source article

FRIDAY AUGUST 12 2022

By BILL ODIDI
More by this Author

Legendary British artist Pato Banton and his wife, keyboard player Antoinette "Rootsdawtah" Hall in Nairobi in August 2022. PHOTO | POOLA legendary artist who had a string of global hit songs in the 1990s was in Kenya last week on his first ever visit to the country. The BDLife caught up with British singer and rapper Pato Banton at his hotel at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport just as he prepared to take a road trip to Kitui.

“I am not on a music trip right now; I am very undercover,” said the singer who is best known for his cover of the classic Baby Come Back which topped the UK charts in 1994.

Accompanied by his wife, Antoinette “Rootsdawtah” Hall and a film crew, the 60-year-old performer was in the country shooting an upcoming documentary called Ubuntu celebrating the bonds among communities across Africa.

Antoinette, who is among the creative directors of the film being shot across 12 countries in Africa, is also the keyboardist in Pato’s band. She has played for Jamaican greats like Gregory Isaacs, Beres Hammond, and Glen Washington with whom she performed in Kenya in 2005.Pato Banton, who was born Patrick Murray in London and moved to Birmingham at the age of 8, grew up in a household that was bustling with music thanks to his stepfather, who was a DJ running a sound system.

One room in their tiny house was converted into a dancehall and, young Pato would man the entrance during the late-night sessions, which is how he acquired the nickname “Pato” from an owl that, according to Jamaican folklore, stays up all night crying “patoo patoo”.

Being among the first-generation-born of Caribbean immigrants in England presented many challenges.

“The environment was very racist; the police were racist and the judicial system was very biased and when we saw racism anywhere in the world we sympathised and understood how deep it was rooted.”

“Even though I never experienced a hot country as a child, I knew something was wrong with the English weather and I used to cry when I had to go to school in the snow saying ‘God, why I am I in this country.’”

He started DJ’ing at the age of 11, using the stage name Ranking Pato and when he auditioned for a contract with Fashion Records in London the label asked him to rap over vinyl records of different genres, from blues and jazz.

“I just improvised regardless of the style of music and when they finished, the label bosses said ‘No more Ranking Pato; now you are Pato Banton” (Banton is slang for an accomplished lyricist).

The infectious sing-along anthem Go Pato in 1992 was among the first hits to launch him into the mainstream. But the highlight of his success came with a version of Baby Come Back, originally a 1967 hit by Eddy Grant and the Equals, which became a UK number one single for four weeks in 1994.

“When the record label enquired who I wanted to do the work with, I asked if UB40 would sing the cover song because they are very good with covers, and I would then add my own lyrics.”

He had already recorded two tracks with UB40 on the album Baggariddim in 1985 including Hip Hop Lyrical Robot which was the B-side of the US No. 1 single I Got You Babe.

Pato Banton was back in the UK Top 20 later in 1995 with Bubbling Hot featuring Ranking Roger. That same year, one of the world’s best-selling pop artists, Sting sent his single The Cowboy Song to the same producer who did Baby Come Back who then asked Pato if he wanted to add some lyrics for a remix.

“Sting didn’t know anything about it, so I put some rapping on it and the producer sent it back to Sting who loved it.”

Sting, who had just finished shooting the video for the song, told the production company to re-set the scenes and edit Pato into the video for the single which hit the UK Top 40 charts.

“Sting had promised to return the favour whenever I needed to do a song with him and it just so happened that I was performing his song Spirits in A Material World so I asked him if we could we re-do that.”

Sting flew Pato and his band to Spain to record the video and then used the band to back him during a concert with Madonna and Elton John. The song was also featured on the soundtrack to the Hollywood comedy Ace Ventura 2: When Nature Calls.

Reflecting on his legacy, Pato Banton who now lives in Los Angeles tips the current generation of artists to keep their music clean and positive.

