Black Prophet Goes Solo With Legal Stranger
Reggae enthusiasts have been eagerly awaiting the debut solo album from Kenneth Wilberforce Zonto Bossmon, also known as Black Prophet. The wait is now almost over: Legal Stranger, a 13-track album recorded with several different producers and backed by the European/Ghanaian band Thunder Strike, is on its way. The artist describes his hotly anticipated effort as a "classic roots" album with African overtones.
Dressed in his African print, and wearing a turban, Black Prophet sat down with the Saturday Statesman to talk about how far he has come.
Bossmon was born in Accra, and at the tender age of seven, he had his first public performance with the Ola Williams band. Shortly thereafter he started performing as a solo artist under the name Home Culture.
Bossmon feels that he has been blessed with the talent of performing and communicating through his music, summing it up thus: "Music has been part of me and my parents have been most supportive."
Black Prophet, who likes to play football, guitar and write songs, follows in the footsteps of Ghana's spiritual reggae pioneers, citing influences like hip-hop, roots-reggae and African traditionalism in his music.
The young artiste likens Ghana"s music industry to a growing plant, one that is in need of some water. "I wish people will appreciate good music and know what to do with it," he says. Like many great reggae performers Bossman is deeply committed to his art, and the power of spiritual music. "The industry lives in me and I live in it. My music is to educate and elevate people from their slumber."
Black Prophet exhibits this social consciousness in his latest album where he encourages people, especially the African youth, to have faith in themselves and fine tune their God-given talents for the benefit of their people rather than, as he calls it, "enslaving themselves in a foreign land". While Bossmon isn't against Africans experiencing other cultures he feels Ghanaians should first learn to appreciate what they have rather than choosing to live abroad.
Uncompromising in both his music and his ideals, Black Prophet stands alone in the Ghanaian reggae scene, although the artist has at times tried to share the stage. Locally, he played and recorded with the band Vibration Kings but, "it proved to be difficult to maintain a live band in Accra during the new millennium," he says, adding "Hip-life was on the rise and the music climate changed".