Reggae people, here's an interview I did earlier this week for Rhythmic Review, a music mag in Humboldt County. +Bob+ The powerful vocal combo Culture emerged in the golden age of reggae led by the Rastafarian Joseph Hill. The group took classic yard harmonies set to a syncopated reggae beat and expressed a messianic vision of the future. Their apocalyptic first album, Two Sevens Clash became an instant success, and helped to create a new sub-genre within reggae known as roots and culture. To this day the record is considered a reggae classic and Culture is synonomus with roots reggae. Still led by Joseph Hill, Culture is about to release the album called Trust Me for Ras Records. A tour in support of the new record will bring them to venues across the U.S. Those in attendance at Reggae on the River heard some of Culture's new material as Hill, dressed in prophet's robes, imparted his wisdom on the crowd. The music demonstrated the fact that the face of reggae music has changed much over the past two decades with Culture remaining a vital part of its past, its present, and its future. When I spoke with Mr. Hill recently, it was a rainy day in Humboldt County and a hot day in Jamaica. I began with a simple question: What is Culture? Joseph: It is about consciousness and the effort to teach, to elevate, to educate the people not just nationally, but internationally, across the world. Q: Your new album Trust Me is just about to come out... (street date Sept. 6) JH: A compilation of excellent musical and lyrical contents, yes. Q: Trust Me is a song? JH: Yes, it is one of the songs on it. It's about the different things that people do. They don't trust the words that their brother or their sister said. Q: There's another song called, Riverside. Is it about Reggae on the River? JH: No. It's something quite different. It's like a story about a situation, about the division of many of the youths here in Jamaica, which could occur with other youths in other parts of the world of course. As soon as you can rest your hands on the album, there and then you will understand fully what I'm talking about hopefully. We have done a video (for Riverside) and it is more action than words. You're trying to find somebody to express your feelings about the youths and people of the world, but there ain't nobody who can just sit down by the river and put it all in a meditational package. Q: The Rasta ital lifestyle has been at the core of your music since the beginning. What does Rasta mean to you? JH: It means a whole lot, even more than words can say. It's much much more than just words. What's different about the thinking of Rasta is this: if ital was food it would be long gone and devoured by greedy and hungry people. (laughs) But you see, ital is a way of living. Just because people don't eat salty food you can't call them "ital". You could eat a whole cow without throwing salt on it and you could not call it "ital". You must look forward in the natural way and eat irie from the garden. That's a different thing. Q: What do you mean "eat irie"? JH: Eating irie from the garden: grains and vegetables etc., etc. etc. Q: Is that helps keep you going? JH: It's a healthy way of living and that's the first step to eternal life: to live. You ain't got no happiness if you ain't got no life and you can't be happy about life unless you're healthy. Q: What is the essential message of Culture. JH: The essential message is for each human being not to think racist, but share love, one to another. That's the main momentum. That's the main thing, because if such things were put in place or were taught to the children and all the people, even to the soldiers in the camp, then there wouldn't be a war. The same thing they make a war for they could easily play a game of football for it. *****************************