Tall people generally make their presence felt, and Nasio Fontaine, at six feet, is no exception. But it's not just his height; it's burnished skin and angled cheekbones, massive locks and gentle almond eyes. And a special livity that dominates a room more than height: spirit, energy, and warmth.

Because Fontaine's music was largely unknown outside the Caribbean, the 1994 release of his first album, REGGAE POWER (Aphelion Records) created a stir. Word spread like a brushfire about a non-Jamaican reggae balladeer with an original voice and lyrical power. Marley comparisons were inevitable, but soon he became affectionately known by one name only-Nasio. In 1997, he released the EP WOLFCATCHER, and now he's returned with REVOLUTION (Aphelion). Nasio usually says he's "as old as yesterday, as young as today," but when the photographer asks, he says, "I'm 30."

The youngest of seven children, Nasio was born in Bagatelle/Carte-Bois, Dominica. His family lived in a small one-room shanty in the mountains. "The island has 365 rivers-the most in the Caribbean-and lush, tall mountains. It was named Dominica because Columbus discovered it on a Sunday-Domingo in Spanish. But the real name of the country is Waitikubuli. I sing of it in "Black Tuesday." The name is a Carib Indian name-Caribs are the indigenous people-and the name means 'he's tall in stature.'"

Just like Nasio. His mother is a Carib, his father African. "My mother taught me the line linking me to the American Indians. We are a canoe people, coming from the Americas, through the swamps of Florida, and across the islands. Long before Columbus, we were in the Orinoco Basin. Dominica is the only place that has a reservation for the Caribs. I have postcards of my people in national dress, and if you saw them, you might say, 'Is it not an American people from the Black Hills?' because of the dress, the long hair, the headbands. We're proud to be the indigenous people, but the government has us celebrating the 3rd of November, which is when Christopher 'Crumble-us' came. Why should we celebrate when Columbus came when our people is living there for hundreds of years?

"When I was a kid, I used to see pictures of cowboys and Indians, and said, 'Mom, why the cowboys always win? They always win!' I realize now that what I felt as a kid looking at those movies was really the feeling of being linked to my people. So I'm really, really proud to be Carib! When you look at me, you can see Indian. I met a Cherokee guy in Pennsylvania recently; he just came up and hugged me! When I went to Arizona, the Indian people say 'When you gonna come see us?'"

Nasio's story--rags to recognition, a close-knit family--has an inspiring, universal appeal. Lacking an instrument, he grew up drumming on any available surface. He listened to Calypso, Soca and Zouk, sang in church and school, and dreamed of joining the Merrimen of Barbados, a popular trio. "When I told my Mom that 'one of these days I'll be the fourth Merriman,' she said, 'they don't need anyone else!' But that didn't stop me, it motivated me. If those guys could have a record, I could too-if I wanted it bad enough." But it wasn't until Nasio moved to St. Maarten in 1981, that he began listening to reggae more and pursuing his musical goals. And embracing the Rastafarian faith.

"Growing up, as a kid in school, I always felt different. I was the baby who wouldn't drink sweetened tea. I rebelled against a lot of stuff. Like I hated music in class! So Thursdays, music class, I'd skip class. I just wanted to play guitar or sing, they would just teach scales. At 11, I was a Scout-yeah mon-Scout trips, khaki uniforms! And going to church every Sunday. Now I had very loving parents, but when I was 13, I said 'Mommy, I don't want to go to church no more.' Because when I went to church, I felt like a Satan. She said, 'Well, talk to your father.' Daddy said, 'Well, talk to your mother.' I said, 'Well, I've talked to both of you guys!' so Dad said, 'If you don't want to go, you don't have to.' So I rebel from church, but never against my parents. Because my dad was very, very, very loving-the most loving person I've met-and my mother the same." (When asked his parents' reaction to his success, like sudden lightning, Nasio's eyes teared and his body trembled as he told of bringing his dad onstage shortly before his passing.)

"After I rebel from church, I stop eating fish. I emptied my head of all the philosophies I learned in school and filled up my head with all the good things that Jah had given me. Rasta has been my very foundation even before I knew Rasta. When Rasta teachings were revealed to me, it was just a confirmation, and by then I was in St. Maarten."

