MANY of the world's recording and performing artiste fathers have had the pleasure of watching their children follow in their footsteps in the music industry.
American singers Nat King Cole, Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway and Nina Simone come easily to mind when one examines the slate of legendary entertainers in North America. Actor/rapper Will Smith, of more recent vintage, has gone a step further as his two children are making names for themselves in the performing arts.
Locally, Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, Freddie McGregor and Jimmy Riley are among the many fathers whose children have chosen music as their career, thereby preserving their fathers' legacies.
In the case of Marley, his children Sharon, Cedella, Ziggy and Stephen launched their musical careers as the Melody Makers, delivering a number of hits before pursuing individual interests. They have been followed by their siblings Julian, Ky-Mani and Damian, also known as Junior Gong, whose bass player and musical director is Shiah, the son of Stephen 'Cat' Coore of Third World fame.
Another former Third World member, keyboardist/vocalist Michael 'Ibo' Cooper, who now lectures music at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, is the proud father of Arif and Akiri Cooper. The elder, Arif, is an engineer who is known for creating the Guardian Angel rhythm featuring TOK and Tami Chynn to mention a few. He has also produced and written for ace deejays Sean Paul and Beenie Man.
"I wasn't pushing them in that direction. I was watching their interest and I noticed after a while that he would sit down at the piano and compose and his sister would write the words for him, so I sort of looked at where they go naturally," Cooper told the Observer.
"They did gravitate naturally towards the music from early out. So when he started to be a spinner for sound systems and a guest DJ on the radio I tried my best to support him. Because my advice to my children has always been, anything they do positively in the service of humanity is alright by me. So I never had any special dream for them," Cooper added.
Akiri, he revealed, is now in his second year at Edna Manley studying the drums.
Neither in vocals nor in mannerism does Andrew Tosh allow anyone to forget the 'Stepping Razor' characteristics of his father Peter Tosh, while Cen Si Love is maintaining the tradition for musical perfection exhibited by her father Bunny Wailer, who is the lone surviving member of the Wailers.
Because of the huge success of Morgan Heritage, their dad Denroy Morgan now occupies a special place in Jamaican music.
The musical ancestry established by veteran crooner Freddie McGregor speaks for itself and has provided a sound base for his sons, singjay Chino (Daniel) and Stephen Di Genius (rhythm creator), and daughter singer Yeshemabeth (or Shema), who are impressing fans at home and abroad.
Andrew and Wadda Blood are currently busy convincing the world that they possess the blood that flows from the veins of their highly rated father Junior Reid, while the bloodline of ska pioneer Derrick Morgan can be found in Queen Ifrica, making him a proud father of the "Lioness on the Rise". The same can be said of Sugar Minott's Passion who is doing justice to his sweet musical legacy. And she is doing so with the passion for which he was known.
The youthful musical aggregation called Duplicates which was formed in the early 1990s comprised the children of veteran bass guitarist Lloyd Parks, leader and founder of We The People Band. From Parks' children's band came the popular artiste/producer now known as Leftside.
Another veteran bass player, Glen Browne, has much to celebrate in his two sons -- Richard and Robert.
Richard, who is also a bass player better known as Shams, is musical director/producer for TOK. He now owns the former Mainstream studio which was once owned by his uncle Danny Browne. The studio is now called B-Rich.
Robert, also known as Dubs, is the guitarist for Shaggy and sometimes plays for Beres Hammond and Morgan Heritage.
"Is a good feeling," said Browne. "What is good about it is the fact that they got some of the foundation that I got, so they are into music in its true sense. Not just making a rhythm on a computer. They can do that too, but they are into music as we know the music from the foundation. And that makes me proud to see young men like themselves showing so much respect for the tradition where I am coming from -- because I give them a lot of information — and at the same time bringing new ideas to the thing, for this is their time now."
For Shams, the fact that he was born into a musical family is very inspiring. "I can't think of anything else I would rather do other than music. And give thanks that I was born into a family like this that has these well-talented musicians," he told the Observer.
"In terms of me being the son of Glen Browne, there's a sense of pride because he is known by many and loved and respected. It even sometimes adds a little pressure on me as an individual to try and maintain the same kind of standard," Shams admitted.
Reggae crooner Jimmy Riley is thankful that his son, Tarrus, is now an accomplished artiste.
"Jah just blessed I that him (Tarrus) keep it going, yu nuh. Him represent, really represent," said Riley. "It inna mi bloodline for my great, great, great grandfather was a drummer from Africa. His name is Akabena from Ghana. I traced it from my father, father, father come down."
It is not widely known, but deejay Lady G is the daughter of Kenroy Fyffe who many Jamaicans may not have heard of but who is one of the most toured Jamaican artistes as a member of the group called The Congos.
"It was just a normal thing that just come natural to her," Fyffe said about his daughter's musical career.
When contacted for a comment, Lady G (real name Janice Fyffe) said: "I can remember as a child when I used to go and visit him and see all the instruments. I used to mess around them, and just the fact that I know that my father is a musician, that helped to influence me."
What is not well known also is that Rashaun 'Blackush' McAnuff, drummer/vocalist for the Uprising Roots Band, is the son of Winston McAnuff who goes by the name The Electric Dread.
Deejay Jah Thomas is the father of DaVille and Kenyatta Hill is carrying on the works of his late father Joseph 'Culture' Hill. So too are the offspring of Alton Ellis — Christopher and Noel.
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