Growing up in the South-Eastern city of Masvingo in Zimbabwe during the 1980s Ras Caleb whose given name is Calleb Tareka was exposed to Jamaican music by his uncles who we’re always playing reggae and dancehall music in the house.
With the 1990s came a new era in popular culture in Zimbabwe as sound-systems sprung up all over the country and reggae and dancehall music grew in popularity.
“When I was very small my uncles used to play a lot of reggae music in the house. As I grew older reggae and dancehall increased in popularity in Zimbabwe, especially during the 90s. In those days I used to write down the lyrics of popular dancehall songs like ‘Murder She wrote’ and practiced singing them. Eventually, I began writing my own lyrics and started performing on sound-systems all over my city,” said Ras Caleb.
Although Ras Caleb has worked with Jamaican producers he’s never been to the island. “Last year in 2022, I was featured on the Arising album which was produced by GassieInk. I also recorded a song on Conroy Smith’s ‘Reggae Still Alive’ rhythm album, but I’ve never been to Jamaica. Visiting the land of reggae and dancehall music is something that I plan to do very soon,” he said.
Ras Caleb is currently promoting his new reggae single titled ‘Takasangana Mumarket’. The song which was produced by Conroy Smith is one of the featured tracks on the ‘Reggae Still Alive’ rhythm album which was released in January.
Ras Caleb is an award-winning Zimdancehall reggae artiste and television presenter who’s known in Zimbabwe for songs such as ‘Rossy’, ‘Mababy Bho’ and ‘Zvikoro’, and ‘Zvenhema’.
