Ziggy Soul

Jamaican Reggae Star Ministers to Inner City Children

By Victor Oladokun and Susan Mann
The 700 Club

This reggae star reaches out to the poor children of Trenchtown, Jamaica, often going hungry in order to keep them feed.

CBN.com – Jamaica—balmy weather, gorgeous sunsets, exotic food…a tourist's delight. But hidden in plain sight are severe problems. Fortunately, help for these many challenges is here to stay.
Meet Ziggy Soul. He’s a renowned reggae star whose first album was actually produced by the legendary Bob Marley. But if you come to Trenchtown, Jamaica, where Ziggy now lives, you will most likely find him working in his studio, not on his music, but running the Rema Reading Center, a library and recreational facility for the children of this extremely poor area.

Trenchtown had been without a school for almost 20 years—until Ziggy and some of his associates started the Reading Center. Here, children learn to read, use computers, and simply have fun.

"What I do is to show them love as much as possible to get them to trust me, so that when they trust me, I now tell them about Jesus, not before," he says.

Here in Trenchtown, and as far as most of the children are concerned, all roads lead to Ziggy’s place.

But who is Ziggy Soul? His real name is Devon Beckford, and at the age of 15, he moved to Trenchtown, considered the birthplace of reggae music.

"My main aim was to get big in the singing, to get very famous, and to tour the world," he says.

But God had other plans for Ziggy, including helping children learn how to read. In 1996 Ziggy became a Christian.

"At that moment, I promise God that any time I open this mouth to sing, it would be of Him and nothing else," he explains. "If it does not have the ingredient of Jesus in it, I am not going to sing it."

Ziggy is not scared about residing in Trenchtown, even though there are gangs on the streets of this Jamaican city. Ziggy is quick to note the reason for his lack of fear.

"Most of the kids come to me," he says. "I will take them on outings. I will take them out on the streets and plan trips. I have programs here for them and classes. I do not charge any money. Classes are free. I make meals free. When they come, they get to leave with something. All these guys on the other side from the gangs, they come to me and say, 'Ziggy, if anyone comes to you and tries to disturb what you are doing, please let us know.'"

There is still a lot for Ziggy to do to help the kids in the inner cities of Rema and Trenchtown. Ziggy is all too aware of the challenges.

"More than three-quarters of the people here are unemployed," Ziggy says. "The biggest need is education."


Ziggy says it is tough for him living and working in Trenchtown.

"To tell you the truth," he says, "I’m here most of the time. I’m here hungry. I didn’t want to tell you that, but that is the truth. I’m just trying to do the best that I can do. Before I became a Christian, if a kid looked too dirty, too ugly, I don’t want to see them. Now, I go for those kids. The more troublesome they are, the dirtier they are, that’s the kid I try to get beside me. I’m trying my best to try not to follow the beat of the world. This is for Jesus."

- www.cbn.com

By Victor Oladokun
For CWNews
September 26, 2003


Jamaica is a prime tourist destination, but for many of Jamaica's residents, life is no vacation. Poverty afflicts many children and the murder rate is among the world's highest.



CBN.com – Jamaica brings to mind sandy beaches, ocean waves, and reggae music.
The Caribbean island is a prime tourist destination, but for many of Jamaica's residents, life is no vacation. Poverty afflicts many children and the murder rate is among the world's highest. And while reggae may be entertaining, it's no escape for Jamaica's youth.

But help is now available for Jamaica's children: from a former reggae star who's giving his life to helping them.

Jamaica does have balmy weather, gorgeous sunsets, and is a tourist delight but hidden in plain sight are severe problems. But help for these many challenges is here to stay, in the form of Ziggy Soul.

Ziggy is a renowned reggae star whose first album was actually produced by the legendary Bob Marley.

But Ziggy now lives in Trenchtown, Jamaica. Come to see him and you'll most likely find him working in his studio, not on his music, but running the Rhema Reading Center. The center is a library and recreational facility for the children of this extremely poor area.

Trenchtown had actually been without a school for almost 20 years until Ziggy and some of his associates started the reading center. Here, children learn to read, use computers and simply have fun.

Ziggy told me, "What I do is try to show them as much love as possible and get them to trust me. So, when they trust me, now I tell them about Jesus."

