OUT of Guyana, the proverbial ‘Land of Many Waters’, comes First Born, a musical group which began with eight young Guyanese men, gradually became five members, and is now down to three.
Guyanese by birth, Rastafarians by choice, they are grounded in the roots-reggae culture of Jamaica; thus they deliver a strain of reggae music that exudes spirituality, culture, tremendous brotherly love, and originality.
Being first formed as an acappella group in the 1990s, they achieved a breakthrough in 1997 with a live showcase at the Freddy McGregor Concert held at the Guyana National Park by promoter Walter ‘Wally’ Fraser’s Vizion Sounds Records. First Born’s performance at that event so impressed Vizion Sounds’ Walter Fraser and the late great Dennis Emmanuel Brown with its unique originality that Wally immediately signed them to his Vizion Sounds Recording Company, while Dennis Brown offered his special vocals on their debut single, ‘Repatriation Time’.
‘Repatriation Time’ featured prominently on their acclaimed debut album ‘Exodus Chapter XIII Verse 2’, which was recorded at Leggo’s Studio in Kingston, Jamaica with saxophone contribution and musical direction from musician extraordinaire Dean Fraser. The album earned the group two Guyana National Awards for Best New Artistes and Best New Group.
Since joining the Guyana and Jamaica-based Vizion Sounds Records family, the group has produced five albums, namely Exodus, Exodus Remix, Wake Up Call, Confident, and Iritis. First Born’s talent, craftsmanship and presence — both in studio and on stage — have blossomed and matured almost beyond belief. In September 2002, they travelled and opened for international reggae dancehall artiste Shaggy, in Suriname.
In November 2002, they were invited to Jamaica to participate in celebrating the coronation of His Imperial Majesty, Haile Selassie I, which was attended by His Majesty’s grandson.
The group was deeply honoured when asked to perform the National Anthem at the Guyana Miss Universe Pageant and the annual Boxing Day Boxing Championships of 2002. They culminated that year’s home front engagements with several performances at the flag-raising ceremony commemorating the anniversary of Guyana’s Independence.
In March 2003, they opened for Sizzla at the Block Party concert leading into Sizzla’s ‘Rise to the Occasion’ birthday celebration in 2004 at Caymanas Park, Jamaica, where they shared stage with Coco Tea, Beres Hammond, Sizzla, Marcia Griffiths, Richie Stephens, Chezidek and many others.
Since hitting the streets, First Born has indeed been making some serious strides, with its members not letting up on their goal to make a name for themselves as a prominent reggae band. And with their hardworking manager Walter ‘Wally’ Fraser, they have been making serious inroads.
Their 2005 single, ‘Irits’, has been getting good airplay on the airwaves. It peaked at number 4 on the Mega Jamz Reggae Chart.
The singles ‘How Are We Gonna Survive’, with Buju Banton, and ‘Muzik is the Rock’, done with Gregory Isaacs, are also in heavy rotation. Also released in 2005, the singles ‘Early in the Morning’ (remix) ‘Love Trap’ and ‘War I See’ are growing in popularity.
Making the rounds on the music video channels from the group are the video for ‘Irits’ and the single ‘Bounce Them Head’ (both directed by Steven Ventura), and ‘Way of Life’ with label mate LMJ (directed by Ras Kasa). The group has now release the new single, “Help Someone”.
In 2013, group member Lambert Semple decided to go solo, and that surely must have placed a dent in First Born’s plans
Lambert Bruce Semple, affectionately called ‘Lambi’, was once the main voice that propelled the group to local, regional and international fame. The group toured many parts of the Caribbean and the world, blazing hit songs such as “Repatriation Time” and “How Are We Gonna Survive”, making them Guyana’s most successful and well-known reggae music group to date.
Lambert’s musical triumph continues today, and he’s now forging his own inimitable path as a solo artiste based in Trinidad and Tobago.
Lambert Bruce Semple grew up in West Ruimveldt Housing Scheme in a musically-inclined extended family. At just five (5) years old, he made his debut performance with his aunts, uncles, cousins and siblings as they participated in an annual music festival organised in their community by a close family friend, well known as “Teacher Georgie.”
While attending West Ruimveldt Primary, Lambert continued to develop his talent there, often writing and performing his own songs at school functions. This trend continued into secondary school, until, in 1994, when he entered and won a national singing competition, beating out 34 other talented Guyanese performers. That marked the official launch of his music career, initially starting as a solo artiste.
In 1997 he met the already existing First Born group at the Freddie McGregor show in Jamaica, and the connection was instant. Reggae music was booming in Jamaica in 1998 when the group recorded its first album with Vizion Sounds’ Wally Fraser. The first two singles of the album – “Repatriation Time” and ” How Are We Gonna Survive” — made Lambi a household name with his impressive lead vocals.
First Born went on to record eight (8) albums with Vizion Sounds, five (5) of which were released.
In 2009, Lambert went back to his solo career, working on a solo album in Jamaica with Bobby Digital and Dean Fraser. He later moved to Trinidad & Tobago to establish his own record label – Lion B Records — and work along with well-known producers like Lion King and Back Yard Studio. There he completed his first solo album, “Brighter Side of things,” featuring songs like “Flat Foot Hustla,” “Truth” and “World of Jealousy”. The album is going to be officially launched this summer, but these singles are already enjoying regular airplay on radio stations from Germany to Guyana.
By Alex Wayne
