A Committed Disciple of Rastafari - Michael Eaton’s Music Reflects His Faith

A committed disciple of Rastafari for over 40 years, Michael Eaton’s music reflects his faith. As an artist and producer, he believes it is important to practice what one preaches.

Based in Staten Island, the Jamaican returned to the music business just over two years ago after a 15-year break.

“Mi get a beaten, so mi jus’ walk away from it,” he said.

Since his comeback, he has released a number of songs through his Eaton Music label, including the self-produced Confess and Words Without Meaning.

He has also worked with other artists including the Ethiopia-based Jamaican singer Sydney Salmon whose songs, Trees and Oh Lord, he co-produced. Eaton acted in a similar capacity for Call on Me by Emil Troy and Love Has A found Way by Misganaye Salmon.

To get his message across, he said it is important to work with likeminded people.

"Wi love music an' want to make a difference with powerful sounds. Wi want to shake up di people dem with positives," he said. "In di '70s an' '80s yuh did have more conscious message music but di frequency change, di vibes change. Wi want to bring back dat old vibes.”

Eaton is originally from rural St. Ann parish in northeastern Jamaica. He moved to the capital Kingston in his youth, living in the community of Barbican which had a vibrant Rastafarian community.

During the 1970s, there was a strong Rasta presence in Jamaica that got the attention of militant youth like Eaton, whose heroes included Pan Africanist Marcus Garvey, and roots singers like Bob Marley and Burning Spear, who are all from St. Ann.

In the 1990s, he produced songs by many artists but, pointing to corruption in the music industry, turned his back on the business in 2005.

He decided to get back in the game after meeting Salmon, who has lived in the Shashamane region of Ethiopia for over 20 years.