By Leighton Williams, Staff Reporter 
Luciano
'JAH MESSENJAH', Luciano, has two obvious passions. One of them is to see his Rastafarian brothers who have 'strayed' lyrically rediscover their purpose. The other is to see ganja legalised.
"I don't see the cannabis as any form of drug. It is a herb," argues Luciano. "Babylon is trying to criminalise ganja, which is really wrong. I'm not fighting for the decriminalisation of ganja, because it was never a criminal. My fight is to enlighten the people of the cannabis and let them know of the herbal properties and the benefits we can achieve from it."
The man christened Jepther McClymoth came to prominence in the 1990s with hits such as It's Me Again Jah and Lord Give Me Strength among others.
He has been a perennial lobbyist for the legalisation of ganja due to what he says is its medicinal properties. To show how passionate he feels about the ban on the plant he did a version of Peter Tosh's Legalise It and sings it during most of his performances.
To add to his campaign for the 'freeing up' of the weed, he often lights a spliff on stage in defiance of the Jamaican law.
"It's really my way of advocating for the cannabis. Cause to me sometimes when you lobby it takes a long time to see results. We know the uses of the weed and I defen' it. So I just light it up to show support," he said with a chuckle. "My manager will tell me if the police are strict in a particular area, like for instance Bermuda. If the police are strict, we use we wisdom yuh nuh. If me caan light it mi show it in a bag or sometimes mi show some leaf in a bag. People jus' waan see some weed in a wan bag fi know seh yuh a hold true to the cause," he said.
Luciano's love for cannabis came about when he grew into Rastafarianism and he said it was because of his growing of dreadlocks why he started smoking.
ERRANT BEHAVIOUR
To fans and detractors alike, he has remained true to the religion, which teaches peace and love to all. His music has also remained inspirational despite the distraction by many other Rastafarians who have flirted with 'slackness'.
It is this trifling with 'slackness' by his Rastafarian brothers that Luciano is passionate about changing.
"I think some of my brothers have got sidetracked and have gone into corruption," he explained. "Many have lost focus. But I'm not here to judge anyone. All I can do is pray for them to find back their way. I pray for them. I used to rebuke them, but I found out that is not the way to go so that's why I pray for them and hope they change and continue to shine Jah light," he said.
His wish to see them change from their errant behaviour back to message music and his refusal to judge anyone has seen him doing at least three songs with the fiery Capleton.
"My brother Capleton sing some lyrics weh sometimes questionable. He has done some good songs and we are working with the good. We just have to continue to pray for him. Jah never come here to judge. We are here not to judge. Jesus Christ came here and dwelt among the people righteous and unrighteous and didn't judge anyone," said Luciano.
While Luciano has shown nothing but love for Rasta and 'baldhead' alike he has come under fire on several occasions. "One time me go Portland me a read (from the Bible) an some people a bun mi offa di stage. Mi bex till water come a mi eye. Mi feel like fight! Mi lick thunder," Luciano had said.
To add to his bad experiences, he was booed at Saddle 2000, held at Caymanas Polo Club, after it was felt he had come at a wrong time. "At the time I went on, the timing was wrong. In all things there's wisdom and I've learnt from that. Some artiste don't perform after 1:00 a.m.; anytime it touch two or three him gone. I went on to a dancehall crowd. As a young artiste I was willing to take that risk and I did it. It came home to me that certain stage show yuh nuh fi even go, cause if it was a cultural show it wouldn't happen. It's a learning ground though," said Luciano.
To top off his bad experiences with the local show-going posse, he has earned the wrath of critics who say his Bible readings at the beginning of his performances is boring and takes away from his set.
"It's a way of reminding people of our purpose. Our purpose is really to serve Jah and the reading of the Bible is one quick way of addressing that problem by telling people that we need to serve the almighty. Once a man reads the Bible its a way of telling people to serve Jah," explained Luciano.
However the average reggae/dancehall crowd does not mix spirituality and entertainment. Spirituality is left for the church and entertainment is for the stage a factor which Luciano seems to know.
"Not everyone really likes it (reading the Bible before he begins his set). Some people would like you to come and sing and go. But you have to know what you are here for. In some places where they like the cultural music, people won't object to it, but in other places they would rather see you leave," he said.
The critics have refused to leave him alone. Like most other Rastafarian, Luciano has chanted against Babylon. However, while some of his fellow Rastafarians have used incendiary lyrics to vent their frustrations, Luciano's lyrics have always stayed clear of this approach. Songs such as Who Could It Be, Just Like The Wind and a host of others made him the darling of roots reggae in the mid '90s. However, his decision to move to social commentary is seen as a step down by some.
Luciano is quick to point out he is still doing the Lord's work.
"I don't agree," he opines. "My lyrics now are much stronger and are directed more against Babylon and the wickedness that's going on. When I was growing up I came up against all sorts of wrong things, so I couldn't just sing and sing along one channel. I had to hit out against corruption. Some people want me just to sing Sweep Over My Soul and all those songs. No, I have to hit out against corruption and the injustices of Babylon, that's why I sing songs like Ulterior Motive and others like that," commented Luciano.
Despite what the critics may say, Luciano has earned several accolades abroad. He has received the Keys to the City of Kansas in 1999, Washington D.C. in 2001 and Fort-De-France in Martinique this year.
In addition Messenger, released in 1997, was cited as one of the top 10 albums of that year and his 2001 New Day received a Grammy nomination.
For 2003, he has released Serve Jah, which contains both social commentary and inspirational songs.
"The title Serve Jah came to us on a very mystical vibe. After looking through the whole package of songs we thought that this was the best title. Also, the last album was called New Day. So what else to do on a new day than serve Jah?" he asked rhetorically.
Besides his recordings and performances, Luciano has donated money to various charities and hopes to be a role model for the youths.
However, for now - at least, for the next three weeks - he will be touring Europe, promoting his new album and
serving Jah.
