Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer
When Andrew Kiffen went onstage at the Tastee Talent Contest in 1996 he performed as Andrew Black. When he came off, he had a different name.
"The fans that were at the Tastee Talent show called me Historyman," he told The Gleaner. And well that they should, as his poetry piece outlined the history of the popular contest, including how it started, prizes and past winners.
It would be some years before 'Informative' was added, even after he eventually won the Tastee contest in 2000. When he did the first track for his debut album, Virus, released in 2005, he instructed the person printing the label on the CD to name it 'Informative' and the performer 'Historyman'. "They put it in one line. Jah Niceness (a friend) say is so you suppose to name," the Informative Historyman said.
Topics
And so it has been since then and on his new CD, Chronology Vol. 1, in which he packs an incredible amount of information on a variety of topics covered in five tracks. It does not hurt that a number of them are especially relevant to February, as Historyman details Bob Marley's life and musical career in Bob Marley Story and does much the same for reggae's Crown Prince in Dennis Brown Tribute; relates landmark developments by blacks in African Inventors; pays homage to deceased musical luminaries in Honour and Tribute and names a slew of dancehall heavyweights in Jamaica Sound Systems.
The Miss Lou Tribute and Mrs Rosa Parks honour Louise Bennett-Coverley and the woman who refused to move to the back of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, USA, respectively.
He also has the ability to tailor his extensive rhyming of facts and figures to a specific occasion, as the Informative Historyman relates that he did Rebel Salute History as his second piece in opening the 2008 festival in St. Elizabeth in January.
What seems to be his greatest pleasure, though, is seeing the information he packages being appreciated and passed on. "Even since morning I saw a gentleman who knew me from Tastee," Historyman told The Gleaner in Emancipation Park on Tuesday. "He said he wanted one of the album, not for himself but for his daughter. He said it was more than an album; it is an encyclopaedia, a dictionary, a computer all in one. And I said to myself this is the kind of feedback I want, positive feedback."
'Best Original Entry'
His passion for history showed in that initial Tastee appearance 21 years ago, when his Jamaica History won 'Best Original Entry'. But the interest was instilled long before, as Historyman says, "Mr. Thompson was one of the teachers who influence me with history from I was at Chatworth All-Age (in St. James)." The determination to master English though, came at Maldon Comprehensive High from a teacher named Mrs Mannings.
"We were in class one day. She had a duster that she was passing around and we would say Kenny, they said, to give you this and so on. But I said, 'I has it.' She said, 'Kiffin, you must say, I have, she has. Never you say I has and she have.' At all times you the individual have." Historyman said.
"I think I was a little embarrassed, because my friends were there, but out of the embarrassment the encouragement really came, because you can't afford to be embarrassed again. So that's where the love really started."
He duly got distinctions in English and History while attending Wilmot Academy in Kingston.
There are times when a particular piece is inspired by his general reading, while at others he researches a topic with the specific intention of writing about it. A lot of that research is done by interviewing persons in the know; for Jamaica Sound Systems Historyman spoke to pioneering duo, Bunny and Scully, among other persons. For Bob Marley Story he spoke to Bunny Wailer, Alan 'Skill' Cole, Junie Star, Maas Taata and Georgie (who would "make the fire light"), in addition to reading the book, Catch a Fire.
And his art has taken him out of Jamaica, with two extensive promotional tours for 'Bob Marley Story' in 2007, as well as a trip to Guyana to perform at the 'Champions for Change' conference in 2005. His Positive in Your Mind, Positive in Your Spirit is the theme song for the non-governmental organisation, Jamaica AIDS Support.
Chronology Vol. II has already begun, as the Informative Historyman has recorded Win The Grammy about those who have copped the Best Reggae Album award. The current Chronology Vol. I is available at Derrick Harriott's in Twin Gates Plaza, Aquarius in Half-Way Tree, Mutabaruka's Book Store in Spanish Town, the Monica Bernard Book Store at 75 East Street and Country Farmhouse at 3 Courtney Walsh Drive, both in the Corporate Area.
