By TUREKA TURK
Jllohlp." Cltlan
"Everyone is crying out for
peace
No one is crying out for jus­
tice
There will be no peace until
every man gets equal rights
and justice"
-PeterToah
"Stepping Razor-Red X"
chronicles the life of the leg­
endary rastafarian reggae
singer Peter T08h, who, like
many leaders seeking the
truth in a co piring arid,
41 m '0U8ly I 1987.
tapes as well as concert foot­
age, testimonies and reveal­
ing footage from the Jamaica
that T08h knew to create a
dark captivating reflection on
Toeh's life.
Some called Tosh "a reggae
Malcolm X" because of his
brash, revolutionary thin -
ing. Although good friends
with Robert 'Nesta' Marley,
Tosh clearly was much more
dissatisfied and impatient
with the state of the world. In
fact, he said that had he not
become a reggae singer, he
would have been a revolu­
tionary fighter. Yet "Stepping
RtJJ«)r" howa that h, in
his 0 n dar mysterious
"Only the truth can
make a man free. Only
the truth. call make a
real man:"
-p rTosh
Toeh, a former member of
The Wailers with another
legendary reggae master­
mind Bob Marley, spent his
entire life believing that evil
spirits' were after him. He
said that every time he saw
his name printed on a docu­
ment there was a red X near
it, a clear sign of trouble for
him.
Before his death. T08h be­
gan making the "Red X" tapes
which would eventually
serve as the foundation for
his autobiography. His sud­
den death altered those plans
only slightly. Good friend
Nicholas Campbell used the
way, was a revolutionary, his
music being his weapon.
"Where there is corru p­
tion, there must be an erup­
tion," T08h said.
roSH'S LIFE WAS dedi­
cated to seeking out truth, all
truth.
This journey made Tosh a
target for the Jamaican gov­
ernmen t and those buried in
Jamaica's underworld, com­
fortably situation in cor-rup­
tion.
"Only the truth can make
a jnan free. Only the tru th
can make a man real,"Tosh
said.
The documentary itself is a
smooth flowing, disturbing,
dark and dismal account.
Campbell uses children in
present Jamaica to illustrate
Tosh's narrative of growing
up in his homeland. Camp-
: bell clearly maps out Tosh's
mind and his thinking by us­
ing family and closest friends'
impressions of the often-ig­
nored Tosh.
Tosh's own speech (full of
rage and thick with
h
an.
h
urder.
-PETER RAINER. L.A. TIMES
"A EGGA ALCOL X.
A MESSIANIC RASTA ( HO) ENDED UP
A SPECIES OF NATIONAL MYTH. A MUSICAL
FEAST WITH JANGLY, FASCINATING
PSYCHO OCIAL·CRO SCURREN "
-JAY SCOTT, GLOBE & v1AIL (TORONTO)
6ftfflN4 !\�ZO!?
DIRECTED BY NICHOLAS CAMPBELL A NORTHERN ARTS ENTERTAINMENT RELEASE
Mentloni g the unmentionable
"Bumbklots", a Jamaican ex­
pression of anger) is the guide
through his uneasy journey
through his Ii fee
The story is a political, s0-
cial, spiritual, and human
portrait that includes rare
footage from Tosh and the
early Wailers to Tosh's last
days. .
After separating from the
Wailers, Toeh had a difficult
climb to the status of solo art­
ist because his revolutionary
thinking made him practi­
cally untouchable.
"The system no like man
(who is) revolutionary.
I'm a walking razor. I'm
dangerous," Tosh would say.
YET RELEASE -u.
galize It" (a plea for the legali­
zation of mar ijuana), became
a semi-smash and proved
'I'osh's solo talents. Tosh
would go on to perform with
Mick Jagger and the Rolling
Stories'even though he be­
lieved that his "demons" were
still gnawing at his sanity.
According to family and
friends, Tosh was a walking
target, receiving death
threats even up to his last day
alive.
"It did not surprise me that
he died the way he did," says
one friend.
Tosh, broadcaster Free I
Dixon and friend Ore were
hot to death in Toeh's home
by three men demanding
money. Several others were
wounded. It is believed that,
despite the demand for
money, the deaths were not
robbery-related, but were or­
dered.
•
"If they were robbery-re-
lated," said one witness, "why
was nothing taken in Peter's
home?"
Rumors of the cause for the
orders ranged from the fact
that Peter wanted an all ras­
tafarian radio station in pre­
dom i nan tly-Ch risti an
Jamaica, to the demons fi­
nally catching up with him.
ONE MAN BURREN.
'DEREn to the police that
night but maintains his inno­
cence to this day while behind'
bars. The other two men were
never found but are rumored
to have been killed on the
streets of New York.
"SteppingRazor-Red" pa
the memory of Peter T08h
alive with scenes like one of
young Jamaican children in
Trench town, . running and
playing while Tosh say,
"They will fall victim. They
are lost in the fantasy of
ing the reality."
l'HE SCOOP h� .lunice \Ialulw
R&B singing star Freddie
Jackson reveals the trials and
tribulations of being a ex
symbol. "Let me just y that
me women want to give me
the key to their h rt and the
key to something else, too ...
Women are always throwing
their panti at me when I'm
on stage (he begins laughing).
The first time this hap­
pened, it lly soared me.
Th re I was, just singing my
h rt out and uddenly I
th little red things flying in
the air toward my h d. It's
a rather slow procedure when
th y're about to do this. It
starts off with a woman it-
ting there waving her hands
in the air, enjoying the music.
She will lowly bend down.
I've noticed there IDS to be
a little struggle when they get
to th kn . After that, I
know what's next. The panti
tart flying in th air toward
the tage ... Don't laugh, but I
don't how me of th
wom n tand to do thi in the
winter time.
And, I lly ond r how
the full-figured women can do
this littl routine quickly­
they're really fast with it. But,
I must admit that I 10 it
when ladi do thi at my
hows .. .l t's great fun ... "
