Like the cult film of the same name, The Harder They Come is based on the life and exploits of Rhygin, the legendary gunman and songwriter who lived in and around Kingston, Jamaica in the late 1950's. The story begins with Rhygin's childhood in the mountains overlooking the sea. His world is bounded by the rhythms of nature, the bounty of the earth, the stories and moralities of the elders as they repeat them to the new generation.
Drawn by visions of wealth and fame, Rhygin goes to Kingston - the vibrant, squalid, rip-off city - where his innocence is rudely lost. There, hounded by the hard-driving rhythm of reggae, the ritualised violence of the streets, the hypocrisy of religion and the utopian dreamings of the Ras Tafarians, Rhygin reforms into the mythical urban hero: reggae star, stud, ganja trader and gunman. In one stunning image, we find Rhygin dodging his police pursuers as his number one hit song 'The Harder They Come' plays on radios accross the country.
"Dreamah? Dreamah?" He was almost shrieking with disappointment and outrage. "Me? Dreamah? Is who go to church an' talk about milk an' honey in de sky? An' wan' call me dreamah? Well me nah look fe no milk an' honey in the sky, is right down yahso I deh look mine. Fe me an' you. You know what? I better lef' dis rahtid place, y'know, sah."
Talk about a pie up in the sky
Waiting for me when I die
But sure as the sun will shine
I'm gonna get mine, what's mine
The joint was gummy wid presshah, yaah, an' rocking under a steady, steady reggae roots beat. And crowded! Yea, thick and deep, a glittering and colorful mass bobbing and pulsing, stomping it out. Shantytown Friday night, yea. Ivan had added a small black tam. Neat, not voluminous like the Dreadlocks wore when they wanted to cover their locks. With the shades and the shirt and vest, he was easily the baddest looking rude-bwai in the place.
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