Saturday, September 18, 2021
Friday, September 4, 2020
Why Reggae Music Must, Itself, Wake Up
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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Friday, May 29, 2020
Jah Device in Collaboration with Sly and Robbie
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| Jah Device |
Nigerians have no reason to worry about the creation of a void in the reggae fraternity; Jah Device is big and an embodiment of many artists in one. He went to St. Joseph College, Vom, Plateau State, his home state. After that, he studied at the Plateau State Polytechnic and decided that he wasn’t going to walk the streets with a small derisive folder in the name of job searching. He took to reggae music with a lot of energy that goes kaput when he is on stage, the long matted hair often ferociously whipping the air.
Between 2017 and now (2020), a lot has happened to promise Nigerians that finally, there is a successor to Kimono and Fashek. Device started doing dub session in late 2017. These he sent to international reggae promoters like Zige Dub and the Reggae Boyz. After Zige Dub listened, he decided that Jah Device deserved to be heard by a global audience. So, he held Device’s hand and led him to the largest reggae music label in Europe, the Stringray Records. That year, Stingray tested him and Daddy West, another Nigerian, with the 1-2-3 Rhythm. The rhythm was to feature globally famous reggae artists of which Luciano was one. For Jah Device, it was eureka; his song found its way into the compilation. He was featured in two additional compilations leading to contract litigation that ensured he found himself under the canopy of Stingray Records.
Having been signed, his Ray of Light EP project with Stringray started. It included seven tracks and was released in August 2019. One of the songs, the Ships of Tarshish featured a Jamaican giant, Natty King, famous for his song Bring no Guns to Town.
Meeting with Natty King was a huge milestone, not just because King is a global brand, but because it paved the way for additional leaps. Natty King has an annual fund-raising concert in Jamaica, the Wellofest. It brings reggae artists from around the world to perform and help raise funds to support needy children within Jamaica and around the world. Jah Device became the first African artist to perform at the event. The performance took place in November 2019.
The visit to Jamaica helped him to travel across the country, promoting his EP and visiting places that included Bob Marley’s home. But the groundbreaking event of the tour was meeting with the famous Luciano and Duo, Sly and Robbie. We have been hearing about these names since we were kids some forty years behind. Sly and Robbie worked with nearly every name across many decades: Bennie Man, Sean Paul, Peter Tosh, Black Uhuru, Gregory Isaac, Dennis Brown, Ini Kamoze, Spanner Banner, etc. Thus, meeting the duo was an extraordinary milestone. It led to collaboration. It will be a major project that will be consuming Device’s time and energy this year. The duo is taking very seriously, so much that Sly said, "Jah Device 2020 is for us to do some work."
Of the many songs, they will be doing with Sly and Robbie, one will be released by WelloWell Records, which is owned by Natty King. Hopefully, the project will drop this year.
Jah Device is a modest reggae artist and an envoy of his nation; he believes there are more reggae talents in Nigeria that are better than he is. He says, “I may be here talking, but may not be the best from Jos because the Bible says, ‘time and chance happen to everyone.’”
His music is all about glorifying God, something that is mirrored in his name.
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Sunday, October 6, 2019
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Understand The Boundary Between Gospel and Secular Music
Chidinma. Source: https://www.withinnigeria.com Politics is everywhere: it is in classical politics, but there is politics in the home, at...
