Main Big Lime, which Minister of Tourism, Industry & Commerce Manniram Prashad promises will be on rain or shine, is expected to have a new addition in the form of some Christian deejaying that will see at least two international singers giving those who are into Christian reggae a taste of their talent.
Sheik Reza Ally, popularly known as the ‘DJ Evangelist’, is one of the organisers of this new feature. A stage will be set up and gospel music will blare from amplifiers just as it usually is with popular music and Sheik feels this would add some “serenity” to the event. He also does not believe that come next Wednesday they would have to compete with the other sound systems, which would be playing dancehall and other popular music, as he is sure there is an audience for the type of music they would be playing.
In a recent interview with The Scene the Canada-based Guyanese noted that the Main Big Lime has been associated with violence by some, because of some incidents that would have occurred in the past. He hopes that the addition of some good Christian music would assist in ensuring a non-violent atmosphere. Mind you, Sheik and his crew, which includes another Guyanese based in New York, L-Legant whose slogan is ‘Relevant’, plays music that is dubbed dancehall reggae gospel so that Christians can rock away in the name of Jesus.
Sheik, who has been living in Canada for the past eight years, said the idea was conceived by a local group known as Turning Point Promotion and his website, www.dancehallgospel.com. “We are bringing a new edition and it is the real Christmas jam,” he was bold enough to declare. He explained that their contribution would be two fold and would include helping Guyanese to remember the true meaning of Christmas as according to him for too long many persons have been celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ without really understanding the true significance of the day.
They hope their contribution to the event will be an annual one and that it would assist in pulling more and more Guyanese to come celebrate the Christmas holidays in Guyana.
Sheik will not only be deejaying at the Main Big Lime, he will also be giving those interested a taste of his singing talent as he is also as a singer, rapper preferably. But he added that tons of other local gospel artistes will be on stage doing their thing. And if all goes well the event may be broadcast internationally on a radio station that singer ‘L-Legant’ works at in New York. Sheik said they are not only catering for Christians but would like all of the Guyanese who attend the event to flock their stage which has a special aspect. Persons will be asked to fill in the missing information on a flyer that will be distributed along with their contact details and hand it in at a special booth near the stage. They will have the opportunity to win a MP3 player, which will be loaded with Christmas music, a DVD player or CDs.
And President Bharrat Jagdeo, if he so desires, may well receive the Leadership of Excellence Award on that very night. Sheik said the award was conceived by Guyanese in Canada, New York and here and they are awarding the President for the way he handled the recent Guyana/Suriname border issue.
The group has written to the President informing him of their intention and asking him when and where he would like to be presented with the award, although, Sheik said, the Main Big Lime would be the ideal venue. “We are waiting for an answer from the President when he would want to be presented with the award. We are patiently waiting for his response.” ‘Not always a Christian’
Giving The Scene a little insight into who he really is, Sheik said he has not always been a Christian. In fact, when he left Guyana at the age of 19 being a Christian was the furthest from his mind. However, today he is part of the Pentecostal faith and he has no regrets. He disclosed that a shortly after settling in Canada he began to communicate with God which saw him deciding to discontinue deejaying in clubs as he felt what he was doing was wrong. He said during a period of fasting and praying he asked the Lord to take control of his life and he gave up deejaying at clubs but this decision added another problem to his life as from that point he had no means of income.
The former ‘D’Urban Street resident said that for a while he felt that his life had no direction even though he believed in God, but it was on August 22, 2001 as he was “wrestling with God” that unexpectedly he decided to go to a youth service where he received God’s answer. While at the meeting the young people were asked to write down on a piece of paper whether they wanted to become a pilot, which was a total surprise to him as being a pilot was never a career he thought about. He said he told God that he did not want to be a pilot but then the Lord “spoke me again and revealed that it is not a pilot to fly a plane, but to lead His people back to him”.
Later that same year an idea came to him to mix gospel music and send it back to Guyana to be played in minibuses among other places, even though he did not have the means to do so. Shortly after, Sheik said, he was gifted with an amplifier and a CD player and he began mixing the music.
And even though it was evident to him that God was communicating with him, Sheik said he still had doubts as he was still young in the faith. One day he went to church and he was told by the preacher that he should “open my mouth and sing. But I thought he was just a fraud because I never sang before, maybe in my bathroom but not in public. I went home and told my family and we had a good laugh and forgot about it.”
He was 22 years old at that time. In 2003,
he started deejaying for artistes at shows and from time to time he was asked to act as a back up singer.
“Even though I was doing that [singing as a back up] I never remembered the words of the prophet. Then one day someone would told me I should start singing because I was sounding good,” Sheik said. So it was from that point in life that the deejay started to compose his own songs and sing them.
“I write my own songs and sing even though I never liked writing. That is what I have been doing for these past few years, ministering through songs.”
Sheik also owns a record company named ‘Changes Records’ which has produced and released an album themed ‘Reggae Gospel Platinum’ which features various artistes.
Ally has not released any songs, since he just writes and performs his songs live. But plans are on stream to release a single soon.
Before leaving Guyana Sheik had a programme on what was then GTV 11 called Quiz Jam.
samantha_alleyne2000@yahoo.com
