By Hannah Marion Namukasa
Omusawo Tintah alias Male Deogratius will this Tuesday 10pm host Oakland, California rapper/activist, Ras Ceylon, on his maiden Strictly Reggae Dancehall show on Tagy Television.
Ras Ceylon, is an eMCee, organiser and educator of Sri Lankan descent based in Oakland California. His family settled in Los Angeles in the early 1970s from Sri Lanka. Although the civil war hadn’t quite started yet, the political and economic situation in Sri Lanka did not look good, so his parents decided to migrate overseas. They first tried to move to the United Kingdom but there was a “colour bar” at the time that prevented black people from obtaining housing in London, so they ended up migrating to Los Angeles where he was born.
Ras Ceylon grew up in Southern California and moved to the Bay Area for college in 1999. Other than spending time in Kingston, Jamaica and moving to Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2012 to do post war reconciliation work and music, it’s been home ever since.
Ras Ceylon latest album titled “To Srv The Ppl” literally translated as To Serve The People, is a politically charged opus that breathes positivity and hope for social change.
Oakland, California’s Sri Lankan American recording artist, Ras Ceylon, has spent over two decades relentlessly organizing his community, providing them with the tools to rise above oppression, and being a voice of the voiceless through his music and activism.
“To Srv The Ppl” is Ras Ceylon’s first full-length solo release in 10 years (7th album overall), recorded entirely in 2022, embodying thought-provoking politically charged subject matter that revolves around freedom, family, spirituality, and revolutionary change. Ras’s socially conscious lyrical imagery is a masterful fusion of hip hop, roots reggae, and dancehall blending straightforward bars of struggle with insightful metaphysical wisdom floating over exquisitely curated soundscapes provided by well-rounded beatsmiths including Dawit Justice, DJ Just Jay, Kinetic 9 (Killarmy), and Dr. Edward Love.
Ras Ceylon spoke of “To Srv the Ppl”, declaring, “This project is more than just music for me. It is the soundtrack to my way of life and my philosophies. From a young age, I took heed to a higher calling from those in my community to serve the people, all people that are oppressed worldwide. It is this chosen path that translates beyond words into actual physical action. This album is an update of where I currently reside mentally and spiritually. It is an audio journey for listeners into the movement of self-determination.”
For more about Ras Ceylon updates visit: http://rasceylon.org
