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1975
ANTI CHRIST * VIVIAN JACKSON & THE PROPHET * PROPHETS * JA
Although it is said by some who have studied Greek philosophy, in Greek, that ancient Greek words do not have exact translatable meanings; according to some scholars the word 'Anti' is a Greek word meaning 'opposed to' or 'instead of' or both of these meanings. The word 'antichrist' only appears in the Epistles of Saint John as in: "For whosoever confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the Flesh is Antichrist". Friedrich Nietzsche brought the whole debate alive when in 1895 he published his book The Antichrist . As is well known Nietzsche took his writings very seriously; "The conditions under which any one understands me, and necessarily understands me--I know them only too well. Even to endure my seriousness, my passion, he must carry intellectual integrity to the verge of hardness. He must be accustomed to living on mountain tops--and to looking upon the wretched gabble of politics and nationalism as beneath him. He must have become indifferent; he must never ask of the truth whether it brings profit to him or a fatality to him... He must have an inclination, born of strength, for questions that no one has the courage for; the courage for the forbidden; predestination for the labyrinth. The experience of seven solitudes. New ears for new music. New eyes for what is most distant. A new conscience for truths that have hitherto remained unheard. And the will to economize in the grand manner--to hold together his strength, his enthusiasm...Reverence for self; love of self; absolute freedom of self....." Vivian Jackson a.k.a. Yabby U is also very serious about his art. He grew up in extreme poverty and had to start work at the age of twelve to help support his family, whilst fighting and enduring the hardships of the Kingston ghettoes of Trenchtown, Backawall, Gulley Bank and Concrete Jungle. When he was seventeen he became crippled with rheumatoid arthritis and was forced to use crutches, this in no way improved his struggle to survive. His first musical involvement was with one of the most committed bands in Jamaica, the Rastafarian band Ras Michael and the Sons of Negus. Due to extraordinary circumstances Jackson was propelled into the limelight as the lead singer which boosted his self esteem and confidence. It was not long after this that in 1972 we heard the first Vivian Jackson production Conquering Lion, released on his Prophets label. The above, after a false start, begins again with a warning, or omen: "Beware God is watching you". The musical content somehow carries this portent, which, even to those who aren't the least interested in a strictly religious interpretation, can't help being drawn into the prefigurement before them and seeing gathering clouds as a sign of the times.
Fans of Big Youth may recognize the rhythm used to good effect on his Dread Locks Dread album