Dear Editor,

It is understandable that many Jamaicans are enraged about the majority white reggae band SOJA receiving the Best Reggae Album Grammy Award for Beauty in the Silence.

Possibly, the win by a foreign act could conjure up feelings of betrayal or robbery — like giving an award to an American for making a better ackeee and saltfish or jerk pork than a Jamaican.

Racism may also be a reason for the fierce resistance against what some may call a sell-out award.

Rastafarians and predominantly black Jamaicans have laid the foundation for the emergence of reggae music on the world stage, therefore, the fury could result from the disbelief that an ‘outsider’ could be better than Jamaicans in this genre.

But it is short-sighted and self-defeating to say that an award for reggae music must be confined to a certain geography or nationality.

If, however, reggae had been developed solely for its birthplace and musicians from Jamaica, then certainly a Jamaican should have won the Grammy. Although that would be comparable to saying, because I originated the computer, no one should be inspired by my work, expand on the idea, and later get a prize for the best computer.

The fact that non-Jamaican musicians have embraced reggae in no way depreciates the value of the founders.

If music is universal, there can be no restrictions, as pop, rap, R&B, and other musical genres may have as much of an influence on reggae as reggae has on them.

Homer Sylvester

Mount Vernon, New York

h2sylvester@gmail.com