Ahead of his Dubai gig with the Deep Crates Cartel, Peter Feely speaks with the reggae legend and Massive Attack collaborator about his life.
Tell us about your long relationship with UK dance act Massive Attack?
The band’s leader 3D is a very revolutionary person. There are certain things he doesn’t like. He doesn’t like ill treatment of poorer people. He believes in equal rights and justice for everyone and that’s why we get along so well. When they went to the [MTV Europe awards] he wouldn’t take the award from The Duchess of York.’
You were born Horace Hinds, why the name change?
It was my Dad – he said, ‘you there – what’s your name?’. So he put his finger on his temple and said, ‘why aren’t you Horace Andy like all the other pop artists? Like Bob Andy’.
Tell us what it was like to be around for the Jamaican dancehall music scene?
Dancehall as they call it now is [from] the media. Even before me – people like Delroy Wilson, Ken Boothe – they were the real dancehall people. John Holt – all of them people – we used to call it dancehall. It was the media who changed it and started calling it ragga, roots and dancehall – it’s all in the same family. But it’s Sly [from Sly and Robbie], he changed the beat. It’s the drum – tap, tap, tap – Sly did it.’
Have you experienced any musical differences working with Massive Attack?
I don’t like sampling. Because sampling is someone’s direction, someone’s song – I like my own song. Massive [Attack] – they’re trip hop. They will take someone’s sound, play around with it and add something to it. People who do these things, they think they are the creators. They didn’t originate it.
Tell us about your work on the Easy Star All-Stars’ reggae cover of Radiohead’s OK Computer album, Radiodread.
I just lay down the vocal and they take it and they do what they want to do. I liked everything, it’s no problem – you’ve got your audiences and young kids – it doesn’t really matter. [The original Radiohead] love it!
What do you think about Rastafarianism and the commercial manipulation of its culture? For example, Snoop Dogg’s recent adoption of the lifestyle, changing his name to Snoop Lion.
He came to Jamaica. He came along to our studio – I wasn’t there. He came into our neighbourhood. If Snoop did go uptown, where the politicians are and all those kinds of people, everyone would still have something to say. Snoop came in the ghetto and there isn’t a problem. He realised that a dog is a dog – he uses his mouth and cleans himself. [Now] he’s a lion in a jungle. He come amongst all of my friends. Snoop came to Jamaica and his eyes got opened. He was a bad man – he loved guns and things and he came amongst loving people. He’s real, man. He went amongst the real people.
What should we expect when you appear with Deep Crates at Casa Latina?
It’s gonna be brilliant. I’m going to try and mix it. It’ll be mostly old school. And I will [play some] Massive Attack.
Horace Andy meets Deep Crates Cartel. Dhs75 advance, Dhs85 door. Fri Sept 6. 10pm-3am, Casa Latina, Ibis Al Barsha, Barsha, Dubai. www.timeouttickets.com.
