Sean Paul says Mutabaruka gave him his first radio station play in his career, which was a huge achievement back in the 90s.
Sean Paul is nostalgic when he premieres his new song “Guns of Navarone” via Mutabaruka because he and the popular Jamaican poet and radio personality have a special history. Many of us were oblivious to just how pivotal Mutabaruka was to Sean Paul’s early career. The 4x Billboard chart-topper has had an illustrious career that far transcends the barriers of his alma mater, but when he was only a pupil pursuing his dream to be a musical artist, Mutabrauka was the first-ever person to “buss” young Sean Paul on the radio.
Back then, SP juxtaposed social classes in his politically-charged track “Ghetto Story” and walked a hard copy of the record to Mutabaruka himself. The deejay notes that he used to listen to the radio personalty’s show back in the day, and he enjoyed every precious moment of hearing his own voice over the airwaves for the first time. As he reminisces on the sentimental fact, Sean Paul debuts his Jesse Royal-assisted new track “Guns of Navarone,” which also features a sample of Mutabaruka speaking.
The deejay announced the song on social media with a touching anecdote attached. As he thanks the radio station, Irie FM and Mutabaruka, Sean Paul reveals, “This man was the 1st person 2 play my music on radio anywhere. In 1994 on irie fm,” the lengthy caption begins. “I was an still am a huge fan of his work. That being a dope dub poet/ philosopher/ teacher & radio show host. He had a radio show I used 2 listen 2 back then. Was very educational/ informative/ entertaining/ controversial. I learnt a lot from him an my 1st records were more conscious material like this song with @jesseroyal1 #GUNSOFNAVARONE – so I had really wanted his opinion.”
Sean Paul goes on to tell us exactly what he said to Mutabaruka after waiting for him to arrive at his bookstore in Kingston one early morning in 1994. “I walked up 2 him nervously an said ‘Muta. I am a young dj. This is my 1st single.’ I Handed it 2 him an told him I jus wanted his opinion. He took it. looked @ me an said ‘aright mi wi check it’ an went inside. I left not really sure if he would check my likkle chune,” Sean Paul recalls.
As you could imagine, the collegiate life in the early nineties wasn’t what it is today, having been devoid of all the products of the vast development of technology that we are perpetually engulfed in today. Back then, you could actually and thoroughly enjoy every fleeting second of something as monumental as your song playing on the radio for the first time because there was nothing else that you would do. Sean Paul says he was going to the University of Technology and when he interrupted his assignment binge to turn on Mutabaruka’s radio show that fateful Thursday night he wallowed in that moment by his lonesome.
“It dawned on me that Muta’s show Cutting Edge was on – it was 11 pm thurs night. I kid u not like it was magic. I ran 2 the component set in my parents home an pressed the power button. I heard Mutas voice say ‘yeah well this yute yah have a chune weh him gimi fi listen. So. Yeah check it out.’ An played my song. I jumped up an down an had no one 2 tell. Being that late my mom was sleeping an so was my likkle brother. Didn’t have a soul 2 call no internet no fb no Twitter no IG. Nuttn. I sat in awe an listen as my general played my song an jus fulljoyed every second of it. It gave me a feeling I will never 4get,” S.P. said.
“An so this is another special day 4 me. That my teacher is premiering another conscious song 4 the 1st time 4 me. This is a blessing indeed. REAL RECOGNIZE REAL RRR!!!” he added. Sean Paul believes it was only fitting that Mutabrauka unveils his latest socially conscious track to the masses. The emotional track “Guns of Navarone” begins with Mutabaruka’s introspective query, “How can a people be so traumatized that dem start to love dem traumatic experiences?” he asks. “We are defining we self through the colonizers still. How can we be so blind?”
As Muta premiered the track on his Irie FM radio show recently, he gave a brief synopsis of the movie “Guns of Navarone” and the song’s namesake, which is based on a 1957 book about World War II. Muta ends aptly the Sean Paul and Jesse Royal track with an outro quoting some Marcus Garvey seeing as the Jamaican hero’s namesake also happens to be the track on the other side of the project “Guns of Navarone” by Jamaican band The Skatalites.
Listen to Sean Paul’s newest socially conscious track featuring Jesse Royal and Mutabaruka and read his full post below.
