Decades in Music and Ras Says ‘This is Just the Beginning’

MAKING timeless music is nothing new for the legendary Ras Sheehama. As one of the pioneers of Namibian music, Ras burst onto the scene with ‘Cassinga’ and ‘City Young Girl’, tracks that still get people dancing and singing along today.

Decades later, Ras says the best is yet to come.

“I am just beginning to kick. I believe that I am at the peak of my career and I plan on making music until the day I am unable to make music,” said the multi-award winning musician.

Having not released an album since early 2013, Ras is back with his 11th studio album, ‘Step Up’, which was released late last year and is scheduled to launch officially on 24 March.

On the new album, the ‘Cassinga’ singer stuck to only eight tracks.

Collaborating with the likes of Katjire, Sally and Angolan musician Carlos, ‘Step Up’ offers something slightly different than the traditional Ras Sheehama reggae album.

He decided to work with Carlos on ‘Fala Muito’ because of the song’s reggae dancehall feel which Carlos is very familiar with. As for working with Sally, he was attracted to working with the singer because he enjoyed some of her reggae tracks.

“The album is not 100% a reggae album. I am not planning on moving away from my reggae sound but I am also not stuck on it. I want to make music for everybody,” he said. In acknowledgement of the fact that music evolves, Ras aims to stay relevant without losing his signature sound.

He admits that even though he has been in the industry for such a long time, he continues to learn every day and is constantly inspired by his journey and the growth of the industry.

Taking a trip down memory lane, Ras’ most memorable moment was when he released his debut album, ‘Kings Music’. Although it was only a six-track album, coming from exile at the time and being able to release the album was exciting.

Being a pioneer of the industry gives him a feeling of satisfaction as he has seen the industry growing from one that listened to mostly South African music to one which now celebrates our very own superstars.

“There was nothing at all when we came. The industry started growing in the late 90s only,” Ras said.

Definitely one of the leaders in creating the Namibian sound, Ras has always been an ambassador for Namibian music, carrying it beyond our borders during performances across Europe and the United States. Though Ras admits he hasn’t performed in the rest of Africa as much as he has further afield.

From ‘Kings Music’ to the latest ‘Step Up’, Ras has always used his music to send inspirational messages to his listeners.

Always offering beautiful, thought-provoking and soothing music, Ras admits that 11 albums later and 30 years after he released his first demo in 1986 which included the track ‘Cassinga’, his biggest regret is not getting a manager earlier on in his career.

With a manager on his team coupled with his determination to keep pushing his music further, Ras says being at the climax of his career, he is ready to give more to his craft than ever before.

While fans are enjoying his latest offering, Ras is already working on a double disk compilation album of his previous work. He will rework some of the music and some he will add to the album as is.

“I will only choose some of the tracks because they are so many.”

The compilation album will hit shelves on 29 July.

For now, fans can find ‘Step Up’ at Antonio’s Art and Okapana Service Station in the North.

The Rise of Ras

1966 – 1979: Born and raised in Onakayale Ombalantu

1979 – 1984: Went into exile, lived in refugee camps in Angola and Zambia. Started developing his passion for music in his early teens.

1984 – 1988: Attended secondary school in Nigeria, played in the school band, and in 1986, recorded his first demo including ‘Cassinga’.

1988 – 1990: Back in Angola, Ras joined the Ndilimani Swapo Cultural Troupe. The band toured the country for the very first free and fair election campaign.

1996 – 1997: Chosen as the overall winner of the NBC Music Makers award.

1997 – 2002: Performed and recorded with members of the band of Lucky Dube and Stimela. Performed in the Africa Festival in Wurzburg, Germany, and Johannesburg, where he was the opening act for Don Carlos.

2002 – 2005: Recorded ‘Inotila’ for the compilation album ‘A Handful of Namibians’ and travelled to Paris to promote the album. Released his fifth album ‘Pure Love’.

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