Sipho Johnson

The Roots Reggae Library brings to you Reggae music in unique collections. This edition features Sipho Johnson from the band Jambo. The collection is unique because Sipho Johnson is quite unknown and the recording of his albums are extremely rare. 

My greatest pride on the Roots Reggae Library. You have to stand in awe for this man. He is definitely one of the best African Reggae musicians, up there with the likes of Lucky Dube. You have to give him credit for producing a number of albums, whereas other good South African artist like Joe Silo, Joe Gad, José Carlos and Reggae Muntu produced only a single album. Sipho Johnson has one of those discographies where the songs on the first album are as good as those on his last. A steady, hidden Reggae star of South Africa.

It took quite an effort to get this discography together and it would only be fair to give credit to a number of people who have helped to get this in one piece. First of all a round of applause for Richard Siluma and Dave Durbach from South Africa. Richard Siluma, who was a major player in the career of Lucky Dube, had recorded the Unborn Child album that Sipho Johnson recorded as a solo artist. I was happy to learn that mister Siluma had a copy left of this record. He had given it to Dave Durbuch, better known as DJ Okapi, who runs the website Afro-Synth. Mister Durbach is a collector of South African vynil. Besides his contribution to getting together the Sipho Johnson discography, he played a major role in the inclusion of Joe Silo and Reggae Muntu in the Roots Reggae Library.

Secondly a huge thanks to Carlo from Irie Records. I was lucky enough to find out that they had one copy left of No One. Copies of three different compilation records were ordered via One World Music in South Africa and an Amazon seller in the United States.

According to Richard Siluma, Sipho Mdletshe was born in Empangeni, a small town in KwaZulu-Natal. Some of the members of Jambo were Elphius Mkhize, Malcolm Watson, and Mandla Nongena. Other overviews of Sipho Johnson's music or discographies of his music are likely to have come from the Roots Reggae Library. 

Sipho Johnson - Prodigal Son

01. Hero

02. She's My Baby

03. Dear Father

04. Salusa

05. Prodigal Son

06. Never Lose Hope

07. Thank You

08. How Long

These tracks are available on both Jambo and Greatest Hits, and four of them on Best Of. But the tracks on Greatest Hits are the most lengthy.  "We are the winners, we are the champions, today is today, Rastaman", 'Hero' is a shout of confidence and hapiness. Towards the end of the song somebody whistles and we hear the Jambo introducing themselves with "we are the winners, we are the Jambo". "My baby 'She Is My Baby' is written as 'She's My Baby' but due to how Sipho pronounces is when singing it is now written as you find it here. "She is my baby, oh yes she's mine, I ain't gonna look further". There is njust one problem, she is married to another man. Sipho's shout "naaah" is very typical of his singing. Jah Rastafari is the 'Dear Father' they sing about. "People of Africa, all nations". The background ladies sing "you're the one that I love" among other things that are difficult to point out. Sipho sings "Rastaman" and "Fisherman". 'Salusa' can stay in your head for over a day. "Your parents brought you up, Salusa", but sadly "you don't show no respect". Then the 'Prodigal Son' has got to come back home, Sipho is begging him, because it has been such a long time. He is telling him "shalom" already. 'Never Lose Hope' is originally the last song to appear on the album. "Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, Rastaman, just keep on trying". In the end "you will succeed". This song is a very positive one. Very much like the 'Not Gonna Give It Up' of Peter Tosh on Mama Africa. So these two tracks that follow are actually singles and you can hear that the audio quality is not the same as the previous six songs. Nevertheless 'Thank You' and also the last track, 'How Long' are enjoyable to listen to. The end of 'Thank You' is very nice"I won't stop keep on talking about you, keep confident of this, we will carry to completion till the day, Jah Jah movement". In 'How Long' it is not always easy to hear what Sipho sings about. People are crying in Mozambique, Angola, South Africa, because they have lost their home. 

