I was born into reggae music and Rastafari. I know this because of where I am today I was educated by the music as well as the doctrine as it taught me to become a “human”! Rastafari and reggae music is about humanity! I gravitate towards the artists that spoke to my humanity and realized that Joseph Hill, Winston Rodney, Bob Andy, Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Garnett Silk, Chronixx and many more, educated me about my African history as well as openly speaking / singing undeniable truths and all were Rastafari. They sung tunes where the lyrics stay in your psyche because as humans, once you hear a truth, you know a truth. Reggae is a rebellious human expression which is why it is felt and played by all nationalities, colors, races, genders and countries worldwide. With institutional racism paid for by ‘the corporations’, reggae reaches out to “humans” as we create change. We humans all bond no matter race or color. Reggae and Rastafari find truth! That is reggae for me! Yes, the bass lines affect me as well...lol... I still LOVE to dance when my roots selectas like Stur Gav, African Star, Spiceygad Quash, Empress Start a Fyah, Patrick Roots, Friendlyness, Morningside 116, K Zar, DJ Chocolate, Humble D African Sound and Divine Smoke watch me dancing all night as they spin I roots selections. The artists that we love and listen to, strike a chord with us and Simon Humble is no different. His message in this song about profiling ~ not sure of the title, “Have You Ever Been Profiled” I guess ~ hit the room hard last night during his performance. A set of lyrics in the song had some of the white audience raising their hands when asked, “if you have ever been profiled, raise your hands on high” as I paraphrase. I walked away believing that black communities across North America, as well as humans worldwide needed to get this message. To hear this song! And more importantly to witness the performance! One of his peers in the audience, Cora Russell said she had goose bumps and tears in her eyes and since I was present, I could easily relate. Reggae music in Canada has in certain ways become a caricature of itself as it has moved away from what I consider to be the root. An artist base of our own! We have many who can spin catalogues and eras of music from morning till night yet in doing so we are celebrating a vibe that is not Canadian. Yes reggae was “invented” in Jamaica yet as we live and morph into different societies we must evolve and grow with our own personality as well as a connection to our audiences to artists. There is a complete disconnect from reggae artists and musicians in Canada to Canadian audiences. Humble makes we want to buy a ticket to a show. I hope this performance has the affect on the viewers as it had on the people in the room last evening. https://youtube/watch?v=tAVfabUyBXQ&feature=youtu.be
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 02:57:53 +0000
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