Natural Black
Kingston, Kingston, Jamaica | MAJOR
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Fifth Element celebrates in New York
Saturday, November 06, 2010
FIFTH Element Records hosted the Culture in the City event over the Halloween weekend in the United States. The two-day celebration, which marked the tenth anniversary of the successful recording outfit, kicked off with a concert Saturday, October 30 at the C-Pac in Brooklyn. The second concert was held the following night at Macedonia Hall in Mount Vernon, New York.
While the first concert in Brooklyn failed to attract a huge crowd, there were high-energy performances from all the artistes. However, on the second night, a packed venue filled with cheering fans at the Macedonia Hall greeted the artistes and they did not disappoint.
Veteran singer John Holt was in scintillating form, wowing the audience with a steady stream of hit songs from his superb catalogue. Members of the audience jumped out of their seats to dance to huge hits like Stealing, Love I Can Feel, Ali Baba, the pro-marijuana Police in Helicopter and If I Were A Carpenter. After performing for about 15 minutes, he even paused to take requests, belting out Wear You to the Ball, a song from his stint with the Paragons, a cappella much to the delight of the female fans.
Then he segued neatly into his monster hit, Tide is High — which was made popular internationally by the singer Blondie — and he was forced to pull up the song several times. He urged his fans to Stick By Me, earning loud cheers each time, and closed strongly with On the Beach before exiting the stage.
Earlier, Natural Black was in awesome form, simultaneously announcing his association with Fifth Element Records and his intention to flip the reggae industry on its ear. First, he began to deejay offstage declaring "Rise we ah rise pon dem" in a coarse, gravelly Buju Banton-like voice. When he hit the stage, the crowd erupted with a cheer as he ran across the stage, doing a series of high-knee lifts.
Natural Black then performed the smooth It Nice, thrilling the audience with his powerful voice. The crowd sat mesmerised as he did his new single, On The Road, and bopped their heads to the rhythm, clearly thrilled by an audience who has matured into an incredible entertainer.
He then informed the crowd he would be bringing on a few of Fifth Element Records' latest signings, joking: "Fifth Element full a star, where were you are". The crowd laughed, and then singer Chris Howell then took the stage, and sang, We've Got Tonight.
Tony Curtis then walked on to wild cheers and he belted out Should I Even Listen, and then asked the band, Ruff Stuff, to play the classic Real Rock rhythm. He sang Wickedest Time and then Natural Black jumped in to do a Buju Banton classic, Come Test Mi Nuh, and the crowd almost lost its collective mind, some people jumping out of their seats to hold their lighters aloft.
Natural Black then closed his set with his number one hit, Far From Reality. Earlier that evening, singer Richie Spice delivered a great performance while Chuck Fenda got a big forward for Gash Dem and Light Dem. Spanner Banner also performed.
- Jamaica Observer
Fifth Element recording artiste Natural Black is now on a major campaign across Jamaica to promote his three songs. Trouble Nuh Set Like Rain, and Late Night Drive, and the Friends For Real Records, Searching For A Lady are the main focus of the artiste at the moment.
"Every dance, stage show or event weh a gwaan wi deh deh a promote di thing dem in the streets. Wi waan put on a event out a Bath inna St Thomas as well fi promote di songs more," said Natural Black.
A video for Trouble Nuh Set Like Rain, is also in the making and he said may be for the other two songs also.
"Yuh see, more while the road request it enuh, but anything the people want a that wi a go gi dem," he said.
"Because suh far is a great response wi a get. Wi have the team in the streets and them a feel the response. Mi jus give thanks cause wi nah stop do the work. Natural Black nah let down the fans. Good music will always be there," he said.