“We have a responsibility as artists to educate, to elevate and in 10 years’ time when you look back at your catalogue, you want to be proud and say ‘look, everything that I had to say, we can play today with pride’”.

Bodidi@yahoo.com

Our Experience at the Parliament of World’s Religions 2018
by Pato Banton & Antoinette Rootsdawtah

Our first experience at the POWR was at their 2015 Salt Lake City event titled Reclaiming The Heart of Our Humanity. We were invited by Ben Bowler to help with hosting the 1God.com Booth and it was an especially great experience because our main goal was to find the common ground that all religions share. The feedback was so amazing that we created a video with the responses of religionists from all over the world, including many Urantians!

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR4Cbh6zb-w

We were super excited when we got the news that our application to perform at the 2018 POWR was accepted. The title of the Parliament’s event objectives were The Promise of Inclusion & The Power of Love and because we had just released our new (Urantia Book inspired) CD entitled “Love Is the Greatest” this seemed like perfect timing! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NurBEzUap5o

Our joy was even more enhanced when we realized that other members of our Urantia Family would be offering presentations at the Parliament and that the Urantia Booth (which was beautiful and all embracing) would be representative of the unified efforts of all leading organizations. We were also excited to meet our family from Unity Earth, The United Religions Initiative and The Golden Rule Day, face to face, some for the first time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83Mo0eoktqU

We flew out to Toronto two days early because we were invited to perform at the Unity Earth pre-Parliament event called Road to 2020 - Toronto Convergence. Many Religious Leaders, Global Unifiers, Spiritual Teachers and Environmental Activists were in attendance in a dynamic discussion about Spiritual Unity, cohesive alliances and practical new ideas to bring our world closer to Light & Life! Organizations in attendance were The United Religions Initiative (URI) , The Charter for Compassion and The Compassion Games, Contemplative Life, UNIFY, The United Palace, Spiritual Directors International, One Humanity Institute, Bella Gaia, and representatives from the Indigenous Tribes of Canada.

I was lost for words and moved to tears when Ben Bowler announced that Antoinette and I were to receive the Unity Earth Champions “Keepers Of The Flame” Award. It made my mum happy too!  :-)

The atmosphere at The Parliament of World’s Religions was filled with the aroma of peace, mutual respect, religious reverence and LOVE! The Metro Toronto Conference Center was buzzing with conversations in so many different languages and like a gathering of the Galactic Federation on the Star Trek Enterprise, vibrant with the rainbow of skin tones and cultural clothing colors representative of the diversity of the world’s religions. Not even once did I feel the racial tension that I’m so used to in the outside world. And even though there were many highly respected and globally renowned religious leaders, teachers and gurus in attendance, never did I feel the intimidation of Religious Intolerance or Ecclesiastical Authority.

Actually, what I found to be very interesting and quite obvious, was that there were many more women than men in attendance. There were many presentations about the Feminine Divine and the Rise of Women in Roles of Leadership and the increasing need for sexual equality. 

I learned that the large group of people, joyfully singing and dancing in three concentric circles spontaneously in different parts of the conference center, were followers of Paganism, and the solo Jewish acoustic guitarist walking around, playing and singing happily was an amazing brother I met in Isreal on one of my Outreach Missions to the Holy Land. He actually caught me and Antoinette’s attention when he started playing one of my songs called Universal Love. He would also join us during our performance for the Participate in The Golden Rule Day 2019 Presentation. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mnmdyj6odbQ&t=12s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W40b2xvjsN4

Apart from our amazing experiences with a broad range of inquisitive souls while volunteering at The Urantia Booth, we also had time to fellowship, do a photoshoot and have a prayer circle with our Fellow UB Readers. Gard Jameson also invited us to close his amazing presentation with a song and we had everyone in the room singing “We are all brothers and sisters.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGoGtqVjK0M

The United Religions Initiative had 150 members representing many different Cooperation Circles from around the world in attendance at the Parliament. We had just complied an International Double CD Compilation Project for them call “All In This Together” which featured the diverse talents of musicians who belonged to the various Cooperation Circles across North and South America, Africa, Europe, Australia, and India.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWXBU3JvU64

Considering that most of the organizations we were involved with, were also working together in unique ways, it was obvious that the essence of Spiritual Unity and Teamwork was in full effect in many areas of The Parliament Of World’s Religions.

