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from ammocity.com music and media ‘come to jamaica’, invited my new found friend and kingston resident peter rickards of afflictedyard.com a site which is part blog, part magazine, part showcase of his take on jamaican media culture. (peter didn't remain a friend for long as you'll discover at the end of this blog, for more about: peter dean rickards)
i arrived at norman manley airport from antigua where i had been staying with family. the purpose of my trip was to meet peter for the first time as he had been pitching ideas to get exposure for his work in trace magazine and other journals i was writing for. as part of this peter suggested that i might want to meet sizzla to discuss a possible future interview. i arrived tall, blond and pink faced at immigration with a form that insisted i provide an address where i was staying in kingston. i wrote ‘judgement yard’.
the stern faced immigration lady looked at the form and barked at me that this was an improper address and i must give them another one. i said that’s all i had and that i would be there that evening’. discussion occurred she asked me where was ‘judgement yard’ i foolishly replied that i thought it was regarded as a state within a state. bloodly stupid of me really and so another officer was called, some debate and then i said i had come to interview a jamaican artist called sizzla. at this point the officer shrugged and stamped my passport. i got my bag and repeated the whole debate with another immigration officer that for some reason asks exactly the same questions as the first and still gets the hump.
due to various travel issues my host would not be able to collect me and after scoring some jamaican dollars, which actually entailed going back thru baggage claim again, i had to meet up with his friends who would pick me up. by this time i was on the outside hearing a tanoy call on the inside to meet my pick up. this would of mean going back inside and facing more debate with the officials who already thought i was trouble. eventually meeting up with edgar and his cousin who would drive me into kingston and look after me until peter got back from a 4 hour drive from celebrating carnival in negril.
the drive thru kingston was invigorating to say the least. edgar is not a man that is light on the peddle of this worn in nissan. we turn a corner and slowed to witness a car stop by body armoured police officers with semi-automatics. on thru mountain view and noticeable presence of heavily armed police and militia where the pnp meets the jp political factions. a meeting with sizzla in judgement yard didn’t seem like a tall order when sitting in a south london basement but it did begin to dawn on me as we arrived at what had the feel of a fortress with a ghanaian flag on it’s doors. for this is also home to some of bobo shanti rastafari, a devout, militant practice of the rastafarian faith with strong ties to ghana in west africa.
at peter's suggestion, in order to respect those of this faith i removed an ear piercing and left my marlboro’s in the car. i also reacquainted myself with local means of respected address although i never managed it without feeling like louis theroux. any misapprehensions were soon dispelled on entering judgement yard which is practically a self sufficient community which strives to retain it’s own culture despite media carpet bombing from a country just a couple of hours away and to which it does not belong. it is difficult not to be impressed and here as you see sizzla is the king of his manor. much respect to peter dean rickards for taking me one step further. unfortunately it was only at a later date that i discovered peter was wrestling with his own personal demons that involved him threatening and abusing my wife and 3 year old daughter after i wouldn't lend him a video projector (see below or click here ) more of this story here about the author here a further story about judgement yard here © copyright 2003 AMMO CITY INDUSTRIES LTD |
