Luciano Says He Left Xterminator Camp Because Of Sizzla, Jesse Jendah
Reggae star Luciano has said it was the ‘unacceptable’ actions of Sizzla Kalonji and the late Jesse Jendah that caused him to make what he described as a “heartrending departure” from Reggae/Dancehall producer Fattis Burrel’s Xterminator camp in 1999.
Swearing that he was talking the whole truth, Luciano asserted that trouble began brewing after Sizzla joined Xterminator and later began recording unwholesome songs, which made him (Luciano) uncomfortable.
“To tell di God truth enuh, I never wanted to part with Xterminator or Firehouse crew. But it had reached the stage where, when Sizzla came in the crew, after a while Sizzla start giving off some different vibes and some type of songs. He started singing certain type of songs,” Luciano said in a recent I Never Knew TV interview.
“Because the first song Sizzla did and I approached him, I said: why you do a song like that ‘snoke di herb an get a humble thought, Babylon can’t stop di one a what’s it not claat?’ Mi a seh ‘mi bredda come here. If you get a humble thought, wha meck yu haffi a wrath suh bredda?’
Him seh: ‘wha yuh mean by wrath?’
Mi seh: ‘yuh haffi a cuss bad word?’
Him seh: ‘no word nuh bad.’”
According to Luciano, based on the August Town native’s response, he referenced Psalm 19 verse 14 in the Biblical scriptures, which says ‘let the words of thy mouth and mediation of thine heart be acceptable in thy sight…” and further admonished him for straying from these principles.
“So if you assume this position as a high priest, turban you sing all them great songs like black woman and child and mountains around Jerusalem if a blast what’s the need to go that side?” Luciano said, recalling the words he had told Sizzla.
“He never took the advice… and I think he took offense to what I said to him. And so, I went to Fattis. I said ‘Fattis, you don’t know what song Sizzla have out deh a sing bout, a cuss whole heap a bad word and ting?’ An Fattis turned to me and seh ‘bwoy, him young enuh; him young man, suh yuh haffi jus si wid him.’”
Added Luciano: “Suh mi seh ‘Fattis, how all these years me an yuh deh pon di road an a bring yuh label and yuh have catalogue and hits, an yuh a guh tell mi now, yuh just a guh allow a young yute fi come now and just come mash up weh wi have or spoil weh wi have?’. Mi seh: ‘come on man, now that he’s young, a now yuh fi talk to di man. Talk to di yute before him tun a monster pon you Fattis’.”
According to Luciano, Fattis, who produced his acclaimed Where There is Life and It’s Me Again Jah albums, failed to listen to his fervent pleas to rein in Sizzla.
“Fattis neva listen. Fattis allow Sizzla fi do him ting an Sizzla get deeper into the profanity and start sing some other things. Suh when I see this kind of thing, I said ‘no this is where I have to part ways’. Because Fattis was not strong enough to control Sizzla, and then the negative vibe was creeping up,” the Your World and Mine artist said.
In speaking on what he said was Jesse Jendah’s involvement in his discontent with Sizzla, Luciano said he had misgivings about the Rude Boy Remember artist, when he joined the Xterminator camp.
“At the same time, it was Jesse Jendah who was also in Sizzla’s ears, telling him a bunch of things. Because (when) Jesse Jendah came in the crew, I thought he came as a good brother, but I thought he had ulterior motives. Why I say this, when I first met Jesse Jendah, when he came into Xterminator, Jesse was wearing Jherri Curls… he was dressing like an Italian, one of them Italian Mafia; that’s how Jesse Jendah looked,” Luciano said.
“I’m not putting on I’m not taking off; the truth is the truth. I remember he had on a pants with a big buckle at the front and mi haffi seh ‘Jesse, mind lightning lick dat buckle deh enuh’ an him seh ‘weh yuh a talk bout?’ Jesse came with an energy and him start going into Sizzla’s head. From Jesse came into Exterminator crew, Sizzla start bun God too, because Jesse was a man weh bun God an all kinds a tings,” the Manchester native added.
Swearing again that he was being truthful, Luciano said that based on the going-on with the two artists and the indifference with which Fattis dealt with matters, he had no choice but to quit Xterminator.
“I’m not putting on I’m not taking off; the truth is the truth and if a one want the truth be told come to the messenjah, mi a guh tell it as it is,” he said.
“It was heartrending when had to depart from Xterminator throughout the time. But it was suppm that I had to do to safeguard my own sanity and maintain my morality,” Luciano added.