‘Rasta cannot die’, says Bongo Herman

As he shared thoughts about Reggae Month, and the culture that spawned the genre, master drummer and percussionist Bongo Herman has expressed confidence that Rastafarianism is very much alive.

"Nuh mek nobody tell you 'bout Rastafarianism a dead inna Jamaica. Rasta cannot die! Reggae live forever," he said. However, Herman suggested that "there shall be a famine, not for raiment, not for shelter, but for the word".

"So nuff time you nah go hear nothing, for Rasta used to go all 'bout and street corner, and keep meeting fi gather souls. It's a different time now, you have to just know. Some come, while some [were] sent. Rasta live forever, and the culture can't dead," he said.

When asked about reggae's role in sustaining the culture, he clarified that "Rasta was before reggae".

"But out of Rasta came forth reggae. And some man nah play reggae, dem a play 'streggae'," he said. Reflecting on the evolution of music production, Herman noted that recordings back in the day was "reel to reel tape, so it's a different thing".

"Now man use drum machine; when them done, him overdub. Back in the day, [it was all about] live, like how you see them man yah a do now. Live music. You feel the human structure." Herman has worked with many of the big names in reggae, including the genre's king, Bob Marley. He reminisced about playing football with Marley, sharing a cherished photograph of their time together.

"See me and Bob yah. A the final game dis him play before him go England, when the guy dem a threaten him up by 56 Hope Road. We used to play ball everyweh, me and Bob a come from Trench Town," he recounted. Speaking of the reggae legend, Herman opined that the Marley legacy remains strong because, like their father, Marley's offspring put in the work to rehearse, resulting in a superior sound for their projects.

"You have a lot of musicians they don't go and rehearse. They go straight into the studio and record, that's why it is not the same. When you rehearse you get a whole entire feeling," he said.

Recalling his own contributions, Herman said that the music of previous decades, including the '60s and '70s, cannot die.

"Listen to them. Burning Spear, the whole of them, and me play pon most of them song deh. Book of Rules, Liquidator, most of dem I play pon dem. Me DJ pon dem," he said. Among his core memories is playing for Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I on his historic visit to the island.

"Me glad that I did go and meet His Imperial Majesty [in] 1966 at the airport and play drum for him and witnessed the thunder and lightning clap before the plane landed. And when the plane landed and the whole a we wet up, and by the time His Majesty come off the plane and come out, the whole a we dry back. Mi see certain things fi miself, nobody nuh tell me nothing - the history is long," he said.