King Isaac: The Stereotypes Of African Reggae Music In Africa

Early 1960s, a mix Caribbean musical style of jazz, rhythm-and-blues, soul and calypso surfaced from the cultural setting of the urban underclass of Kingston, Jamaica, then later gained ground in Africa in the 80s. Public opinion about African reggae artists is that, they are either illiterate or abuse illegal substances. While such stereotypes hold true for some, here is a man whose career has broken the barriers of such stereotypes with a career of pre–and post–‘born again.’

I am waiting in a music studio at Martin Luther’s Street in Lansing, Michigan. The doorknob turns and my iris hits a neatly dressed, huge man of about 6’6” tall, seemingly in his early 50s, as he walks in. Call him King Isaac.

With a notebook in hand, he sits and scribbles

These are scribbles that song/singer, King Isaac, has sung since the late 1980s that racked up an impressive resume in his reggae music career, to include a Grammy Nomination.

Born Isaac Gabriel Kalumbu in the dense colony of Mufakose, Harare, Zimbabwe, Bob Marley’s former assistant, Joseph ‘Bragga’ Russell, gave him the stage name “King Isaac” on his first visit to Jamaica in 1998. Confidently, he tells me “he said I have ‘kingly’

Warmth and energy in his melodic voice, blends, as he tells me why he switched to reggae. “The elation for independence, black liberation, those were corner stones of the Zimbabwean experience at that time, and the music was great.”

Joining a local band made debut for him and he recorded his first gig, “Simuka,” in 1986, where he talked about South Africa’s Liberation struggle. Simultaneously, he was studying for a Bachelor’s degree in Economic History and History at the University of Zimbabwe.

Listening to and admiring Jamaican reggae artists, “I became like a purist”, he tells me. “I felt the reggae of Africans was diluted.”

Despite the early taste of success, King Isaac knew staying local might not be enough for him to make it big. He looked for a way to get to Jamaica. However, he couldn’t live in Jamaica because he had “no job or residence permit.” He grabbed a scholarship opportunity in 1991, for a master and Ph.D. at Indiana