He already has a number of shows lined up for the holidays which will see him travelling to countries such as Guyana and New York to do performances
- The Jamaica Star
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
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Natural Black Biography
Situated between Spanish speaking Venezuela, Portuguese speaking Brazil and the former Dutch colony of Suriname on the northeastern shoulder of South America, Guyana is historically and culturally aligned to the Anglophile Caribbean. Approximately the size of Great Britain with a population of just 800,000 Guyana is known for its vast sugar and rice exports, an expansive forest that covers more than half of the country and, to a somewhat lesser extent, its homegrown musicians. Ken “Snakehips” Johnson, Britain's first black swing bandleader, seminal calypso/folk group the Tradewinds and the renowned Caribbean-pop-rock singer/songwriter/producer Eddy Grant are but three Guyanese artists working in diverse genres who have made their mark on the international music scene.
In recent years Guyana has become increasingly recognized for its wellspring of reggae talent; foremost among these acts is the uniquely gifted sing-jay Natural Black. Blessed with a soulfully resonant singing voice and razor sharp deejaying skills, which he often fuses to astonishing effect, Natural Black’s consistently positive lyrics derived from his life experiences and further influenced by the teachings of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I and the Rastafarian way of life, have reaped critical acclaim as well of legions of loyal fans. Natural Black’s dependably inspiring music has also merited diplomatic honors: on April 25, 2010, he was named a Musical Ambassador representing the youths of Guyana to the world at Guyana’s Accolade Music Awards. “Its nice to know that they recognize the work and reward me with something, it is a great joy,” says the artist born Mortimer Softley on March 16, 1975 in the city of Plaisance, Guyana. “The people in Guyana are glad to know there is someone in Jamaica keeping up the good work, pleasing a lot of souls and educating the youngsters at the same time.”
A resident of Kingston, Jamaica since 1995, Natural Black has overcome intense personal struggles and various professional challenges to obtain a prominent place in the fickle (reggae) music industry. A self described “street youth” Mortimer was just two years old when his mother died and he was sent to live with his aunt in Guyana’s capital, Georgetown. While still a teenager, he struck out on his own, selling clothes on the street as a means of supporting himself. He moved to neighboring Suriname before returning to Guyana where he served in the army for a short time and learned the welding trade. Irrespective of where he lived or the work he was doing, reggae music continually beckoned and Mortimer’s abundant musical gifts could not be restrained. He performed at parties, dances and with various bands in Georgetown but to succeed as a reggae artist, he knew he would have to leave his friends and family in Guyana and relocate to the music’s birthplace. “Realizing that I have this reggae talent, singing the music from Jamaica, I went into the countryside in Guyana and created my own music, singing the songs and grooming myself for reggae, trying to develop the skills more, to fit in with Jamaican artists so they can’t really identify me as a Guyanese artist,” he recalled. “It was a whole heap of in depth work and mind preparation; I gave myself 3-5 years before I come into Jamaica and start the work here.”
Natural Black made his first trip to Jamaica in 1995 to attend a function sponsored by the Twelve Tribes of Israel, a branch of Rastafari, commemorating the 65th anniversary of the coronation of Rastafarian deity His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I and his wife Empress Mennen, which was attended by Twelve Tribe members from around the world. Eager to build his reputation as a reggae artist, Mortimer decided to remain in Jamaica. He endured hunger, homelessness and displacement from his birthplace before settling into a section of the northeastern Kingston community of Bedward Gardens known as Dread Heights, which is predominantly occupied by Twelve Tribe members. Before long he was introduced to producer Philip Hudson of the Impact label, a cousin of Twelve Tribe member Binghi Lloyd. Hudson was the first producer to record a track, “Early This Morning”, with Natural Black or as he was then known, Black or White. “In the Bible they show you Joseph and Benjamin were from one mother and father, one’s color was white, one’s color was black so it is like a unity, a togetherness for the black and white race at the same time,” Natural Black explained. “But some people said they couldn’t see the significance of the name Black or White, they didn’t like it, so they said alright, you are Natural Black, so that is the name I use.”
At the outset of his career Natural Black supported himself by working part time as a welder while recording for various labels/producers including Freddie McGregor's Big Ship, Jack Scorpio's Black Scorpio, Sly and Robbie’s Taxi imprint and Beres Hammond’s Harmony House (Natural Black’s raspy s
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