Emmanuel Anebsa

Emmanuel Anebsa
Background information
Birth name	Steven Emmanuel Wilks
Born	27 November 1969
Origin	Bristol, U.K and Jamaica
Genres	Reggae
Years active	1999-present
Associated acts	Junior Kelly, Earl "Chinna" Smith, Anthony B.
Website	http://emmanuelanebsa.com

Emmanuel Anebsa is a reggae singer, songwriter and producer from the United Kingdom. He has recorded over 30 albums, all independently produced.

Anebsa, born Steven Emmanuel Wilks grew up in St Paul's in Bristol in the 1970s and 1980s, the child of a Jamaican father, Bertram Wilks, and an English mother. He was raised by his father, Bertram, who was the owner of the Black And White Cafe in Bristol, which was his introduction to reggae music. Reggae stars such as U-Roy, Big Youth and Prince Fari passed through the cafe, and Anebsa grew up listening to artists such as Papa Toyan, Eek-A-Mouse and Peter Metro as well as Yellow Man, Dennis Brown and Gregory Issacs. He was nine years old when he came home from school to find the cafe being raided. After continual police invasions, the cafe finally closed for good in 2004.

As well as recording over 30 albums, Anebsa has produced and collaborated on songs with artists such as Junior Kelly.Earl "Chinna" Smith, and Anthony B.

Anebsa was born Steven Emmanuel Wilks, but changed his name to Negus Emmanuel Anebsa to "release himself from Babylon bondage" and has used the name Emmanuel Anebsa professionally ever since. He rejects his British background and considers himself Jamaican. He considers his music a form of activism, designed to combat the "stinging crush of white oppression". He traces his what he terms his "afro-consciousness" back to witnessing the police raids on his father's cafe, which he believes were racially motivated.

...
Wikipedia