Another thing I realized during our performance, was that most of the “Visitors” to the Parliament did not actually “belong” to any specific religious organization. I asked, “how many people here are enjoying “Spiritual Freedom or Spiritual Liberty” and I was shocked to see most of the people in attendance raise their hands in the air, accompanied with huge smiles on everyone’s faces. It was like an unspoken statement that we were all riding the same “wave” that would bring us to the same shore of our future spiritual destiny. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VguZ0vBuso

Ultimately, our experience at the Parliament was one of excitement, fun, friendship, teamwork, peace, love, unity and veganism! It leaves us hopeful for a more loving, tolerant, understanding and compassionate future.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHibw9slas0

We would like to thank Gard Jameson (Urantia Foundation), Fred Harris (Mind Body & Spirit) Ben Bowler (Unity Earth) and Andy Kushner (our amazing guitarist) for helping us to make this dream become a reality.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB-ny4fEfXg

Eternally Grateful ~ Pato Banton & Antoinette Rootsdawtah

The question was posed to Pato & Antoinette...... How do you use modern technology and social media to spread The Good News and The Teachings of The Urantia Book.

This video presentation is their response. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe_DnW_7ZjQ 

Utilizing Technology and Media for Urantia Book Evangelism

1. Music Ministry & The Art of Sound Technology
2. Recordings, Social Media, Internet & Apps!
3. Study, Video Conferencing & Counseling 
4. Online Communities, Pages & Education
5. Social Networking & Live Streaming
6. Magazine Publications & Handouts
7. Professional Websites & Youtube 

In Partnership with The Urantia Foundation, The Urantia Fellowship and The UAI

http://www.patobanton.com
http://www.ministerpatobanton.com
http://www.facebook.com/patobanton
http://www.youtube.com/officialpatoba... 
www.facebook.com/groups/MinisterPatoBanton 

Mistakes are natural. We all make bad decisions sometimes and some of us beat ourselves up badly when we realize we could have done better. (including me) But we have a long future ahead of us and we can use past mistakes as lessons to help us make better and wiser decisions in the future. So if you're dragging something from your past around like a big bag of dirty laundry, let it go! Recognize the lessons, forgive yourself and move on.  

I love to use the phrase “Go to God, He can solve all your problems.” I don't necessarily mean he's going to snap his fingers and it's done, but our Indwelling Spirit will always show us the Right Way to go about things.

Pato tells the people at some of his shows, to “turn off the iPhone, the iPad, the iThis and the iThat and tune into the Father”. Once you do that even for 5 minutes or an hour, you'll realize that everything is gonna be all right. The more I go to God, the more I realize the bigger picture, how things work, how they will work out, how I can make things change for myself or my environment, community etc, by realizing situations of plans a, b and c and acting upon them. So I say “Go to God” because the more you go to God, the more you'll realize you're not alone and He will bring you that Inner Peace and Assurance.

"But the greatest of all methods of problem solving I have learned from Jesus, your Master. I refer to that which he so consistently practices, and which he has so faithfully taught you, the isolation of worshipful meditation. In this habit of Jesus’ going off so frequently by himself to commune with the Father in heaven is to be found the technique, not only of gathering strength and wisdom for the ordinary conflicts of living, but also of appropriating the energy for the solution of the higher problems of a moral and spiritual nature." Paper 160:1.10

The flight from duty is the sacrifice of truth

Those who have seen The Light have the responsibility and the great privilege to share it. Why hide your truth because of fear, shame or foolish pride? A world without "Light-Bearers" is a world in darkness. 

