Snagga Puss “Reggae Funky” (1995)

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We shot this video totally in New Kingston. At the spot where Emancipation Park is now located, in the then Godfathers Nite Club, and on the street right by where Cinema 2 was located. This song was the title track of an album produced by VP Records.
Norman Suppria aka Snagga Puss, was born on the 19th March 1961, Kingston, Jamaica. Suppria was one of 16 siblings raised by his mother in the ghetto of Arnett Gardens, an area documented in the Wailers hit ‘Concrete Jungle’. He began chanting on the local sound systems performing as Dickie Ranking and by the early 80s relocated to New York where he pursued a career as a rapper. By 1992 he returned to Jamaica, although as Dickie Ranking he was regarded as being ‘past it’. Inspired by the Hannah Barbara cartoon series Yogi Bear he chose to mimic the character Snagga Puss and adopted the name. In 1992 he was given the opportunity to perform at a children’s show where he wowed his audience with his impersonation of the character over current rhythms. The formula worked and Patrick Roberts of Shocking Vibes took the DJ into the studio to perform ‘Can’t Cook’, ‘Ex-Lover’ and ‘Merle’. By 1993 Snagga Puss was enrolled to perform alongside Freddie McGregor for an updated version of the Justin Hinds’ hit ‘Carry Go Bring Come’. The track was produced by Gussie Clarke and topped the reggae charts around the world. The success led to another combination; ‘Give It Up’ performed alongside Junior Tucker and an advertising contract promoting milk products. The DJ released his official debut, Whap Dem Merlene, dedicated to the Jamaican athlete Merlene Ottey and he inspired a new dance craze with the sublime ‘Tatie’. Notable hits from 1995 included, ‘Girls Roll Call’, ‘Love Bug’ and the introduction of a new cartoon style with ‘Woody Woodpecker’, previously covered by Dillinger. Snagga Puss maintained his profile through to the millennium touring with Shocking Vibes, introduced the Urkle dance (a reference to a character in the US sitcom Family Matters), and began mimicking another cartoon character, Popeye.

Dancehall artiste-turned-herbalist Snagga Puss is preaching the message that herbs are the healing of the nation, once it was confirmed that two persons have tested positive for the dreaded COVID-19.

Snagga said that Jamaicans have been bombarding him with queries about products that can boost their immune system to prevent them from contracting 2020’s most feared disease.

According to Snagga, he believes fear will kill more persons than the virus itself and implores Jamaicans to remain calm. “It is putting a lot of fear in people, but one thing I have to tell the people is put God first in your life and practice good hygiene. Fear is what is going to break down the immune system and affect the kidney and you going to see a lot of health chaos. Just stay away from stress and build up your immune system,” he said.

Showing THE STAR a bottle of liquid tonic labeled ‘Cosmic Food’, and a sachet of dried herbs called ‘Woman Power’, Snagga said both products are very vital in the fight against COVID-19.
“The Cosmic Drink is built with algae which are all water vegetables. Algae contain a lot of nutrients that are beneficial for our bodies. It gives a lot of minerals to the body. And then the Woman Power is made of several different herbs which cleanse the blood and keep the cells alive. This again proves that herbs are the healing of the nation. The cow and the goat thing not going to work now,” he said.

He gave a list of everyday foods and spices which he said are super beneficial to the immune system.

“What we do know is that the virus doesn’t thrive in heat, so we have to make our food be our medicine. Everyday things such as onion, pepper, ginger, and garlic should be consumed every day because these bring on heat to our bodies and help boost the immune system,” he said.

Snagga Puss, whose given name is Norman Suppria, said he was ‘forced’ to take a break from music after developing stage one diabetes.

“It got so bad that it took me off the road for a while. The pills that I was taking got less effective and I am so afraid of injections, so I know that I was not going to take the insulin,” he said.

To learn more about alternative medicine, Snagga Puss relocated to Stuttgart, Germany in 2001, where he studied biochemistry.