Ras Natty Baby

Joseph Nicolas Emilien was born on April 14, 1954 in Rodrigues, in the Mascareignes archipelago. He began singing at the age of 9 and began to develop his musical practice. In September 1973, he left for Mauritius. There he looked for work, campaigned for the rights of people of African descent and was gradually drawn into the Rastafari movement. In the early 1980s, he adopted the Rasta philosophy and became fascinated by its figures, including Bob Marley, before making his first live appearances in 1983. He adopted the name Ras Natty Baby, set up a group, the Natty Rebels, expressed his desire to tackle the socio-cultural problems he encountered and, together, composed a first cassette released in 1987, Nu zwen ensam. After a live cassette, Freedom Concert, Ras Natty Baby wanted to stand out and promote the Creole cultures he loved. So he combined reggae with sega, the musical style of Reunion Island, and invented Séggae. With an emblematic album, Revelation (1989), Ras Natty Baby marked the arrival of a new musical aesthetic. The singer and his Natty Rebels followed this up with Nuvel Vision in 1990, which proved a great success. The group performed consistently throughout the 1990s, releasing no less than five albums(Trinite, Harmaguedon, Vibration Rastazom, Seggae Time). While the group played internationally, notably in Europe, Ras Natty Baby pursued its claims with the album Militan in 2002, before coming to a halt following a drug affair. A pioneer of music with multiple identities, the Mauritian now celebrates 25 years in the music business (2009), rich in commitment to the people of the Indian Ocean.

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