So, here in Trenchtown, the children think all roads lead to Ziggy's place.

But who is Ziggy Soul? His real name is Devon Beckford. At the age of 15, he moved to Trenchtown, considered the birthplace of reggae music. He told me, "My aim [back then] was to get Ziggy into singing, get very famous and tour the world."

But God had other plans for Ziggy, including helping children learn how to read-because in 1996 Ziggy became a Christian.

In an interview, Ziggy said, "At that moment, I promised God that anytime I opened this mouth to sing it would be of Him and nothing else, nobody else. If it [a song] does not have an ingredient of Jesus, then I'm not going to sing it."

I said to Ziggy, "One of the things that amazes me, about you, is that right in Kingston and in Jamaica there are lots of people who are petrified-scared-of coming into Trenchtown. But you can walk around here…anywhere, go into streets where you have different gangs…"

Ziggy said, "Yeah. There's two reasons. I will tell the truth, the first is the kids. Most of the parents of the kids come to me. And I will take (the kids) on outings. I will take them out of the streets, plan trips, etc. I don't charge any money. Classes are free. I make meals free. Nothing stops them [from coming]. They may come for the meal. But when they come they get something to leave with, something."

Ziggy went on, "All the guys respect me, even those guys that are on the other side, the gangs. They will come to me and say, 'Ziggy, if anybody tries to trouble what you are doing now, please let us know.'"

Yet, there's still a lot for Ziggy to do to help the kids in the inner cities of Rhema and Trenchtown-and Ziggy is all too aware of the challenges.

I said, as we walked Trenchtown's typical streets, "Here, everywhere around here, poverty seems to stare you in the face."

Ziggy replied, "Yeah, more than three-quarters of the people are unemployed. More than three-quarters."

I said, "What do you think the biggest need is here?"

Ziggy responded, "The biggest need is education. Education, that's the biggest."

I asked, "Is it tough for you sometimes?"

Ziggy nodded, "Very, very, very tough. To tell you the truth, I'm here most of the time. Most of the time I'm here hungry. I didn't want to tell you that, but that is the truth."

"But," I said, "you're the same person that a lot of the kids are looking to for help."

Ziggy said, "Yeah. I'm just doing what I can do. Before I became a Christian, if a kid looked too dirty or ugly, I didn't want to see them. Now, I go for those kids. The more troublesome they are, the dirtier they are, that's the kid I try to get to be beside me."

Ziggy added, "I'm trying my best to not follow 'the beat of the world', but to follow Jesus. This [work I'm doing] is for Jesus."

- www.cbn.com

Published: Tuesday | April 27, 2004

By Teino Evans, Staff Reporter

This group from the University Dance Society forms a pyramid at the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication's third-year social marketing group's fund-raiser 'Creative Youths in Action for Charity' held last Saturday at the Students' Union, University of the West Indies, Mona, St. Andrew. - Ricardo Makyn / Staff Photographer

THERE WAS high praise inside the main hall of the Hope United Church on Old Hope Road, St. Andrew when the Providence Methodist Junior Church in association with Love 101 presented 'Youth Explosion 2004'.

The event, which was filled with a blend of youthful talent, saw various groups singing, dancing and even doing poetry and drama.

Young talent like Danielle Byrd, the Providence Methodist church family choir, Men in Black, Kemal Stephenson and Shanique Sinclair unleashed the message of God on-stage.

SPECIAL GUEST

However, after the youngsters entertained the audience, it was time for some special guest artistes to enter.

Leading them off was Ziggy Soul, who did songs such as There Is Hope and Love One Another. Ziggy gave a very soulful performance and had members in the audience dazzled by his bright red suit with red shoes to match.

Then, former Main Street member Spiritual took his turn on-stage, showing his versatility, singing and deejaying. Starting out a capella, he sang There Is None Like You, before asking for track two on a rhythm CD. He then broke into a couple of his deejay-style songs like the crowd favourite, Christ Is Knocking At Your Door. Spiritual eventually invited Ziggy Soul back on-stage to do the song, What's Going On before the two took their leave and MC Craig McNally began to announce the next set of artistes.

