Contents - Beth Lesser

Ragamuffin style back in the ‘70s. For a short time, the media tried to portray
the song as advocating gangsterism, or rude boys. “But I know what I had
meant, what it was referring to. Because, we grew up poor and humble but we
were still rich in morals and values,” Pint replied to his critics.
Half Pint grew up poor and clean, his childhood spent between central
Kingston, where his parents lived, and Kingston 11, where his grandparents
had a house. “My grandmother and my grandfather were originally from
Kingston, the city itself … But after 1951, a storm that was in Jamaica, most
people in the city was devastated. The then government at the time established
some land up in St. Andrew, Kingston 11. So most people from the
city that was without a house, they got land and houses up in Kingston 11,
Olympic Gardens, average people just call it Waterhouse. A lot of rain would
fall up in that area.
“At the time, really and truly, Waterhouse was like a residential area. The
place was more like really secluded, a lot of trees, fruits. People were really
gentle and kind. Because, in the ‘50s and ‘60s, Jamaica was more really together.
Coming like about the ‘70s Jamaica begins to take a turn, while I was
still living in central Kingston, attending All Saints All Age School. Politics
begin in the ‘70s there - rivalry, clashes, fighting. Central Kingston – that
is where the whole political rivalry begins and spread throughout the entire
island.”
Things were different once the political violence flared. For the young Pint,
it was an education, and it made him aware of the complex forces at work
keeping poor people in Jamaica down. “In Kingston, back in the early ‘70s,
it was a developing stage of gang rivalry but they did not start killing themselves
as yet. When the political arena steps in, they were given guns and start
killing each other. So, come 1978, they tried the One Love Concert to stop
the killing. It didn’t really last [because] it was international…people [were]
supporting for us to be divided. So, they escalate it, burned a lot of shop, close
down factories, burn out buses. It seemed like an internal political affair, but
it was orchestrated from international people outside. So, I grew up learning
that, and realizing that it wasn’t altogether our fault, we more like a victim of
circumstances. From then, I sing songs trying to elevate us out of that situation.”
Pint used his understanding to write his hit, ‘Political Friction’ (Feel the
Beat, 1984, produced by Myrie and Marshall), and to continue to champion
the poor in songs he made for King Jammy, like ‘Mr. Landlord’, ‘Money Man
Skank’, ‘One Big Ghetto’ and ‘Cost of Living’.
Although, as a youth, he did work at regular jobs, he knew his talent lay
in singing. “People in that neighborhood knew that I could sing, cause my
grandmother used to have us going to Sunday school and they use to have me
singing. I would sing the church songs or hymns and sometimes some of the
people would throw up a next penny or two pence to get me back to do an
encore.”
Not wanting to contravene the rules of the house, Pint waited until he
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