe an wi have locks pon I head she wi a Rasta; wi not ging to tabernacle.
Like Foota Hype, Sizzla also contended that many artists, were keeping all the money they made from the Rastafari culture to themselves with no concern for their brethren and the Rastafari facilities.
“Nuff a wi weh a Rastaman weh rich and have money and have locks pon wi head, wi quick fi guh inna di clubs and di stage show but wi don’t quick fi join di Rastaman dem at di Nyahbinghi. Di Icient Rasta man dem a lone a chant. And you weh rich outta di musi and di culture, wi naw buy no bathroom bowl, wi not fortifying the fences; wi not fixing di roads to the holy temple,” he said.
He said the Rasta artistes have not even been helping the Haile Selassie High School in Kingston, which was another sign of their hypocrisy.
“Di place inna bad state – di school weh name Haile Selassie – an di whole a wi a praise King Selassie I and have no sorta attention to di schools, but wi a meck whole heap a money outta dub plate and whole heap a money outta Reggae… wi a big hypocrite to di nation,” he said.
“Yuh look pon di Christian churches, paint up an look pretty. Yuh look pon di Muslim dem; their mosques are beautiful. What about di Rastaman tabernacle? It don’t require a lot to fix these places. Fire!” he said, before adding: “When oonu si mui oonu can cuss mi.”