Sipho Johnson - Bad Friend

01. Bad Friend

02. Don't Cry

03. No Man Kill Another Man

04. Jahovia

05. Shine On Brighter

06. This Is Mine

07. Sharing

08. Twilight Child

As a good South African reggae group should, Jambo creates a happy sound on your ears. Sometimes the lyrics are good to go with that as well, but at other times they are sad. Don't always fool yourself that something which sounds happy is indeed happy. Sipho Johnson does not know who is right and who is wrong so he befriends people and they might end up being a 'Bad Friend'. Bad friends may take you for a fool and treat you like a slave. He also sings "I Am Confused" which is sometimes added to the title of 'Bad Friend'. What you hear next is representative of the typical Sipho Johnson sound, the melody of 'Don't Cry'. "Next time everything is gonna be alright, I understand baby what you say, I understand baby stop your crying". "I know baby you need a right, I know baby, you need a freedom and rights". Just like 'Music Around The World' of José Carlos 'No Man Kill Another Man' made it to Reggae Strong For Peace. This is probably the best known track of Sipho Johnson. It also made it to DJ Okapi's Reggae Mania!. It definitely deserves to be up there. Sipho sings that there is a message in his song addressed to all nations of this world. Next he sings a song for Jah, 'Jahovia'. The words "Save People Of Afrika" are added to the song and this is what he sings. Now and for ever. We all hope his prayer is heard. When we go on we hear 'Shine On Brighter' with a happy tune playing. Johnson cares about his future but he realizes it depends on others. It is a bit like the wheel of fortune and "what will be, will be". 'Shine On Brighter' talks about the fire in your spirit. Johnson looks at all the rights and divides them. "You have your rights, I have mine". 'This Is Mine'. "Brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers teach the children, they must know truth". He sings a Bob Marley like "yoo yo yo". Right now is the time for 'Sharing'. "Stand up now on our feet again, one day we'll fall". Jambo wants a nation where all are men are equal and where we can all find happiness. Poor and homeless children are on the street, suffering to survive. 'Twilight Child', or "twilight children".

Sipho Johnson - Calling All Children

01. Bad Attitude

02. Calling All Children

03. Good Good Message

04. Jah Rasta Far I

05. Give Thanks

06. Worried

07. Wake Up

08. Who's Gonna Be There

Counting down the seconds Johnson begins his effort Calling All Children. "I don't wanna have a 'Bad Attitude', you don't come to me with your bad attitude". "I don't sit around and moan and groan", neither should you. "I no got no time for self itty pitty, life is to short".Tho bottom line is that "if you and I have a bad attitude, nothing go right, only wanna fight. If you you and I have a good attitude, nothing go wrong, only come right". Right after it is "don't be afraid my darling", 'Calling All Children'. Yes "the time has come for you to go to school, the time has come to get education", a great call if you ask me., because it is as Sipho tells it, "you won't succeed without an education". "One child, one education, will nuild tomorrow nation". "I cannot always be there to protect you, so you must learn to stand up on your own". The melody is ever so happy, also in 'Good Good Message'. "If we love one another, together we free our land". The big message here is love, as true love brings hope, peace, and is the only way forward. Emotional is the song 'Jah Rasta Far I'. He asks Jah to show the people the roots of life. "People follow Jah way, people follow Jah love". Young love for the young generation and he should guide tomorrow's nation. A very tropical tune throughout the song. Continue to 'Give Thanks' to the Lord because he is our provider.  A good combination between lead and back vocalists. Sipho is 'Worried' because there is no truth and happiness in the ghetto. "Don't throw a life today, stop fight, unite today, don't throw a change away, don't kill another man today". With "United Nations" he doesn't mean the organisation but he means the actual uniting of nations. Please 'Wake Up' brothers and sisters, "the world is turning around again". "We must stand united, we must stand together". The last question of the album is 'Who Is Gonna Be There'. A beautiful song that is. "You no a heaven if you a bad man". 

Sipho Johnson - Give Us Power

01. Give Us Power

02. Watch Your Step

03. It's No Good

04. Crying Freedom

05. Freedom Street

06. People Get Ready

07. Inna My Heart

08. Steady But Sure

The first Jambo album I ever got my hands on. This is the album that gave me the kickstart to begin collecting the music of Sipho Johnson. A great album, song after song, just like the other ones. Jah let live in 'Give Us Power' and "Jah save, people yeah" sounds very much like the way Bob Marley used to sing "Jah live, children yeah". Jah is asked for power, strength, faith and courage. As he asked in the last song of Calling All Children, Sipho wants to know who is gonna be there. You've got to 'Watch Your Step' because "many more will have to suffer, many more will have to die". "If you listen carefully now you will hear, many to be called, few to choose, I and I say". 'It's No Good' "in the world that we live together". It builds up to get to 'Crying Freedom' which is a brilliant track. "When I see my mama land, I feel tears running down my hand" and later on he sings "I'm going all over the world, I hear the children crying everywhere, I saw people struggling the good fight, even dying to survive". "I don't believe we'll be conquered, but I believe we're gonna be strong. When you gonna be good, when you gonna be free, oh when you live positively". 'Freedom Street' is a sweet song where Sipho sees that his dreams will come true. "People gonna walk, people gonna talk, walk down the freedom street". Continuing the album he gets on with "we are the roots, roots of Africa, we are the children, children of Africa, we live together, people never loose hope, everyday, another night". This is 'People Get Ready'. The female vocalists sing "in the bad times, in the good times, time to get ready". Whereas 'People Get Ready' has quite a serious tone, 'Inna My Heart' is a upfull love song, even though Sipho asks himself the critical question why exactly he loves. The result seems to be a positive one.  Love is both in his heart and in his mind. Not often does Jambo mix in real African sounds, but we do hear them when 'Steady But Sure' begins. You've just got to believe that you're gonna be good and you will be. 