Next on-stage was the Main Street crew with the likes of Jason Mighty, doing If God is for You; DJ Nicholas, the Rhyme Minister, doing God Him A Mi Barrier and Mr. Gallimore doing Yuh Mussy Tink Dat Mi Sick In Yah. They all gave energetic and vibrant performances with the backing music of the Radikal Band, setting the atmosphere for the evenings closing act, the Prodigal Son.

Prodigal, who entered the stage singing Praise Di Lord, got the crowd's undivided attention (well, at least the younger patrons), as he waved his little red rag while throwing down the lyrics.

Unfortunately, due to some bad feedback from the microphone system, Prodigal had to bring his performance to a brief halt to pray to the Lord.

After the problem was addressed, however, it was back to having some 'crazy fun in Christ', as Prodigal went into songs like Brush Yuhself Off And Try Again, Wow and Tell Mi If Yuh Ready.

EXCITEMENT

The atmosphere was definitely arousing a lot of excitement in the audience, especially among the teenagers who knew most of his songs word for word.

"It's getting a little hot up in here," Prodigal shouted, as he swirled his rag in the air and proceeded to have some church praise and worship in the concert. He broke into a chain of lively choruses.

At the close of the show, patrons were still screaming for more, but all in all, it was definitely an exciting evening of raw, youthful talent and an explosion of energetic and spirited performances by the invited guest artistes.

Youth Explosion 2004 definitely rocked!

- www.jamaica-gleaner.com

Published: Tuesday | May 18, 2004

By Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

THE REGGAE righteousness of Ziggy Soul and the dancehall divinations of Goddy Goddy brought a spiritual end to 'Children's Expo 2004' on Sunday night.

The joyful noise from the stage had to compete with the unqualified noise from those who were not interested in what was taking place on the bandstand, but working with recorded tracks, the two held the attention of those who sat and stood before the stage.

"Mek me see de han' of all who love Jesus, de ongly name wid truth," Ziggy Soul said, before going into a guitar-led track which advised:

Do not let your heart be troubled

In my father's house there are many rooms

And if it were not so I would have told you so

Drum and bass came in to complement the guitar as the dreadlocked singer continued:

All I ask is that you love one another

Respect your brother

Love your sister

"Jesus Christ himself sey don' judge nobody. If someone do suppen, try talk to dem quietly. Not even mek nobody hear. But no judge," Ziggy Soul said, going into a song which asked:

How can you say to your brother

Let me take a speck out of your eye

When all the time there is a speck in your eye?

Ziggy Soul ended on that non-judgemental note, making way for deejay Goddy Goddy.

GODDY GODDY TAKES THE STAGE

Goddy was, like Ziggy Soul, casually dressed, but the deejay added a pair of shades. He used an uptempo backing track to do a series of lines from popular choruses, coming back to a refrain of 'go Goddy Goddy go'.

A Little More Oil and I Feel Good were illustrated with some dancing while Hands Up And Tell Me If You Love My Jesus was met with several raised hands.

The yellow wave sticks which proliferated in the Arena came in handy for obedience to the request "get something and wave it for Jesus", the chorus with which Goddy ended, with a final 'hallelujah' underscoring the praise and worship.

"Anywhere we go is spiritual warfare, cause we come to tear down all demonic forces," Goddy Goddy said, calling on his son Little G for the next song. Little G provided a high pitched refrain "I ain't afraid of no ghost", as well as a series of skanks, as his father launched into verbal warfare.

"Yu have some people, tru de likkle money whe yu have yu spen it pon yu pickney, like come a 'Children Expo', dem grudge yu. So dem tek fi dem money go obeah man go try mash dung yu pickney. If yu know sey yu na go obeah man, sey naa!" Goddy said, eliciting a chorus of the same from the audience.

The deejay said he had a new name for those who visit the obeah man; he dubbed them 'Obeah man poppy show' and launched into detailed lyrics about their practices ­ and the folly thereof:

Some a dem gone a obeah man a read up palm

But a Bible me read up instead.

There was laughter as he chanted that "some a light candle and no light no gone" and, after he had affirmed that "a one protection Goddy Goddy recommend an' a de blood a de Lamb", many voices joined in for the closing "hey-ya-hey-ya-haw" refrain with which he ended the song and his performance.
- www.jamaica-gleaner.com