Who is Marlon Asher?
HIS real name is Marlon Asher, but in Kampala, he is popularly known as the Ganja Planter, after his song by the same title. The song, loved for its drive and lyrics, has been a nightclub anthem for more than nine months.
By Emmanuel Ssejjengo and Gilbert Mwijuke
HIS real name is Marlon Asher, but in Kampala, he is popularly known as the Ganja Planter, after his song by the same title. The song, loved for its drive and lyrics, has been a nightclub anthem for more than nine months.
Asher is performing alongside Bebe Cool tonight at the Bafudde concert at Kati Kati Grounds, Lugogo. Tomorrow, he heads for a street jam along Spire Road in Jinja, and Resort Beach, Entebbe on Sunday.
Ironically, ‘Ganja Planter’ is not a ganja (marijuana) farmer. “I have never been a farmer,†he says, “but I have friends who are and seeing what they have to go through when police burn their fields inspired me to create the song.â€
But Asher is very cautious and says that that herb is not for everyone.
“It have (sic) people who will smoke and trip,†he once said in an interview with Trinidad and Tobago Express.
Although some adverts claim that he is Jamaican, Asher is from Trinidad and Tobago. He is considered a pioneer of the Trinidadian reggae movement.
Although Ganja Planter, sparked off controversy as a promotional song for marijuana, it became a runaway hit.
Asher started singing at the age of seven in the Spiritual Baptist Church Choir, but later converted to the Rastafari movement. Even then he believes he is God’s messenger.
At Sabrina’s Pub last Friday, he took off time to preach to the audience, praising Jesus Christ, but quickly adding a phrase about His reincarnation in Haile Selaissie.
It is that spirituality that he exported to the US and Europe when he performed alongside the likes of Beenie Man, Sizzla, Maxi Priest, Damien Marley and Boyz II Men.
Marlon Asher’s art is destined to live forever. He teaches musical arrangement of the steelpan (a national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago) to children between the age of seven to 17.
His other songs on the Locked Out album are all in the style of conscious reggae.
Whether it is the popularity of reggae music or an obsession for “substanceâ€, the man who has been in our ears for over a year, is finally coming to our eye.
HIS real name is Marlon Asher, but in Kampala, he is popularly known as the Ganja Planter, after his song by the same title. The song, loved for its drive and lyrics, has been a nightclub anthem for more than nine months.
Asher is performing alongside Bebe Cool tonight at the Bafudde concert at Kati Kati Grounds, Lugogo. Tomorrow, he heads for a street jam along Spire Road in Jinja, and Resort Beach, Entebbe on Sunday.
Ironically, ‘Ganja Planter’ is not a ganja (marijuana) farmer. “I have never been a farmer,†he says, “but I have friends who are and seeing what they have to go through when police burn their fields inspired me to create the song.â€
But Asher is very cautious and says that that herb is not for everyone.
“It have (sic) people who will smoke and trip,†he once said in an interview with Trinidad and Tobago Express.
Although some adverts claim that he is Jamaican, Asher is from Trinidad and Tobago. He is considered a pioneer of the Trinidadian reggae movement.
Although Ganja Planter, sparked off controversy as a promotional song for marijuana, it became a runaway hit.
Asher started singing at the age of seven in the Spiritual Baptist Church Choir, but later converted to the Rastafari movement. Even then he believes he is God’s messenger.
At Sabrina’s Pub last Friday, he took off time to preach to the audience, praising Jesus Christ, but quickly adding a phrase about His reincarnation in Haile Selaissie.
It is that spirituality that he exported to the US and Europe when he performed alongside the likes of Beenie Man, Sizzla, Maxi Priest, Damien Marley and Boyz II Men.
Marlon Asher’s art is destined to live forever. He teaches musical arrangement of the steelpan (a national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago) to children between the age of seven to 17.
His other songs on the Locked Out album are all in the style of conscious reggae.
Whether it is the popularity of reggae music or an obsession for “substanceâ€, the man who has been in our ears for over a year, is finally coming to our eye.