Jah Cure joins forces with legendary manager

Leighton Levy, Gleaner Writer

Roots/reggae singer Jah Cure thrilled a large audience packed inside the Usain Bolt Tracks & Records sports bar at the Marketplace in St Andrew on the night of June 4.

They had come in droves to hear a man who had not performed live in Jamaica for two years. He did not disappoint.

The singer, who has over the past few years developed an almost cult-like following, delivered a performance that had his audience spellbound from the time he took the microphone, delivering tracks that drew screams of approval and the 'bussing of blanks' all night long.

Sitting near the entrance of the venue but close enough to see and hear the singer and his audience's response was Robert Livingston, the veteran producer who helped shape the hugely successful careers of reggae/dancehall legends Super Cat and Shaggy.

Livingston rarely smiles, he having learned over the decades in the music industry that the business is cruel, oftentimes unrewarding and, most important, that all that glitters could be fool's gold. However, on this night, there was a slight smile etched on his face.

"I loved the performance. There is a great confidence that you could see in his concert where he realised that he started to feel the people from the first two songs. And I also got a good feel from the artiste himself, up front and personal.

"There were little areas in it that I would have fixed or made some adjustment to some of the songs, have him do some more popular songs, but overall, it was a very good concert. I think it showed his ability to go international, and of course, the way he paced himself made it a full concert. I liked the concert," he said afterwards.

Getting Acquainted

The Scikron Entertainment/Big Yard CEO was in attendance at Tracks & Records, not just for the entertainment. He had just recently agreed to sign on as Jah Cure's manager and was getting to know his latest client a little better.

"We had been talking for a long time and he was bothering me about not leaving the music industry," he said.

Stung by the split with Shaggy, with whom he shared the incredible success of the Hot Shots album that sold more than 20 million copies globally just over a decade ago, and the slowdown in the music industry, Livingston had already started making moves to making a clean break.

He admits that now he may have been lured back in by one of the most talented Jamaican entertainers of this era.

Jah Cure, who believes he is just getting started, found himself at a crossroads. Having got his break back in 1997 when his Beres Hammond-produced single King of the Jungle created a stir, Jah Cure consistently released a stream of quality songs that have helped him generate a strong following.

However, a rape conviction two years later saw him being incarcerated for eight years. Once freed, he immediately released the critically acclaimed album True Reflections: A New Beginning.

The Universal Cure followed, and then his hit single Unconditional Love which won him fans worldwide. World Cry, his latest album, followed.

Still, the singer was dissatisfied with the pace of his progress.

"As an artiste coming from nothing to something, I managed to get myself to where I am right now without a manager, but as an artiste, I thought I should have been way ahead of where I am right now if I had the right team and management to take me places," he said.

"I need more than just a manager. I needed a manager with experience, someone that knows the road and knows how to connect the dots. I know seh mi nuh bus' yet. I just created a platform, but there is much more that needs to be done. The beginning is just now."

Jah Cure's relationship with Livingston goes back a few years. He had always used the Big Yard recording studio. He recorded some of his latest hits like Unconditional Love and That Girl, as well as his World Cry, album there. And throughout their interaction, Livingston, he said, always offered him advice. Hammond, who has been his mentor from the very beginning, also encouraged him to bring Livingston on as his manager.

They agreed to a partnership just under a month before Jah Cure's June 4 concert, and together they have begun putting a team together and working out the details of their partnership.

Livingston admits, however, that he is still in the process of learning about the singer, the things that will help him be the most effective manager he can be.

"You know, you can't treat every artiste the same way. What I did for Shaggy is not the same thing I will do for Jah Cure, because he is a different artiste. I have to study Jah Cure, so I have some work to do," he said.

"He has a lot to offer: humour, personality, talent and he has a lot in him that people don't really get to see. His melodies, his songs, choice of words; I think he has a lot, he is super-talented, and I think that is what has caught my attention more than anything."

Livingston believes that there is no limit to what Jah Cure can achieve globally, saying his new project is not like many entertainers who, if they don't have a song out, are not relevant.

Connect with audience

"He can build up a cult following. He can do the journey, and there are not a lot of artistes who can do the journey," he said.

"I think he will follow the same footsteps of Bob Marley; that market is there sitting and waiting for him, and he can go the whole nine yards."

The plan, he says, is to build on what Jah Cure has already established: doing more love songs that connect with his audience and reaching out to new markets.

There are plans to venture into markets that are already familiar with the artiste, such as Australia, South East Asia and South America. Then there is a plan of going more aggressively into Europe, Livingston reveals. There is already a lot of interest in Jah Cure from marketers and promoters with whom Livingston has worked. They have been calling expressing interest in working with the new team on the objective of making Jah Cure a global star.

Jah Cure expressed happiness with the partnership. "I believe in Robert Livingston so much and I respect him. The belief I have in him alone is going to make it work, knowing that he believes in me. I think now I can relax and focus on what I do best. Some people say the sky, is the limit, but after you go through the sky you go to the universe. Reaching for the stars is what I am about right now."