Gospel reggae is still a form of music which causes more than a few ripples of controversy. However, two reggae veterans, both of whom were once major stars in the mainstream reggae world, are now forging incisive new forms of reggae gospel. Mike Rimmer and Tony Cummings report on PAPA SAN and JUNIOR TUCKER.

Papa San

There are few forms of music that have as negative associations as reggae. Splif-toting singers, wildeyed Rastafarians and bump-and-grind dancehall exponents seem light years from a Christian lifestyle. Yet as Cross Rhythms has documented down the years, a handful of pioneering reggae artists have determinedly utilized the sinuous rhythms of Jamaica to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In recent years two of reggae's most popular figures, Papa San and Junior Tucker, have shocked the world of Jamaican music by changing career midstream to record gospel music.

Under his recording moniker of Papa San, Tyrone Thompson became known in his homeland as "the fastest mouth in Jamaica." A pioneering toaster, he began his musical life working on sound systems. Papa San quickly gained a reputation as one of the most creative DJs in the world and probably the fastest. Early hits like "Animal Party" and "Talking Parrot" were characterised by imaginative lyrics and a quick-fire delivery. His ability to connect with his audience's experiences were demonstrated during this period and continue into his gospel reggae. In the late '80s he was paired with Tippa Irie and as '80s turned to '90s he was recording once again in Jamaica. Working with a number of different labels and producers including the legendary Sly And Robbie, one tragic turning point was the death in 1993 of his older brother, Dirtsman, also a DJ, shot dead in Jamaica.

In 1997 Papa San became a Christian and his music took a whole new direction. He had been dissatisfied with his life despite the fact that he'd been a huge success. He remembers, "I began to search and read the Bible. That's really when the Holy Spirit began to speak to my heart and say, 'Hey! You messed up! You need to get your life right.' I was so scared and concerned at the time. I didn't even know what conviction was. But man, it was a frightening moment. I felt like if I didn't have Jesus now I would go straight to hell. So I said to my wife, 'I don't know if God will forgive me for all the things that I've done, but I'm so frustrated and confused in the middle of my career.' So we went to a church and spoke to a pastor who told me about Christ and the message. He was talking to us and my heart was already fixed before I got there that I wanted to know Jesus. We said the sinner's prayer, received the Lord - and the rest is now history." Even with his new faith in place and a desire to minister, Papa San faced plenty of opposition from people suspicious of the use of reggae styles of music for Christian ministry. San reflects, "People are coming 'round. I remember when I just put out 'Victory' in 1999, they started dissing. We had a lot of opposition from churches saying, 'This is not the kind of song to do.' We have 98 per cent of the church backing us. Some will turn around and see what the Lord is doing, but some will never do. That's something you have to live with and accept. 'Cause this is the real world and not everybody will accept you, but when you get the majority that's good!"

There are two major issues for the ability of gospel reggae to cross over. The first is the cultural baggage attached to the music. Reggae faces similar challenges that have faced the embracing of rock in the '70s and hip-hop in the '90s. The second is the language challenges of patois. Papa San even includes a glossary of Jamaican terms in the CD sleeve for 'God & I'. San comments, "Reggae music never started out exalting Jesus. It started out exalting a lot of other stuff: Sex, guns and drugs. So people paint a picture with that. And they don't look at it as a vehicle that brings a message. When you relate the Bible to it, people start to say, 'That's not right.' People are beginning to understand what it's all about. The Gospel is God's good news. What comes from the mouth is what really matters. So the music is making a great impact. And it's doing good."

Junior Tucker

Papa San takes ministry very seriously. "It's because this is about the Gospel of Jesus Christ." He explains, "It's not about going singing and getting people pumped up and then going home. We have fliers that say, 'We are fishers of men, and music is our bait.' That's what I always try and show people, that we use music as a pull-in - to minister to them and give them the chance to know Christ and win them to Christ. During concerts we always make altar calls and have counselors there and after the concert we lead people to the Lord and minister to them. That's the purpose of all the concerts we have done. We use the music as a pull-in, because there are some people who will not walk through church doors, but will come to a concert and that's how they're gong to get saved. It is a ministry and I'm an ordained music minister by my church."

Another mainstream reggae star turned church minister is Junior Tucker. Junior was in the showbiz fast lane for many a long year. Born Leslie Tucker, Junior was a child prodigy, extraordinarily playing his first show at age four. By the time he had signed by Chris Blackwell to Island Records at age 12 the pre-teen had already had his first number one on the Jamaican reggae charts with "Look Into Your Heart". The giant Geffen Records bought out Tucker's island contract in 1980 and released the Ray Parker Jrproduced album 'Junior Tucker' which took the young singer into an R&B direction. The singer was subsequently signed to Virgin UK and over the years enjoyed a big hit with the Tommy Cowan-produced reggafication of "Some Guys Have All The Luck". In 1993 the singer was enjoying another number one hit with "Love Of A Lifetime" and by the mid-'90s had recorded with Richie Stephens, Buccaneer and Papa San. But though an established figure on the international reggae scene something was missing in the singing star's life. He remembers, "Early 1997 I discovered that my father had gotten ill. Prior to that we weren't speaking to each other, for about six years. Even though I was very popular and doing good things in terms of my music career. My dad and I didn't really have a great relationship because he was an abusive person, to the point where there was one time when I was about 10, my mother ran away. Moved to The States just to get away from him. There was, y'know, some serious abuse in the family. So, I grew up in that kind of environment. So I decided to stop speaking to him because of what he did. I then started to have nightmares, trying to deal with the revelation of what he did to me and my mother and brothers and sisters. Struggling with the nightmares, but you think that 'If I get the one more hit song, I'll be fine.' One more cheer from the crowd, one more award, one more tour ... would make it better. Yet, it wouldn't go away. So I kept struggling and struggling with it, until one day I got a phone call that he was dying. My sister told me to come to the hospital, he didn't look like he was gonna make it. So I went to see him, and he was a different person, very different. So I'm going there to fight to ask some questions, to have my last confrontation - 'cause I really felt like I was gonna lose him, y'know. So I went there and he stopped me in my tracks. He said, 'You need to think about the place called Heaven.' He started talking to me about that. I'm like, 'What is all this?' Then he dismissed me and told me to go take care of my wife and child to come. He died about nine days after."

Stunned by his father's exhortation to think about spiritual things, the singer eventually arrived at a crisis in his life. "I said, 'God help me tonight. If you take away the nightmares I promise I'll live for you. Please let me wake up and know exactly what you want me to be.' That was my cry to him. I stood at the side of the bed and just waited for a while. I fell asleep and I had one of the most peaceful sleeps I ever had in my life. Woke up the next morning about 10 o'clock and I woke up my wife and I said, 'Trudy, I'm a Christian this morning.' She said, 'How you know that?' So I said, 'I just know. We need to find a church right now. We need to get baptised now, because from this day on I'm giving my life to God.' From that day I have not looked back. I've totally been sold out for him. I mean, full-time minister. I don't have a day job. I don't sing secular music anymore. That was it, from that day on."

Now Junior has released his second gospel project. "My new album is called 'Souled Out - Worship From The Islands Vol 1'. It's a live praise and worship album; but reggae. It's nine original songs and five covers. We did 'Ancient Of Days', 'The Lord Reigns', 'Lord I Give You My Heart' and 'Eagles Wings' and stuff like that. The original songs have an island flavour."