Ras Muhamad’s music video to his hit single, ‘Salam’, taken from the 2014 album ‘Salam’.
If all you did was listen to local radio stations, you’d think that Indonesian music was limited to dangdut and melodramatic pop rock. That is hardly the case, as we’re actually rich in musical diversity and some of our musicians are actually internationally renowned.
Take Ras Muhamad (real name Muhamad Edgar), who has been dubbed the ‘Reggae Ambassador of Indonesia’. Ras recently became the first Indonesian reggae musician to perform in Jamaica, the birthplace of the genre.
In March 2015, the 32-year-old Ras performed at the EarthHourJA reggae festival in Kingston, Jamaica, and was well received.
“Because it was the first time I performed there, I was given the honor of playing 8 songs. Local musicians only performed 3 to 4 songs,” Ras said in Kemang, South Jakarta, as quoted by Tempo today.
While he admitted that he was nervous, Ras believes Jamaican reggae fans warmed to him.
“The people of Kingston were awed that there are people from such a far away country who have been touched by reggae,” he said.
