Love tuns you upside down

For all those who missed the first chapter about the amazing story behind Edwin Moses, please find attached a summary of the findings that we corroborated following the release of his first record, released on Siesta (buy it now!).

Edwin Moses, a band -featuring a line-up coming from Navarra and Gijón, Spain- took the name of an obsure American musician who was discovered by chance. Oddly enough, they decided to cover all the found soul and folk tracks from the lost and marginalized American brother. More information about this unconventional black-music hero was eventually obtained (it is not polite to impulse the tribute a complete stranger, is it?) thanks to the well-connected writers of this text who managed to untangle the mystery of Edwin Moses.

After arduous and serious research, the outcome was shocking and transcends any logical interpretation. However, the most surprising fact is the confirmation of his ostracism in the active soul scene. Right, we managed to gather a great deal of information from the first half of his life courtesy of his ex wife, but just a few of the second half and almost no realiable facts about his discography especially after his conversion to Islam and his sudden escape to a muslim country. Nowadays we have a fantastic tool -Internet- but most importantly the enthusiasm of the do-it-yourself freaks, eager to resolve the mystery that has obsessed us.

However there are still some questions: Did EM abandon his music career? Is he still alive? Can we recover more recordings? Where has he been during the past years? Reality defies any explanation. Apparently Edwin Moses made a journey to the Middle East but returned to the US to follow his musical career. Where is the missing information about his records? Maybe the change of his name to Jamal Nafsum -when he decided to pursue the path of Islam- may explain these gaps and the ambiguity of his career . Edwin Moses is dead. Viva Jamal Nafsum!

Edwin Moses, the return.
On Thanksgiving Day 1983, Jamal Nafsum (let's respect his Muslim name!!) returned to his Chicago home without any previous notice. His ex-wife Margie explains the strange re-encounter. "Winston, my brother, his girlfriend and me were celebrating Thanksgiving in a quiet way. Nothing really special, just getting high with a couple of bottles of Bourbon whisky and some marijuana cigarettes. When I opened the door I found a slim folk dressed in African tatters, it was like a desert mirage. I did not recognise him at all. He had a huge beard and a bedazzled expression in his face, you know. It was Edwin. After a nervous silence and a furtive glance at the Bourbon bottles, he demanded that no one could drink spirits in front of him. It was funny coming from a guy that got pissed and sniffed anything so often in the past. It was not strange that Winston reacted so aggressively. My brother stopped him for a moment but Winston is a tough man, actually a middleweight boxer... We had to take Edwin to hospital. Diagnosis: Nasal fracture and other sequels. As Edwin was penniless I had to pay the bill. Motherfucker! It was the worst Thanksgiving day of my life."

"After the hospital discharge we took him to a little motel. No fairytale life for this alligator. I was horrified and had to take care of him for some months. He had no earnings at all and could get no job in the area. I have indirect responsibility in his incognito comeback to music... I was not an ardent admirer, I just wanted to get my money back!!" (God bless you Margie for allowing the return of Jamal!!!).

During those years of religious integrisms, Jamal wrote some of the best songs in his career, even improving the high standards of Dead Town, he was in the groove. From 1983 to 1986 Edwin's life strictly adhered to the teachings and principles of Muhammad. God blessed him with 198 songs. Many of them were released by "microlabels" as Nairobi Records or Jamal Records.

"Edwin could have make a fortune but he was an absent-minded and stubborn person with an Anti-Midas touch. He was a victim of his ideology. In 1987 Edwin was invited by his friend Yusef Lateef to appear in a quite popular musical festival. Old music jazz cats and so on. Among the audience there were some celebrities and industry moguls as Robert Aguirre from Sony and Baby Face, a popular songwriter for other acts. I will not go too much into detail but Baby Face seemed to really enjoy the stuff and offered some kind of lucrative deal to Edwin. Edwin rejected any agreement as "God has recommended me to run away from you after a brief but friendly talk and the decision has been confirmed in futher deliberation sessions" said Margie.

Margie's dissertation revealed new events in his career: "After some years Baby Face had a far-out hit, allegedly taken from an Edwin tune that was performed that night. Face was sued and went into court for plagiarism but he managed to persuade the jury. Edwin tried further litigation over and over again and spent thousands of dollars. He was going bonkers. True plagiarism? Dunno, brother. I am not into music, and I could not prove it conclusively but I have heard of some guys (musicologists?) confirming our suspects. Baby Face should share his fortune with us and catapult Edwin to stardom. Any recordings during that stage? Certainly. He was proliphic indeed and recorded lots of small seven inch singles, sponsored by muslim friends or brothers from the Panafrican League. There were no real reviews, airplay or promotional campaigns. I kept a copy of each of these records but I sold them to a Scottish DJ for 100 dollars. I know that it is not a big sum but I was close to throw them away in any case. Recently a Jap offered me a fortune for those damned records. I could not imagine that those relics were my most prized possesions. Are you all crazy?"

Margie is a neverending source of funny gossip about Jamal, she has the privilege to give amazing testimonies: "No, Edwin never played gigs as he demanded and imposed the ban of alcohol consumption in the venues. Of course that was not the kind of prohibition that the nightlife public particularly enjoyed. I remember another hilarious story at Bob's, the restaurant where Edwin used to have dinner. One night a waiter confessed him in a candid way that due to a packaging mistake he had been serving pork burgers instead of the usual beef ones (for a whole week!). You know, buddy, how muslims take this issue... so seriously. No jokes, he had his own demons to overcome. Edwin swooned away and remained at home fasting for two weeks (just tea drinks). He was all skin and bone. Another dispute again, he decided to sue the restaurant. Ludicrous. At the end, it was proved that the burgers were made of chicken . He was a real airhead. Not to sound clever but I always knew that he would become a Hare Krishna or something similar".

The rest of the story, after the thorough reconstruction, actually adds more enigmas to the life of Edwin Moses, or if you prefer it, Jamal Nafsum. Progressively disenchanted by his deep musical and religious affiliations, Edwin made another strange move and joined the Atlanta Hospital paramedics as a stretcher-bearer Shortly after, he decided to adopt an abandoned nice infant called Jasmine. We were thrilled to learn that Jasmine has turned to be one of the most promising R&B singers of the new century. Jasmine was recently commisioned by producer-mogul Kedar Massenbourg for Motown. Some say Massenbourg is a true connoisseur of Edwin's career and curiosities. Others say that he has even offered Edwin a seat in the Board of Directors of the old Berry Gordy's label. It would not be strange to witness a new album by Jamal Nafsum in the early future, with new songs (including a cover of the underground classic from Nafsum Soul & Pain), and guest appearances of old friends such as Jamaladeen Tacuma, Ronald Isley and Swamp Dogg as well as new stars as Raphael Saadiq and Wyclef Jean.

In the meantime, while we confirm all these news that beg closer attention, we can only encourage you to track the discography of Jamal Nafsum -or his alter ego, Edwin Moses- in all the specialized outlets and enjoy the songs of this record, an extraordinary tribute from crazed fans and enthusiasts. The polygraph test to Margie proves it. Edwin Moses lives!

By LUIS LAPUENTE Y JOS\xC9 A. CASTILLO