TODAY we are halfway through Reggae Month in Jamaica, and so far, by the sheer will and determination of the Reggae Month Committee (RMC), coupled with significant, voluntary contributions of many of our artistes, musicians, equipment suppliers and other industry professionals, all the activities organised by JaRIA have been quite successful, from an organisational and attendance perspective.

The Dennis Brown Celebration on Sunday, January 30, again proved that Orange Street and its outskirts (downtown Kingston) organically generates a uniquely Jamaican ‘artical’ vibe which, at its dawn, had a profound impact on our pioneering artistes and entrepreneurs, stimulated and informed the creation of what has become our great musical legacy and, given the right conditions, still permeates any cultural event or project implemented in the area. During the load-in, (other-wised called set-up) period, the residents came out in droves to contribute in skills, time, effort and ideas to make it work, and did the artistes deliver to the 6,000-strong audience which eventually gathered to celebrate the life and works of Dennis Emmanuel Brown. To close the show, Beres Hammond and Freddy McGregor on stage together, totally captivated the assembled throng, doing song for song, and each other’s too. Before that, and to the amply expressed appreciation of the patrons, Dillinger, Trinity, Tinga Stewart, George Nooks, Ken Boothe, The Mighty Diamonds, Skully, Jimmy Riley and Horace Andy all gave us performances, specially dedicated to Dennis. The electrifying performances of the inimitable Leroy Smart and Bob Andy, the

prolific songwriter/singer (foundation member of the Paragons), received the loudest, most sustained applause from the audience. These were all friends of Dennis, and along with him, the above artistes have taken our music ‘from di root, to di world’. They have each played a big part in keeping ‘The Fire Burning’ throughout the decades.

The two weekly concerts, held at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, have also lived up to expectation, in terms of attendance and audience response. On Wednesday, February 2, it was a sight for sore eyes, to see the young people present, singing along and dancing to the Mento songs of the Jolly Boys as they ‘tore down the house’, as the phrase goes in show business. On Wednesday last, Akwaaba Drummers launched another night filled with some brilliant performances by Carlene Davis and Grace Thrillers in the Gospel genre, followed by Nambo Robinson and the Idren Workshop playing some Ska standards and Chinna Smith and the Inna Di Yaad Crew playing some classic rocksteady songs, with two delightful guest appearances by Pam Hall and the Abyssinians.

I wish, however, to focus the rest of my comments this week on two very topical, current issues. Today is the day of the Grammy Awards, and there is a growing sentiment within the local Music Industry that as time passes, these awards less and less reflect what is happening in the broader world of reggae, either from a production or market perspective, and therefore is gradually becoming irrelevant. Of course, the reggae industry must take some of the blame for this, because we remain largely disengaged from the academy. We need a two-pronged strategy to correct this dilemma. Firstly, we need to start a campaign of getting many more of our members on the Academy in order to influence the vote from a more informed position. In this regard also, Don McDowell (musician and former Academy member) has a brilliant idea, of establishing Caribbean-wide awards incorporating all the countries and musical genre originally created by us; similar to the Latin Grammys, and demanding the respect and attention of the Academy.

The other topic on everyone’s lips is the question of whether Bob Marley should be made a national hero. For 50-odd years, Bob’s words have been prophetic; his music and philosophy have penetrated the hearts and minds of people all over the world, especially the oppressed and downtrodden. His lyrics and songs have been used as inspiration in every great international movement, from the peace movement, to the anti-apartheid struggle, from breaking down the Berlin Wall which divided East from West Germany, to the Maoris struggle for indigenous rights in New Zealand. This has made him the most famous son of Jamaica and to a great extent the worldwide popularity of Reggae and Rastafari has been due to Bob’s universal appeal and impact. One Love his adaptation of Curtis Mayfield’s People Get Ready was designated the song of the century by Time magazine, in a recent world survey and he rated second, only to Michael Jackson, as the most influential artiste of the 20th century.

Sadly, I think it’s because of persisting prejudices against Dreadlocked Rastafari in Jamaica why there is even a debate on such a deserved honour, and yet with one stroke we could change the mindset of future generations, leading to a more harmonious relationship within our classes, less alienation amongst the youth of our land, and a greater feeling of inclusiveness by our working people living in the ghettos.

One Love

Email: che.campbell@gmail.com