September 15, 2021
By Ilyasa Baa
Prolific Sierra Leonean musician based in Belgium, Sylvester Bull with the artistic name Jahskillful, has said he is preparing to run down to Sierra Leone, his native land, to uplift the youths.
He told A-Z Newspaper during an exclusive interview that his reggae band, Jahskillful Vibration has been spreading the good vibes in Belgium and the surrounding European countries where he has accumulated more fans like in Sierra Leone.
” My main objective is to sensitize Sierra Leonean youths and big up their statuses”, he said, adding that there is need to utilize the potential of the youths. He noted that the band will help sensitize the youths about national and global issues to make them understand their role in the development of the country. “The problem with the youths is that they are left out on their own with no concrete direction, it is this narrative, I want to change when the band comes over soon come”, he narrated.
Jahskillful had been to the Gambia playing reggae music for three years from 2001 before immigrating to Belgium where he has two kids and a supportive white woman as his legally wedded wife. In 1999, he had his first trip to Guinea with the Freetong Players International under the leadership of Charlie Heffner.
He said “that was my first trip out of my country”, although he made another cultural exchange trip to the Ivory Coast in 2000. It was after the Gambia trip that he started writing his own songs after studying Pan-Africanism and African history. As a kid, he used to admire his grandfather who was an organist from creation but got inspiration from African leaders like Kwame Nkrumah and Thomas Sankara whose writings and deeds he still admires as an experienced reggae artist. His experience in the game of music has enriched his talent as he produces and arranges his works himself in his home studio.
He is currently working on his third album, the first being “Arise and Shine Mama Africa”. His track Kroobay Suffocation was highly loved by slum dwellers as he tries to portray the hard levity faced in slum communities in such area.
As for his contemporaries, Jahskillful would not be forgotten especially for the Drama School Club he introduced at the St. John Primary School where he started schooling as a boy belonging to his church choir.
Having been away for years, he is putting resources across to establish a community radio station in the Western Area for more enlightenment of the youths.