1 month ago
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Western Jamaica-based music producer, singer, and instrumentalist, Raphiel “Raphi” Chambers, is on a mission to restore Nyahbinghi Reggae to the forefront of mainstream music.
With deep roots in the Rastafarian tradition, the St. James native is set to release a medley of songs on a Nyahbinghi beat titled Jah Guide, featuring some of Jamaica’s most celebrated singer-songwriters spanning Millenials to Gen X.
Raphi, who plays five instruments including the bass guitar, says he is committed to making Nyahbinghi a cornerstone of his future productions. His decision is influenced by the long-held mantra of Nyahbinghi Rastas that “Reggae is the branch, Nyahbinghi is the root”.
He is also working on two Reggae Nyahbinghi albums, both of which are scheduled for release in 2025 on significant Rastafarian observance dates.
While he has produced other genres such as One-drop Reggae, Lovers Rock, and Dancehall, he says he is now answering the call from his 80-year-old aunt to return to the roots of Nyahbinghi. This conviction has fueled his vision to blend Nyahbinghi’s slow, meditative drumming with the contemporary sounds of Reggae, producing a unique and spiritually uplifting sound.
“Nyahbinghi is the highest music. It is the root of Reggae,” Raphi told DancehallMag. “It grew Reggae and passed it on as a music that uplifts people. Some people might want a faster beat, so they send the message through a Reggae song. But the tempo of Nyahbinghi is slower, like the heartbeat… Reggae springs from the heartbeat becuse you will realise if you slow down Reggae, you are still getting one-two, one-two (beat), no matter how fast it is,” he said.
“Reggae is speed up more, but it is the same timing. if you hear a Reggae riddim, like Bob Marley’s Fly Away home, it is Nyahbinghi. It is the same timing. Nyahbinghi is the founder, the root of our genres of music. A lot of people won’t understand this because they don’t know of Nyahbinghi. Out of Nyahbinghi came a lot of music, and Reggae is one of them. Nyahbinghi is still the key because it comes from the heart,” he re-emphasized.
Nyahbinghi music, one of the oldest forms of Rastafarian expressions, combines African drumming with 19th-century gospel influences and incorporates chanting and drumming.
Traditionally used during reasoning sessions, this foundational style was influenced by various older forms of Afro-Jamaican musical styles, such as Burru drumming and the ritual drum styles found in religions such as Kumina and Revival Zion.
Raphi has enlisted the help of Sandy Bay-based beatmaker Tain to fine-tune the Nyahbinghi beat for Jah Guide. During DancehallMa g‘s visit to the Rock Top studio in Hopewell, both musicians fine-tuned the beat for the medley.
“I played the bass, the drum, all the Nyahbinghi instruments. Tain played the other instruments. So it’s a cross-over Nyahbinghi feel and Reggae. Remember, Nyahbinghi is the highest beat—the heartbeat. It is the first music,” Raphi explained.
Although Raphi has played Nyahbinghi instruments on various projects, including Bob Marley’s One Love biopic and on the Jamrock Reggae Cruise, this medley marks his first foray into producing Nyahbinghi music for his own album.
He also played a crucial role in his mentor Iauwata’s Nyahbinghi album, showcasing his mastery of the traditional instruments.
Nyahbinghi drumming, which features three primary instruments—the kette, the funde, and the bass drum—holds special significance for Raphi. He describes the kette drum as the “weapon that Rastafarians use to destroy all downpressors,” while the funde represents the heartbeat.
“These are not weapons of destruction. They are weapons that protect the innocent people, the little babies,” he asserted.
Raphi’s connection to Nyahbinghi runs deep. His father, Bongo Jack, a Coral Gardens Incident survivor, and his mother, Daughter Joan, played the Nyahbinghi drums at 12:00 and 6:00 every day to “ward off negative forces”. Bongo Jack also taught him how to play the drums from he was a toddler.
“I grew up in Nyahbinghi. I born come see my father and mother playing the Nyahbinghi drums. I remember when I was two years old, my father literally teaching me how to play. He made me a little green drum and that was my drum. So from I was a little baby, I always loved the drums,” Raphi said.
“Nyahbinghi for me is like therapy… It is an energy that comes to deliver tyou from all stress and pain,” Raphi said.
The 34-year old’s talent as a Nyahbinghi chanter has allowed him to collaborate with top artistes and producers, but now he is determined to bring the powerful, spiritually charged rhythm of Nyahbinghi to a broader audience.
“I came to be a musician because I eat, sleep, and dream music. We are Nyahbinghi chanters first and foremost,” Raphi said.
With the upcoming release of Jah Guide, Raphi hopes to reintroduce Nyahbinghi to a new generation of listeners while staying true to its spiritual roots. The medley, he says represents a bridge between the traditional and the contemporary, grounded in a deep respect for the foundation of Reggae music.
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