King Shango, King David, The Fireman and The Prophet.

A wise man onc… Read Full Bio ↴King Shango, King David, The Fireman and The Prophet.

A wise man once said that a prophet is not without honour save in his own country and so it has been with Capleton. While the veteran DJ's words and works long ago earned him the title of "The Prophet", the respect and honor that should rightfully be his have been a long time coming. "Anytime you try to uplift righteousness and upliftment of the people them, then you ah go get a fight", says the hottest entertainer in the worldwide reggae fraternity. "Bob Marley come do it and them fight him. And when Bob Marley dead, that's when they start to endorse him. I already aware of this, I am not unaware. So I know the more them fight I is the more I get stronger" In the fast-moving world of dancehall reggae, fame and success are hard to obtain and easy to lose. Fans can be fickle, and trends change in the blink of an eye, leaving most entertainers with painfully short career spans. Only a rare few can remain relevant from year to year, holding their audience's attention and leaving them crying for more. His lyrics are deep, precise, and thoughtful. His stage shows are nothing less than dynamic, explosive performances. But his remarkable staying power and longevity may be Capleton's greatest gift.

Born Clifton George Bailey III on April 13, 1967, in the rural parish of St. Mary, Capleton earned his future stage name from friends who were so impressed with his sharp reasoning skills that they named him after the most famous lawyer in town. From a tender young age, he was a lover of the traveling sound systems, sneaking out at night to catch the vibes until dawn. But it wasn't until he turned 18 and moved to Kingston that he was able to realize his destiny.

It was Stewart Brown, owner of a Toronto-based sound called African Star, who gave the untested artist his first break, flying him to Canada for a stage show alongside giants like Ninjaman and Flourgon. The audience poured out their appreciation, and he never looked back. When Capleton first burst on the scene in the late 1980s, the dancehall was a very different place than it is today. Slackness and gun talk were the order of the day. This bright promising newcomer announced his arrival with a string of hit songs from "Bumbo Red" to "Number One on the Look Good Chart" and "Lotion Man." Everything he touched hit the sound-good charts, and the youthful artist with the nimble vocabulary and hardcore voice quickly established himself as one of dancehall's most reliable hitmakers. But even he could not have predicted that eleven years later, at the start of the new millennium, he would be dancehall's ruling voice.

"I think the people dem see say me really deserve that because of the amount of years me put in," Capleton says, "and we never really bow and we still hold the faith. We stand up for whatever we a say. Yeah and we really work for it. And them say by your works, a so you get your pay. The people them see the amount of fight me face and the whole heap of accusation. And me still never give up"

When he dropped the tune "Alms House" in 1992, Capleton established himself as more than an entertainer but as a guiding light of righteousness through music. "United we stand and divided we fall," he sang for the benefit of his fans and dancehall comrades. "Nuff of them nah go know themself till them back against the wall." A few years later he came back with yet another antidote to the clashing and rivlary that had taken hold of the dancehall business. "Music is a mission," he reminded his fellow artists, "not a competition. Some man use the music to cause confusion." The path of this dancehall Prophet was clearly established in 1994 with a string of songs that declared his newfound faith in Rastafari. "INI sight up the light and see say really, yunno, Rasta is real," he recalls. "founder of the world, because Rasta did come set the trend. Y'unnerstand. Rasta is life."

The first words of his mega-hit "Dis The Trinity" made it plain that the DJ had experienced some kind of revelation. "I was once lost but now I'm found," he stated, "Selassie I live every time." Capleton became a strong advocate of the teaching of the Jamaican National Hero, Marcus Mosiah Garvey, founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and advocate of universal black repatriation. "Babylon rewarded us with hatred for our love," he declares. "They taught us to rape, steal and kill. For instance, they stole our literature and taught it back to us in a different manner so as to infiltrate our minds with foolishness and other misconceptions. Now we as black men do not see ourselves as prince and prophets, but as punks and guys. Our women do not see themselves as queens, princesses or empresses anymore, but as harlots and concubines." The only solution, as Bob Marley advocated, is to emancipate oneself from mental slavery.

