World Music Portraits : Jimmy Cliff / Shanachie Entertainment Corp.

Sixty (60) minutes.

Jimmy Cliff is one of the founding fathers of reggae music, blazing a trail that countless other stars would later follow. In this street level portrait, he shows us his Jamaica, immersing us in the neighborhoods where he scuffled trying to make it as a singer when he first came to Kingston from the countryside in pursuit of his dream. We see his 1973 performance of the title song from Jamaica's best home-grown film The Harder they come and are treated to impromptu songs with acoustic guitar as well as studio sessions with a full band. Jimmy leads us in his search for the truth, which took him from Christianity to Rastafarianism and finally Islam. This heart-felt search for answers comes across in his songwriting and raw, soulful singing passionate grass-roots reggae at its best.