Artist of the time:Burning Spear

Burning Spear.Pictures Courtesy

 

Winston Rodney also known as Burning Spear is a Jamaican roots Reggae musician and singer popularly known as ``African Teacher``.

  

He was born on March 01,1945 in Saint Ann`s Bay in Jamaica where another legend Reggae musician Bob Marley and political activist Marcus Garvey were born and the two had a great influence on Burning Spear life. He credits the name Burning Spear from a Military award given to him by Kenya`s Founding President the Late Jomo Kenyatta.

 

He has released many albums among them his 1999 album called Calling Rastafari, which he won his first Grammy award in 2000 with. Burning has made extensive performance around the Globe.

His memorable quotes are: "I believe in people who are gonna stand up for what they believe in," Burning Spear notes, "not only for themselves, but for themselves and their people, and that was what Jomo was doing."

"I don't know how other people see music," reggae legend Burning Spear reflects. "Some people might see it based upon money, some people might see music based upon opportunity and access. But I see music as life. I see music as inspiration."
 "A lot of artists just have no time to really look within the business section of the music business," Burning Spear reasons. "There's no one to really sit them down and give them some of that business understanding before they get into what they get into. So then people walk all over these artists and do things where it's not appropriate and it's not right. It's not in the artist's love."