"Over the years INI as a nation and a people, them no really teach INI nuttin' bout INI black self. You know I mean? Them teach INI them give we European philosophy. So INI and some other youths a try emerge now, we ask certain question and we ask fi certain things. Caw we know say an institute, or in a college, or in a certain organization we need we Ethiopian curriculum, we need the black man thing. We need to know about weself. Becaw the prophet Marcus Garvey did show we say, A nation without no knowledge of them own history is like a tree without a root. And if you don't know where you're coming from, you're not gonna know where you're going."

Even as he uplifts the black race, Capleton always makes a point of clarifying that he does not seek to alienate any race. "We are not being racial nor prejudiced star," he says. "Becaw we know Jah is for everyone. But where history and prophesy in concerned, that is our witness and we have to be ourself, and we cannot hide from the truth. Caw we woulda be a traitor and a sellout to ourself. And you cannot sell out yourself."

Soon thereafter came the song "Tour" a blazing state of the dancehall report written in the weeks following the slaying of Panhead and Dirtsman, two of Capleton's fellow artists. That song not only became an anthem of the roots revival within the dancehall, but a hip hop flavored remix of that song hit the Billboard charts, opening up a huge new audience to Capleton's messages of righteousness.

There followed a relationship with Def Jam records, who released two Capleton albums, Prophecy and I-Testament, which featured memorable collaborations with rap stars like Method Man and Q-Tip. Both records were warmly accepted by the international audience, but as the millennium drew to a close, Capleton sensed that it was time to return to his core audience. He had work to do. "I have to be myself, right? And I only can be me," he reasons. "So whichever way fi make me be me, I work with dat. Y'understand."

Capleton is now at the height of his powers. 1999 and 2000 have brought a ceaseless string of sound system favorite and dancehall chart toppers like the anti-violence anthem "Jah Jah City" and "Good In Her Clothes," a message of respect for the sisters who carry themselves like Empresses rather than. But even as he completes his mission of upliftment, Capleton has had many critics. One of his biggest hits, in fact, is addressed the naysayers in the press and the ivory towers of power. "Critics won't leave I alone," chats the Prophet. "They say they can't take the fire weh me put pon Rome"

Many of Capleton's songs "and most of his critics" make mention of this blazing fire. Capleton hopes to clear up the confusion once and for all. "Is not really a physical fire. Is really a spiritual fire, and a wordical fire, and a musical fire. You see the fire is all about a livity. But is people get it on the wrong term. People get confused.So when a man say "more fire" him think that mean say you fi go light the cane field or go light the church." Fire, Capleton explains, is a way of reminding one's brother that they are going astray. "That way a man know say him doing something wrong. That even give him the urge to know say Yo check up on yourself. What you're doing is not right, or else him would not say "Fire fi dat," or "Burn dat" or "More fire." "If we go check it back now," he continues, "fire is for the purification of earth, anyhow you check it. This earth itself have to even emerge from the literal fire also, which is the volcanic activity, we a talk bout lava. The hottest element to rise us in the morning is the sun. The water cleanse, but it's still the support from the fire that burn the water, burn out of the bacteria so the water coulda heal we fi cleanse. The herb heal, but it's still the fire fi burn the herb so the herb coulda heal we also."

{Bio is courtesy of Rob Kenner} www.vprecords.com

Same Old Story
Capleton Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

We need more love and trust
Justice is all what we need
So let us speak and trust
So that we all can proceed
And never loose focus
That will make us achieve
I dont love and trust
Burn dem envy in me

Same old same old story nah loose your sanities
Same old same old story nah above vanities
Same old same old story their promises
Same old same old story so dem wanna .

Still dem always say what dem gonna do
Still dey always do what dem wanna do
And dey always say what dey neva do
And their words their speak are neva tru
Still oppression dem apply
Ive got dem sick gals dem living and getting so high
I everything must go high
I wonder if dem neva fail the people payment, the people cry
Dem talk like that sky is the limit
And still when mi ready fi my share dem a tell it aint finish
Long time slave abolish and diminish
Well dem still a go with dem willing sing it

Same old same old story their promises
Same old same old story nah loose your sanities
Same old same old story nah above vanities
Same old same old story

We need more love and trust
Justice is all what we need

So let us speak and trust
So that we all can proceed
And never loose focus
That will make us achieve
I dont love and trust
Burn dem envy in me

Same old same old story nah loose your sanities
Same old same old story nah above vanities
Same old same old story their promises
Same old same old story so dem wanna .