Sipho Johnson - No One

01. Make Melody

02. Wicked People

03. No One

04. Trust

05. African Herb

06. Unity

07. Trust

08. Song Of Africa

09. Different Nation

10. No Progress

I can listen to this album thanks to Irie Records in Germany. This store had a single copy of this CD in store. Unfortunately it was first delivered to the wrong address and the people there, old and confused, had not bothered to send it through. After a long trail I was able to retrieve it. 'Make Melody' to Jahoviah! "He will not forget the cry of the humble man". Sipho sounds raw on the start of this album. You can hear that there have been a number of years in-between this and the last. "You lift me up" "in the gates of the daughters of Zion" is what the female vocalists sing. The albums opens up fine but it is at the second track where it really gets of. 'Wicked People' is strong. "Do you like to see all nations moving in peace, I know it's to heavy for everyone living in peace, do you like to see our children dancing in peace, everyone is talking but no one talking the best way". Important is the message of togetherness. That melody what 'No One' starts with hits me everytime. "They call themselves rulers of the world, they say what we know is what they taught us" but the problem is "no one has ever followed Jah Jah". People keep on killing, peace is hard to find and "no one loves one another, no more hapiness here, we don't who to 'Trust', your worst enemy could be your best friend, your best friend could be your worst enemy". Peace and harmony would be much better, we would all agree. Kaya man, chalice man, "give me spliff Rastaman", let us smoke some 'African Herb'. Vegetable, cabbage and spinach, we all know what Johnson is talking about here. If you ask me, smoking it can move us closer to the 'Unity' he sings about in the next song. The words of a Soweto man, "violence breeds violence, unless we stop the war". I personally think it would be nice if we accomplish this unity through 'Music'. Sipho uses this song to tell us not to sell music illegally and that record companies should do justice to the music they sell. Free your mind and put your hands together for this 'Song Of Africa'. This song is a bit different in that the rhythm is absent in parts of the song. It's definitely another upfull one. Talking about rhythm, Johnson sings about the rhythm of nations in 'Different Nation', in which he is hungry for his future. But maybe the best track of the album is at the very end of it, 'No Progress'. "What are you doing toward the scheme of things". "Now let Africans be Africans". Sipho sounds very strong on this one. 

Sipho Johnson - Unborn Child

01. Unborn Child

02. Local Music

03. Our Children

04. Long Live South Africa

05. My Rock

06. Dear Mother

07. Stop Crime

08. Serial Killer

09. Trouble

As I mentioned earlier, I got my hands on a copy through Richard Siluma, who recorded the album with Johnson and who is himself the cousin of Lucky Dube. I am very thankful to the man. The album opens with a crying baby in 'Unborn Child', also the title track. Abortion is killing our brothers and sisters and we need to realize that "a lot of people are already killed" so the brutal killing needs to be called to a halt. He makes it abundantly clear that he hates abortion. You can see a faded baby's face on the album cover. You can also see Sipho's head on the cover. This is the only album he brings out as a solo effort, not as being Jambo. Another sad outlook is that 'Local Music' is dying. A bigger problem still is that "no one is talking about it". So please do support your local musicians, and let us together support South African ones. The only future for 'Our Children' is education, let's all agree on that. The message here is that we love our children unconditionally. Another thing we love is South Africa. So 'Long Live South Africa'! Sipho Johnson sings that they are living in the new South Africa. "Viva South Africans, keep our beloved country, in good hands, please don't look back South Africans". Jambo is looking after their country, their children and their music. A song for Jah Rastafari in 'My Rock'. "Don't cry Jah man, everything is gonna be alright, raise your hands to Jah, Rastaman, praise Jah, you shall be saved". 'Dear Mother' is obviously a song for his mother. His prayers are devoted to her. He misses her with all his heart. Upon hearing the first tunes of 'Stop Crime' you have to remind yourself that you are not listening to Lucky Dube but to Sipho Johnson. "Anybody everybody can stop the crime, but nobody's prepared the help the poorer people". If we're going to stop crime then a 'Serial Killer' should definitely top our list. Sipho mentions 'No Man Kill Another Man' from the album Bad Friend. He sings about "mister horrible man", "mister wrong man" and "mister bad man". Even though South Africa is now a free state there is still a lot of 'Trouble'.  They dare to say that "we are not free".

Studio Albums

««««« (1988) Prodigal Son

««««« (1990) Bad Friend

««««« (1991) Calling All Children

««««« (1992) Give Us Power

««««« (1996) No One

««««« (2000) Unborn Child

Original Date Of Publishing: February 2017