Samuel, a Reggae highlight amid the magic of the 7th Grande Encontro do Forró!

Amid so much forró magic, the Grande Encontro held at Via Funchal had a Reggae detail that went unnoticed by most people at the venue. At a humble stall selling t-shirts, caps, skirts and other items with a touch of Jamaican art, there was a man who truly has history and experience to share. His name is Samuel, a distant cousin, but still a cousin, of Jimmy Cliff.

He doesn't speak a word of Portuguese, so it's a good time to brush up on your English. He currently lives in Osasco, SP, working with his art, which took him to Europe to promote it and handle some personal matters. Besides being a very friendly figure, Samuel has a very interesting list of friends for those who know Roots Rock Reggae. Some names like Ziggy Marley, Burning Spear and the Steel Pulse crew are on the list. When talking about Steel Pulse, he even dropped a line from Steppin Out: -"Abracadabra, Catch me if You Can..."!

It all comes from his origin, Ocho Rios, just 2 hours from Kingston, capital of Jamaica. Things don't stop there. Samuel works as a musician and has a band called Disciples. We believe Disciples stayed in Jamaica, as he is looking for a Roots-style band to work on his 15 songs already ready on a demo CD. He showed he has the Roots profile on several occasions.

When Surforeggae asked what Rastafari would mean, he simply replied: -"Rastafari means Peace"...- and what does Reggae mean? According to Samuel, Reggae is "Understanding the Past, Applying the lessons in the Present to, finally, have a Better Future". Renato, another Surforeggae member, joined the conversation and, as our reggae man, began to deepen the talk. There were rumors that Albert Griffiths of The Gladiators was very ill. Rumors, unfortunately, confirmed by Samuel.

But he said Albert is strong and may pull through. There were hilarious critiques of Gregory Isaacs' romantic style. The protest part was quite forceful. Samuel is Rasta... a true Reggae adherent. Serious, militant Reggae. He is against some Roots Reggae bands going on tour, because besides not being known enough to pull off a big show, there is a lot of lack of ethics in contract drafting. Money always ends up being diverted, at least a good part of it. He also says Reggae is much more than simply dancing and smoking. Reggae is stopping, listening, reflecting and trying to extract the maximum lessons your perception can grasp. Samuel is simple, experienced... we may hear a lot about him.

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