Hip To Reggae 

Silva Emcee didn’t just play music when she was growing up - she lived and breathed it.

The Aucklander has been making waves on both sides of the Tasman - in Australia on the back of a killer performance at last year's Reggaefest - with her conscious brand of reggae, dancehall and hip hop borne out of a childhood steeped in Rastafarian culture.

“My father was in a reggae band growing up, and so were two of my uncles,” Silva explains. “My mother played piano for the Rasta choir and my grandmother and aunty sang in a church choir. So yeah, music played a big part in my upbringing. I grew to love it so much I wanted to sing and rhyme myself, and that want turned into a need. I live and breathe music.”

Silva's father was of Jamaican heritage and heavily involved in the Rasta movement, his approach to music greatly influencing his children. But that exposure to Rastafarian culture and music went even further, with much of Silva's childhood spent with the 12 Tribes Of Israel New Zealand.

“The thing with TTI is that it was always connected and in contact with the houses overseas. At the dances they would play songs from the Manchester house, New York house, and the Jamaica house. Twelve Tribes encouraged artists to record their songs; in fact, the mission was to release a showcase album from each house and then individual albums. There's no way growing up in this environment could not have affected me somehow. I wouldn't be here doing this without it.”

Through the 12 Tribes a young Silva sucked up any reggae and dancehall music that she could get her hands on. But much like the musical evolution of the Jamaican diaspora itself, Silva soon progressed to the hard-grafted sounds of New York hip hop.

“I used to listen to so much reggae that I can't begin to name all the artists,” she laughs. “But then someone introduced me to Nas and Biggie, and from there I went on to discover Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Pharoahe Monch, Lauryn Hill and Jean Grae. And then I fell in love with artists like Busta Rhymes and Kardinal Offishall. I like to rap still, but I don't listen to much hip hop these days. It's a strict reggae selection at home, with Gappy Ranks at the top of the list.”

Silva is currently putting the finishing touches to an album that should be “out this summer”, but has some live dates to fry first, the most immediate being a return to Reggaefest for the second year running. The festival this year has moved from Byron Bay to its new home of Missingham Park, Ballina. Regardless, Silva Emcee's ingredients for a good time remain the same.

“People can expect heavy basslines, fat snares and some killa rhymes,” she says. “I started out in the studio, but I've come to love the stage. I feel at home either way, but there's something special about performing in front of a live audience.”

And beyond Reggaefest? Silva Emcee isn't taking her eyes off the prize.
“I'm just looking forward to the future and focused on this album and the tour. Many more to come, I'm sure … For me, reggae music is open to all no matter what barriers are present.”

Indeed, Silva's upbringing and fruition as an artist make for a perfect example of reggae music's global transcendence. Get to Ballina for what's sure to be a blazing live show.

SILVA EMCEE PERFORMS AT REGGAEFEST, MISSINGHAM PARK, BALLINA, SEPTEMBER 17-18. REGGAEFEST.COM.AU