Junior Toots is the very special guest on this weeks OUTERNATIONAL roots reggae show on BigUpRadio.com. The roots reggae weekly show “Outernational” is hosted by Haji Mike. The Outernational airs every Friday on Big Up Radio’s roots reggae station. The show airs at 5am, 11am, 5pm and 11pm EST. Haji Mike is a world class reggae DJ and will bringing the nothing but the best of roots, culture and special appearances from reggae artists.
About Junior Toots:
Born as a lion from St. Mary's parish in Jamaica, Junior Toots– whose given name is Clayton Hibbert– was born on December 7th to Gloria Tate and one of Reggae music's founding fathers, Toots Hibbert. Like so many other great Reggae singers, Junior Toots began singing as a youth in his hometown church. As his father toured extensively, young Clayton lived with his grandparents in the mystical mountains of St. Mary's countryside, where he learned the importance of man's relation to the Almighty and nature, and responsibility and love for other living beings.
As he grew older, he ventured into Kingston to take up residence with his father. While in Kingston, he was witness to the harsh realities of city survival, which would prove influential on his music in coming years. After experiencing the daylong rehearsals of his father’s group the Maytals, young Junior Toots was struck with an insatiable longing to entertain people. Already beginning to develop his voice, his attendance at these rehearsals provided him with a living classroom only few musicians can say they have attended. Through the Maytals’ hard work Junior Toots was shown how to polish his craft and he masterfully integrated this knowledge throughout his entire career.
About Haji Mike:
In one way or another, Haji Mike has been involved with reggae music since the late 1970′s as a DJ on radio, in the dance, as a specialist scribe for various magazines and on the mic poet/MC. His first experience of radio was in 1980 when he started a roots reggae show on Radio Essex while at University. On returning to Cyprus in the mid 1990′s after living in London for 30 years Haji Mike became a household name through a unique hybrid of JA dancehall riddims, Cypriot traditional melodies and London Gringlish chatting. Resulting in hosting a variety of TV and Radio shows in the local media. Simultaneously he completed a PhD in Cultural Studies leading to working an as an academic at The University of Nicosia.
OuterNational initially began as a podcast at www.soundclick.com featuring rare cassette interview sessions recorded for various magazines in the 80′s and 90′s with reggae legends such as Burning Spear and Cutty Ranks through a cutting edge style called ‘Dub-U-Mentary’. More recently this was transformed following a return to radio via Astra and the only radio show in Greek worldwide dedicated to reggae music. As a poet/MC Haji Mike has been releasing material since 1990. Collaborations include works with Izit, Standout Selector, Zeki Ali, Rocker T, Imiskoubria, Bandulu Dub, Jah Billah, Sonic Crime & Muttley.
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