ttgapers.com

Marlon Asher otherwise known as The Ganja Planter or The Ganja Farmer to some has taken Trinidad and Tobago by storm in a way not seen since Nappy Mayers recorded Ole Time Days. The hard-hitting, no-holds-barred song that speaks out against police "Weedeater" eradication of the illegal ganja crop , is on the lips of everyone from kids at school, to ghetto youths, to club "groupies" and "yuppies" and, believe it or not, balding corporate "suits".

The censored version of the song enjoys heavy rotation on the radio stations, while the uncut form is selling like hot hops on the streets and can be heard blasting from nearly every maxi, taxi and PH as they speed past. Even people who have never even been up close and personal with a spliff are singing along with Asher as he chants about the frustrations a marijuana farmer endures whenever the law burns his field, whatever his silence on the violence associated with the industry as young men gun down each other over "turf".

The first thing most people want to know about Asher is; if he really is a ganja farmer. No he is not now or ever has been a ganja planter. "But I love herb," Asher proclaimed as he sat down for an interview on Thursday at the Zen Nightclub, Keate Street, Port of Spain following a rehearsal with Maxi Priest's band for a concert that same night. Asher said he was inspired to compose "Ganja Planter" because of what he has seen his friends who are marijuana farmers face regularly.

"I was never a farmer, but I have friends who are and seeing what they have to go through when police burn their fields inspired me to create the song. People must understand that planters have mouths to feed and this is how they earn a living to do so. Putting aside the fact that herb is life and everything else about that, when you think about the work and money a man puts into his field and then see it being burnt, it's not easy," Asher said.

He then suggested an alternative to what he defined as the persecution of the ganja farmers. "I believe the authorities should provide an alternative crop if they have a problem with the ganja. The farmers would be willing to adapt to something else once it brought in an income that made sense. It's all about supporting their families for these people. Any man who can feed his family is a comfortable man," Asher said.

Asher was born and grew up at Enterprise Street, Chaguanas, where he still lives today. He said he has been singing for as long as he can remember, starting as a member of the Mount Ararat Spiritual Baptist Church Choir in Chaguanas. He embraced the Rastafarian faith as a teen, having been drawn to it by certain things he read in the Bible. He said he has always loved reggae music and cites Bob Marley, Dennis Brown and Barrington Levy as his main mentors.