Burning Spear - I W.I.N.

http://www.burningspear.net/

Some artists transcend the need for award, but are nonetheless deserving of decades of accolade. Burning Spear is such an artist. A music-maker, community icon, educator, spiritual uplifter; Burning Spear's importance to culture existed before media spotlight, and has only grown since.

For nearly four decades and more than 25 albums, he has carried the torch of the gospel of political activist Marcus Garvey, promoting self-determination and self-reliance for African descendants through lyrics and rhythms that truly deliver the messages of peace and love to all.

Not surprisingly, Burning Spear's path in music began with a fateful encounter with Bob Marley. Both were living in the St. Ann's parish of Jamaica. As Spear (born Winston Rodney) recalls, "The way the whole thing came about is that I found myself moving along up in the hills of St. Ann's and I ran into Bob at the same time. And Bob was going to his farm. The man was moving with a donkey and some buckets and a fork, and cutlass and plants. We just reason man-to-man and I-man say wherein I would like to get involved in the music business. And Bob say, 'All right, just check Studio One."' It was there Spear recording his first two classic albums, Burning Spear and Rocking Time.

With this solid foundation, Spear recorded for Island Records throughout the 1970s, releasing three records (Marcus Garvey, Man in the Hills, and Garvey's Ghost) that elevated the face of reggae music in the international scene. In the 1980s, he exercised his well-earned creative control by launching his own label through EMI and releasing Hail H.I.M., which was recorded at Marley's Tuff Gong studios. Resistance, released in 1985, was Grammy-nominated, but it wasn't until Calling Rastafari hit hard in 2000 that Spear finally won the award.

This achievement presented another new journey for Burning Spear. In the 2000s, he is now not only a guiding light in the reggae community, but he continues to be a creator, ceaselessly recording under the Burning Spear Music label, and releasing unique live material. He was again awarded a Grammy for 2009's Jah is Real.

Spear's energetic and epic live shows have not diminished over the years. He performs all over the world, in clubs and at festivals, to sold-out audiences of all ages.

Currently in the studio working on more original music, Burning Spear is one of the few true men who started as a musician, and ended up so much more: an innovator with an international platform for his message of love.