Jimmy Cliff: Thank Jah He's a Country Boy
"I live in Jamaica," says Jimmy Cliff, the sound of the surf sighing behind him. "I spend a lot of time in Paris. One time people said I live in Brazil. No, I don't live in those places! This is my home!"
You can understand why there might be some confusion. Cliff might just be reggae's greatest living ambassador. The kid from the mountain town of Somerton made his recording debut when he was 14, singing a song dedicated to a Kingston ice cream parlor. He took the world stage with his appearance in the 1972 movie The Harder They Come. Playing a singing outlaw, Cliff was what every young rudie wanted to be: "Johnny Too Bad." But his character and aching songs struck a chord with audiences around the world.
Cliff has stayed on top. His last album, Black Magic, featured a diverse cast of fans including Sting and Bounty Killer. So it was inevitable that he would perform at the launch concert for TEMPO, a new music channel dedicated to the Caribbean. The 57-year-old didn't disappoint, delighting a home crowd by popping moves to the latest island dances. Sitting on a beach outside of Ocho Rios as the night drew in, he spoke to us about reggaeton, his boxing days, and why he never leaves home without a juicer.
What effect will a channel like TEMPO have on Jamaican music?
It's something visual. We live in an age of audio-visuals. It will open some doors for artists to get their works seen and heard. I've been all over the Caribbean. Everyone has their own taste. It's going to be such a great table to eat from, because everyone - Barbados, Trinidad, Cuba or Puerto Rico - has their own flavor.
What do you think of the reggaeton sound?
That's quite a creative way to put all of that kind of thing together, and I appreciate it. I am an innovator myself, and I like innovative people.
When you started out, did you believe reggae was capable of that kind of evolution?
I didn't know that it would take on that form. Reggae is one form we created and established worldwide, as much as America created jazz and rock 'n' roll and established it worldwide. The difference is that reggae keeps evolving. It is like clay. You can put a little water in and say, "Oh, let's put it in this form. Let's put it in another form." It can keep evolving, and still maintain its originality.
Can you remember your first trip to America?
My first trip to America was to perform at the World's Fair in 1963. It was kind of a culture shock for me.
I can imagine.
I'm a country boy, really. I left the country and I came to Kingston and I thought that was a shock! Then I went to New York, and that was really a shock. I was sitting in this taxi and kept looking out the back window. I couldn't see the end of the buildings. The only thing I had ever seen as tall as that were coconut trees. It blew my mind! Another thing: As a country boy, I had never seen people kissing on the street. I walked on the street and I said, "Wow!"
TEMPO is about music, but it's also about sport, food and culture. Are you a sports fan?
I wasn't a big sport person, personally. I like to watch it. The only sport that I've loved and I've practiced and wanted to be a professional in was boxing! [Laughs.]
Boxing? There are a lot of great boxers turned musicians.
I was a boxer.
Berry Gordy and James Brown started out boxing. Then they all realized it's better to make music than get beat up.
Yep! I got one on the button and that convinced me, I think I better stick with something else.
How old were you?
I used to box in school. I never paid attention much to the school work, I was just waiting for the recess to go outside and start boxing with my friends. The first time I really got to put gloves on was when we went to Kingston. So we did it with bare knuckles. But I still love sports. I have a football team that I support in my village in Somerton.
Do you have a favorite food or meal?
I'm not a great food person. I like to eat healthy, so now I'm really into juice. Pure, fresh juice. I put in carrots. I put in any fruit and vegetables and I mix them in. I travel all the time with my juice extractor.
When you were young, you used to point to the different places on the world map and say, "I'm going to go there one day." Are you still a great world traveler? I love it. I love to still do that. One place I have not explored enough yet is Asia. That's my next target.
What's your dream destination?
China is becoming really interesting place. I've always kind of admired those people. I'd like to perform there. And I wrote a song about Vietnam at the time the war was going on. I'd like to go there. I love their medicine - acupuncture, the herbs. I grew up with herbs. I want to go dive into that and see the origin of those things.
Do you take care of your chakras?
Absolutely. That's an ancient part of the human development from this planet that we've kind of put aside. But that's our essence. We did those things in Africa, too. There were people with spiritual knowledge that could see to those things. And we've lost a lot of that knowledge today.
When you're not in Jamaica, what do you miss the most?
[Pointing to the beach] That!
The sound of the ocean?
The sound of the ocean, going into the ocean, the river - I grew up on the river - the forest. Me, I'm a country boy. I miss the country; I miss nature and being in touch with nature. I never grew up with running water. I went to the spring where water was busting out of the earth. And it was water that tastes like it was coming out of a refrigerator - pure and clean. I miss those things.
When people think about Jamaica, they think about the music and the beaches. What do you want them to know about Jamaica?
I think there has been a lot of bad publicity about Jamaica in terms of violence and that kind of thing. I want people to know that we are still very friendly, hospitable people, regardless of what they've read. Even in Kingston. It is a very important thing for me for people to know that. I don't want people to stop coming here.
What's next for Jimmy Cliff?
Movies were my first love. So I'm really focusing on movies. I still want to do more acting. And I'm writing screenplays. I'm working on a few right now.
