nominated for two Joe Higgs Achievement Awards. One was for Best International Reggae Artist and the other was for Best Male Reggae Vocalist, and one of the singers I was up against was Beres Hammond, so I knew I didn't stand a chance. But I was honored just the same. In 2010 Warren Smith, the festival’s founder, had me return to the Sierra Nevada World Music festival as a special guest singer with Soul Syndicate & Friends. It was a huge honor and I was able to win some new fans once again. The next month I went to Toronto to do a festival and a club gig with a Jamaican band backing me called the Jay Douglas All Stars. I was a hit with the Jamaican community and they kept me over to extend my stay so I could perform on another show, voice a riddim (rhythm) for an upcoming CD release and to also be a part of a three day recording session with the legendary Jamaican Jazz guitarist Ernest Ranglin.
I have been blessed to have become friends with and perform with so many of my musical heroes. A few years ago I became friends with Hux Brown. Hux is The Godfather of Reggae guitar. He goes all the way back to the Ska era and was the guitarist through virtually all the late Ska and entire Rock Steady years at Studio One. He also was the band leader for all the classic Beverlys sessions which produced tons of enduring hits by Desmond Dekker, Jimmy Cliff, Toots and The Maytals, The Wailers, Ken Boothe, etc. Hux became my friend and musical mentor. He has influenced and help reshape my music immensely. Earlier this year I recorded ten new songs for an upcoming release with Hux Brown in the band leader chair. Even though the songs were my own compositions with my arrangements, I had Hux create the bass lines which gave the music a timeless sound that only somebody like Hux could create. It's funny, some of the songs sound almost like performances from Leslie Kong's Beverlys catalogue because of Hux's stamp on the music.
I am still pushing through with my reggae music, doing recordings and live shows. It's not a choice to sing and play music but a calling. I feel this is a talent that was given to me by God and I have to continue in this blessed musical journey. I think many people thought that my foray into Reggae music was just a flash in the pan so to speak and it
and it would pass, but I've been traveling this musical path for more than ten years now and have never looked back. What can I say? Once I was afflicted with the "Reggaemylitis", it was all over! I am here to stay! Earlier this year I was very honored to
see the release of two of my original compositions on a Sly & Robbie project, the illustrious "Riddim Twins" who are the greatest rhythm section to ever come from Jamaica. Sly had me sing on two riddim tracks and one of the tunes "Wear a Crown" has been mashing up the dance in a weekly sound system session over in the UK. Apparently it's become an anthem in that dance. There are plans for a Rusty Meets Sly & Robbie full length project. Soon Come as we say!
Lately my music has become more secular in flavor while concentrating on romantic themes. I feel that love songs are very conscious. If Jah gave the woman to man as a gift, then when you sing praise to the ladies, you also give praise to The Creator in the same breath! This is the way I see it. My manager Bob Bell feels like our brand of Reggae is taking on a sound of its own, so we like to call it Lovers Rock Steady. Just remember, if God is Love and you carry love in your heart, then you carry Jah in your heart. My music is all about love. It can be love for The Creator or the love for a woman, but love brought us into the world, so let it take me away!
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