A path has no meaning unless you walk it. Your truth will die quickly unless you talk it. As we take a moment to reflect and remember the life our Master lived, we see how He walked the walk and talked the talk. In following His awesome example we can and will make this world a better place. 

I pray that we all find the courage to be truly Spirit-Led as we continue forward on our Journey. 

By Ministers Pato Banton & Antoinette “Roots Dawtah” Hall

1. Through the vehicle of Positive Reggae Music, tour across the USA & other countries Spread the Good News about the Fatherhood of God & the Family of Mankind, while planting the seeds of Advanced Truth on stage, and through all available media channels, like Facebook, Youtube, iTunes, etc. 

“Fans-Friends-Family”  https://www.facebook.com/MinisterPatoBanton 

2. Make The Urantia Book and The Words Of Christ visible & available at our concerts. As well as introducing these beautiful teachings to a new generation of sincere Truth Seekers while encouraging them to create regular study groups and new circles of fraternity.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMp_KOeIBc8

https://www.reverbnation.com/patobantonandthenowgeneration/album/96168-the-words-of-christ-box-set (Free Download)

3. Through Prayer Circles (before or after our concerts) bring our fans of diverse religious beliefs together in Spiritual Unity, while at the same time encouraging and enabling spiritual motivation and regeneration. Openly (public service) and discretely (secret service) minister to the real needs of our brothers and sisters through Loving Service whenever and wherever the opportunity presents itself.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV-SIGFOfIo&spfreload=10

4. Host Global Urantia Gatherings in the UK, Africa,  Japan, Taiwan, Korea and the USA to expand the “readership” & encourage the “leadership” in those regions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRS2CilI3vQ&t=50s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_ys1rAKNiM&t=239s 

5. Host a weekly Urantia Study Group every Monday at 6pm PST at our home in Lake Elsinore, California and also make this study session available to people worldwide through the ZOOM video conferencing tool. You can join us here: https://zoom.us/j/481726366 

6. Establish a Global Network of Ministers for Christ Michael with the hope of inspiring a new generation of Spiritual Teachers who will continue the work our Master originally desired to implement 2000 years ago, while at the same time establishing a support network of Ministry designed to provide the ministerial needs and services of the people within our local communities.

7. EDUCATION: 

a) School Outreach to inspire young people and children of all ages through music and motivational speaking. 

b) Creative Curriculum and specific educational courses for new readers to enable and assist them in demonstrating their growing understanding of The Urantia Book. So far we have completed the following online courses:

Course 1. Ambassadors for Our Father’s Kingdom ~ Completed

Course 2. Followers Of Christ Michael ~ Completed. 

Course 3. A Journey Into Spiritual Growth ~ Completed.   

Course 4. Followers Of Christ Michael II ~ Completed.   

c) Provide Ongoing Support for “New Readers” of The Urantia Book 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/Urantia101/ 

d) Progressive Families is a free counseling service that is provided to young people and their parents to resolve personal conflicts and issues arising in the home. The main goal is to inspire each member of the family to become more personally responsible for their role in creating a progressive and peaceful home environment and to help them bring more Spirituality & Teamwork into their Home Life . 

For updates on our Spiritual Mission, future events and to become a part of Our Spiritual Family, please join us here:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/MinisterPatoBanton/ 

To Donate to our growing global outreach efforts please go here:
https://www.paypal.me/MinisterPatoBanton

Or send a check directly to: Edentia Inc.
16738 Lakeshore Drive #H120 

Lake Elsinore, CA 92530

(Tax Receipts available upon request)

( Pato Banton is an Ordained Minister for Christ Michael, Certified Counselor, Under Shepherd and BrotherFriend to ALL. If you ever need personal support or spiritual guidance, you can message him on Facebook, email: ministerpatobanton@gmail.com, or you can text or call him directly at 001-323-877-6502 and all his “personal” services are free! )

Spiritual Family 1 God