​Once A Lion ~ Rupert “Ojiji” Harvey Album ~ Albert Johnson

Once A Lion ~ Rupert “Ojiji” Harvey

“Innocent Blood” was the beginning of a conversation Ojiji and I were having, about the story of how Toronto Police murdered Albert Johnson in 1979

The rage we feel now, some forty years later, is the same

This lifetime will never see my trust of police

The message was sent to all black men in Canada, with how they brutally executed Albert, in front of his seven year old daughter

We got the message about how we were all viewed as by them as well as the “justice” system here in Canada

This song was never released in Canada as Warner music, back in them days wasn’t having that shit on any Messenjah album but the beauty of music is that it lives forever

There are no untrue words in “Innocent Blood”

The story is real as i / we all had to live that traumatic, violent energy from the police

Then Rupert told me it was song number six on the “Once A Lion”

A whole album never released in this country

Again, I get hear music at any point I feel like it

It isn’t currently on any digital platforms today, but by the end of this week, I bet you it will be

I am on full album listening mode with my second spin

The words in “Innocent Blood” resonate through my psyche

Nuff gems on this album, recorded in 1998 in Hawaii

Tek a listen

Tell Rupert how you feel about this album