Taj Weekes is an enigma… on the one hand deeply serious and intensely passionate about his worldviews and on the other hand a gentle and humble man with a quick and easy smile. Weekes has a chameleon-like talent for blending into his surroundings as he keenly observes the world spinning around him, but the moment he steps on stage, locks flowing, he reveals the regal bearing of a mighty lion, his voice rising from a hoarse whisper to a throaty growl.
Make no mistake, this man means business and he is not afraid of telling it like he sees it. His unabashed views on the shared concerns of the world at large are stated with the certainty of a man who has seen and lived through much… a man with an acute awareness and empathy for others’ suffering. A sense of urgency underlies Weekes’ poignant poetry and lyrics as he appeals to both our intellects and our hearts to take heed, to wake up before it's too late.Born and raised on the island of St. Lucia, Weekes grew up the youngest of ten children in a family where music was ever present. "We were always singing and playing in my house. My father was an incredible singer...we took that from him." By age five, Weekes was singing in church and by the age of nine, he and his brothers had formed a band, playing in local talent shows, the town hall or parish centers around the island.
Weekes would painstakingly write down the lyrics from songs he heard, often tinkering with the words in a song to make them his own creation. "From the time I started writing," he said, "I did my own thing. I was always attracted to the lyrics in the songs and would listen to people like Lord Kitchener and the Mighty Sparrow. They were like town criers telling the stories of the day. Reggae is what you call the poor man's cry. It's music you can sit and listen to. It's listening music."
Weekes grew up blissfully unaware of category or genre - to him, great music was, and still is, great music no matter what the style. "My musical influences were quite varied, 'cause the radio stations played all kinds of music. There were no formats, so we grew up listening to everything from reggae to calypso to classic rock and classical music."
Weekes soon felt confined by the borders of St. Lucia and left home to fulfill his musical ambitions in North America. There he formed his band Taj Weekes and Adowa and multi-media company Jatta Entertainment. To date, the band has released two full-length albums to critical acclaim, Hope & Doubt and Deidem, and look forward to the imminent release of A Waterlogged Soul Kitchen, an acoustic album with several songs dedicated to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Even today Weekes' music defies category... an amalgam of roots style reggae with a hint of afro folk, rock and jazz. Essentially, Taj Weekes is a poet who sings to the rhythm of all that has come before and all that stretches out before him... life, his life... from his own unique and complex perspective.
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