In St. Maarten, Nasio worked as a day-laborer, living simply and saving towards his musical dreams. A bredren gave him a broken guitar, "and I bought some Krazy glue, patched it up, but still couldn't play. So I went around to friends, and they showed me chords. I was learning to write, too. Then everything started unfolding so quickly that I realized it was just something that had to happen. Though it was very tough, a struggle-some days without food, some days homeless-throughout I felt a power. There was nothing in my head but going forward, never getting fazed."

In 1986, with the money he'd saved plus funds from his brother, Nasio recorded a single, "Born To Be Free." The song got massive airplay, and sold over 5,000 copies on the island. "At that time, Mandela was in prison, Apartheid was raging, but all the world seemed to stand by while Black people were dying like flies. I read the declaration of human rights, and realized that all people were born free yet where is the freedom? So I wrote 'Born To Be Free,' and went into the studio to record it. I was pretty green-I knew nothing about studio-but to my surprise, it became a hit! In the neighborhood, on the island, then on the surrounding islands. And here I was, this man in the ghetto-bare feet, guitar in my hands. I just take my records and my little boombox to ball games and picnics on the beach and say 'it's here!' They started calling me 'the Born To Be Free guy!'

"All the things that was around me, I utilized. I got on ferries, and went to other islands, to stations and shops. I got a little more money, and went to Antigua-at that time the most powerful radio station in the islands-so the entire Caribbean could hear it. Some say first you make a demo, then you shop it around. I made a record, and shoved it around! It was a grass-roots promotion. There was no one around to invest in me, so I let the people decide-if they love it, they can buy it. That is success. The local media recognized me as 'Artist of the Year.' So I was a mini-hero, or whatever they call it! And I just kept going."

Nasio returned to his jobs on the docks and in the grocery stores, saving for his next project. In 1990 he recorded "Babylon Is A Fallin'" (a 5-track EP), and in 1992, went to Jamaica to record REGGAE POWER. "From day one the goal of my music was to come forth and uplift; save the people and get into their hearts and souls. On REVOLUTION, I want to take the music to every hole and crevice. Not by hammering people, but by making the message understood; convincing even the most stubborn. Success to me is not making the Billboard 100, it's to penetrate and have the people overstand the music and its purpose.

"That is why I really love Rastafari. Rasta nuh divide to rule and conquer. It bring people of all nations together so we can be a more complete people of the earth. Some say you must be Born-Again, but Rastafari say 'One Love,' regardless of where you come from or your pigmentation. Growing up, we never looked at pigmentation-the White kid in class was as Black as us! I never knew racism'til I came to the U.S. Still, at concerts and on the streets here, I see a mix of people already. A Black man with a white woman, and they have a coffee-colored kid. Not White, not Black, but Rainbow Generation! Racism is going to be stopped because it's going to stop itself. A kid can't call someone else a racist name because he himself will be a mix of races."

While working on REVOLUTION, Nasio has been living in the New York City area, observing American culture and cleverly combining exercise with exploring the city; he gets off the subway one stop early, then walks to his destination.

"In America I see a lot of'mix-up.' Youths are confused and into materialistic things them think will give security and self-confidence. But self-confidence is what you have inside you. They get lied to by the system, get disappointed and turn to drugs, guns, wildness. The world is a big community; as the bigger ones, we're responsible for the smaller ones. If we show them to love and respect themselves, they'll love and respect others.

"I know America is scared of reggae music. Reggae is coming from Rastafari, and that is roots and culture and a cry from a sufferin' people. What America accepts now is a lot of music that disses women-I'm not afraid to say that. Reggae talks to the masses; it directs and educates. I love constructiveness-it elevates me-but America doesn't seem to want that. That's why you hear so much slackness on the radio, and not so much conscious vibrations. We expose the lies and tell the truth. And truth should be everybody's friend, because truth will set you free."

Eighteen years after he began saving for his first recording, Nasio says, "I just want to thank all people of the earth, even the oppressors-the people who fight against us-because they have motivated us! I don't want to use the word'fans.' That word sound more like'fan-a-tic.' I am a humble man. I really want to use the word 'appreci-love' not 'appreci-hate.' To all those who appreci-love my music, I thank you all so much. My music has come so far, but it has farther yet to go to reach its destination. I call upon the whole world to soul search, to find a solution. We all have to be liberators, revolutionaries and teachers. And be good persons. Change comes from the inside, and just one person can make a change in the world."

Check out Nasio's website at www.nasioreggae.com.
Photos by Coney Cinco