When Reggae rose in the 1960s, there were circumstances that shaped its quality. All these circumstances could be stacked together in one phrase: peace preaching.
When the music was shaping up, the island of Jamaica, where
the music was born, was at the mercy of the decisions of political actors. I wouldn’t
say that the decisions of the political leaders were out-rightly sinisterly. Rather,
I would say that the decisions were unsatisfactory. So, people needed voices
that could be heard, and Reggae became, among other things, a genre that was
highly politically charged, sending political messages that the leaders couldn’t
pretend not to hear.
“…It is only inflation all over creation yo,
And a starvation, not only ina Jemdon yo.
Wrong politics, ideology, a we do to you…” – Bunny Wailer,
Boderation.
Reggae music also preached revolt, urging people to stand up for their right. When the weak talk endlessly for a need for a change that brings happiness to the ordinary man and there doesn’t seem to be anything happening along that line, it sometimes becomes necessary to revolt and topples a government so those desired goals come to fruition. Hence, the word, “revolution” is deeply associated with the music.
“…if we knock and it no open, we shall surely push
it over
Only Jah will let it be done, we shall surely push
it over…” –Jah
Cure, Wake up.
For lovers of reggae music, the music helps to bring harmony with oneself. In situations where the political leaders have failed and people are compelled to live arm and leg or face some other challenges, reggae brings harmony within the minds of fans –the music gives you a reason to want to continue living. You realize that you mustn’t have an abundance of mundane things to enjoy life. Even if you are so penurious that you cannot afford a media device, you listen when it plays from a friend.
While the FIFA World Cup brings the whole world together, despite the diversity that often sparks off conflicts, Reggae does too. It is a genre of music that has conquered the world from Greenwich to Greenwich and from the North Pole through the South Pole and back. While more than ninety per cent of reggae artists are black, the fans that pay for and sustain the music are largely white. With these, it could be seen that the two races, at the extremes of the race spectrum are made to come together through the bridge of Reggae Music. So, reggae brings harmony to the world, helping to make it greener.
Over the years, though, the status of reggae as a bridge-builder seems to be vanishing. Sadly, the negativities that reggae had fought over the decades since its rise, seems to be intensifying. The tentacles of terrorism are gradually engulfing the world at a scale we have ever seen. Racial tensions are getting heightened. Therefore, Reggae music has to rise again. This is the wrong time to trivialize the core theme that shaped the identity of Reggae music.
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