Still dem always say what dem gonna do
Still dey always do what dem wanna do
And dey always say what dey neva do
And their words their speak are neva tru
Still oppression dem apply
Ive got dem sick gals dem living and getting so high
I everything must go high
I wonder if dem neva fail the people payment, the people cry
Dem talk like that sky is the limit
And still when mi ready fi my share dem a tell it aint finish
Long time slave abolish and diminish
Well dem still a go with dem willing sing it

Same old same old story their promises
Same old same old story nah loose your sanities
Same old same old story nah above vanity
Same old same old story so dem wanna

Premature promises will make you get discourage
Inflation getting high economical worries

So mi tell the ghetto youth dem dont get discourage
Mi warn dem from the corner nigger, sex to the sorries

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Capleton's "Same Old Story" call for more love, trust, and justice in the world. The song highlights the feeling of disillusionment with politicians and their empty promises. Capleton calls out the oppression that still persists and the prevalence of substance abuse as a coping mechanism. He warns against premature promises that will only lead to discouragement and advocates for staying focused in order to achieve one's goals.

The repetition of the line "Same old same old story" throughout the song emphasizes the idea that nothing has truly changed despite promises made by those in power. It conveys a sense of resignation and frustration with the status quo. The lyrics also touch on economic worries and the struggles of those living in poverty. Overall, "Same Old Story" is a commentary on the broken promises of those in power and a call to action for more love, trust, and justice in the world.

Line by Line Meaning

We need more love and trust
We as a society require more empathy and loyalty towards each other.

Justice is all what we need
Equality and fairness in the system is what we need to thrive.

So let us speak and trust
By communicating openly and having faith in one another, we can progress as a community.

So that we all can proceed
By working together, we can move forward and improve society.

And never loose focus
It is important to stay committed to our goals and not get distracted.

That will make us achieve
Through this focus, we will attain our collective aspirations.

I dont love and trust
The singer does not have positive feelings towards others.

Burn dem envy in me
The artist is consumed by jealousy towards those they perceive as better than themselves.

Same old same old story nah loose your sanities
The repetitive corruption and lies will not make us lose our sanity.

Same old same old story nah above vanities
The same old lies are not worth thinking highly of.

Same old same old story their promises
The tedious, unfulfilled promises that are always made.

Same old same old story so dem wanna .
The artist is skeptical that anything will change.

Still dem always say what dem gonna do
Politicians and leaders make grand promises, but they rarely follow through.

Still dey always do what dem wanna do
Leaders make decisions based on their own interests, not the interests of the people.

And dey always say what dey neva do
Leaders make empty promises that they have no intention of fulfilling.

And their words their speak are neva tru
The constant lies and deceit undermine the trust we have in our leaders.

Still oppression dem apply
The government still uses repression to control the population.

Ive got dem sick gals dem living and getting so high
There are those who are suffering due to the government's actions and policies.

I everything must go high
The cost of living is rising, making it difficult for people to survive.

I wonder if dem neva fail the people payment, the people cry
The government may not pay the people, which can lead to protests and unrest.

Dem talk like that sky is the limit
Leaders make promises they cannot keep, such as implying that there is no limit to what they can achieve.

And still when mi ready fi my share dem a tell it aint finish
Leaders may tell the public they are not entitled to their fair share of resources.

Long time slave abolish and diminish
Despite ending slavery, there is still a significant history of oppression to work through.

Well dem still a go with dem willing sing it
Despite little progress, the government makes no effort to change.

Premature promises will make you get discourage
Making promises that are unlikely to be fulfilled will only lead to disappointment.

Inflation getting high economical worries
The rising cost of living creates financial difficulties for people.

So mi tell the ghetto youth dem dont get discourage
The singer encourages young people not to give up hope for a brighter future.

Mi warn dem from the corner nigger, sex to the sorries
The artist advises people to avoid negative influences and focus on their own personal growth.

Writer(s): Kemar Mcgregor, Clifton Bailey, Kemar Ricardo Mc Gregor, Llamar Louis Rashaud Brown, Clifton George Bailey, Llamar Brown Copyright: Stb Music Inc., Flava Roots Publishing, Greensleeves Publishing Limited, Jam One Publishing

Contributed by Hudson E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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