Sound Di Big Tings Dem: At Sea with Busy Signal

Words by Jesse Serwer/Photos by Martei Korley

Busy Signal is dancehall’s last great showman. Not last as in the last one standing, but last as in after they made him, they stopped making more like him. Busy first bussed at the end of dancehall’s last great wave in the mid 2000s and, in the year since, performance chops have taken a backseat to studio hustle, hype and everything else. Watch Busy work a stage, though, and you’ll see a polish and precision you tend to only get from artists who came up when performance was everything.

If you’re a dancehall enthusiast from the U.S., you might never know this. Busy’s never played in the States, for once-unclear reasons which became evident when he was extradited to the U.S. in 2012 to face criminal charges that predate his career. So his performance aboard the Welcome to Jamrock Reggae Cruise—that floating reggae festival curated by Damian Marley which set sail from Miami to Jamaica and back last month—was a big deal. And, naturally, he killed it, delivering a set that was easily among the best of the five-night fest.

Busy might not be welcome in the U.S., but he logs more miles than most. One region where he has made his mark is in Africa, where he’s become a huge draw in countries such as Uganda and Kenya. He has catered to the African market in a way no other Caribbean artist has, using African rhythms in his music and remixing popular songs from the continent: tracks like “Da Style Deh,” ‘Same Way,” and “Professionally” play from Ghana to Guyana.

We caught up with Busy after his electrifying Jamrock Cruise performance for a seaborne conversation about his travels, his personal philosophy and his next musical maneuver. Maestro…

“I’ve never been on a cruise before. I never thought of being on a cruise before. I’m not scared to say I’m scared of large bodies of water. For me, this is conquering my fears slash doing what I do professionally, so I’m loving the moment.”

“Music’s brought me to a lot of different places. Over the Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean, the Arctic Ocean as well… I just spread my wings in the name of music. Whether that’s a Brazilian beat, like when I did ‘Up In Her Belly,’ the ‘Suavamente’ salsa beat. With ‘Same Way,’ I was the first dancehall artist going on an Afro beat. Even like ‘One More Night,’ officially done by Phil Collins or ‘Night Shift’ originally by Lionel Richie and the Commodores. I’m honored to be somebody who is setting the trend, bringing the music in my territory and exposing the people who do most of the music I did.”

“Music speaks to any nation, any people. There is no language barrier where music and the rhythm and the beat is concerned. Even if they don’t know what you’re saying, they can feel the beat, the groove, the music. Music is life and the most high Jah set that from ever since.”

“What’s the next style of music you’re going to hear Busy Signal do? Maybe it’s going to be opera music…”

Want to hear Busy’s take on opera? Keep it locked on LargeUp.com.