Da UK On-line Urban Magazine

Sizzla Kalonji (real name Miguel Orlando Collins) is a Jamaican reggae musician. He was born on 17 April 1976, in St Mary, Jamaica, of devout Rastafarian parents and raised in August Town. He is one of the most commercially and critically successful contemporary reggae artists and is well-known for his unusual productivity.

Sizzla, along with reggae recording artists such as Capleton, Buju Banton, and Anthony B , are credited with leading a movement toward a re-embracement of Rastafarian values in contemporary reggae. Sizzla records material which is concerned primarily with spirituality and social consciousness. He also explores common themes, such as Babylon’s (western society) corrupting influence, the disenfranchisement of ghetto youth, oppression of the Black Nation and Sizzla’s abiding faith in Jah, and resistance against perceived agents of oppression.

Sizzla has over 40 full completed albums sold in record stores to date, the most popular which have been “Black Woman & Child” and “Da Real Thing” on the Digital B label, “Praise Ye Jah” on Xterminator, and “Rise to the Occasion” on Greensleeves.

However, he has come under fire for the homophobic content of many of his lyrics, and the advocacy of violence against gays and has been banned from performing in various countries including the UK. In 2004, Sizzla was barred from entering the UK for several concerts and was among a group of reggae artists who were being investigated by Scotland Yard for allegedly inciting murder through their lyrics. Multiple songs contain anti-gay lyrics, as many followers of the Rastafarian Movement oppose homosexuality. In 2007, Sizzla's concerts in Toronto and Montreal had been cancelled after protests from Stop Murder Music Canada coalition. Kalonji responded to critics with a song titled, "Nah Apologize". 2008 he was arrested and sent back to the US after he arrives for a concert in Madrid after Spanish Human Right organizations protested against his call for violence against minorities. In 2009 several concerts in Germany had been cancelled after public protests against the concerts.

For further information see Sizzla's website