Peace, and Love
Just as HIP-HOP and Afro Beats have come together and had a baby recently, reggae can be the bridge to cultural understanding between black Americans and Africans and the world. With the new Marley Movie, I hope Reggae can come with the one love and visual education about the deep connection between Africa and Reggae.
The last time I went to a reggae concert with people who did not understand the bridge from Jamaica to Africa was when I went to see Buju Banton in RVA, the same town I first saw Ziggy Marley, and this time, it was healing and not heartbreaking because I saw my older sister there. It was funny the person who drove did not get Alpha Blondy or was interested when I brought the actual Vinyl record to his house. Like Bob Marly going to Zimbabwe, Alpha Blondy was literally using Reggae to demand peace in his country, Liberia, with the song. I promised myself I was not going to force myself and my beliefs on anyone again in the form of Reggae. If they wanted to just listen and smoke weed, who was I to say what to do with music and how to enjoy it? I heard Ziggy Marley say his dad was not perfect, but his purpose was perfect. But when I think of Black History Month and the rise of Afro Beats in the world, I wonder if people really know what is going on in Africa; when they eat their chocolate, do they know the children who are missing school to be modern-day slaves and there is no willy Wonka to save them and find a positive image in those sweet treats. I don’t know; I am just glad I am not around people who just want to smoke weed and listen to Reggae and do not respect Rastafarianism or the connection that so many reggae artists pay tribute in regard to Africa. I mean, only five percent of slaves came to America. The majority went to the Caribbean and Latin America. So ride natty dread.
Here is a link to Blondy’s song: Libera had the first female president in Africa who later won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011; she went to Madison Business College, University of Colorado, Boulder (BA), and Harvard University (MPA). Her name is Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (born Ellen Eugenia Johnson), so I guess they got some peace as Blondy demanded.
But again, who am I to say that people should enjoy music as long as they enjoy it? It used to irate me so much watching the gospel of reggae music being avoided for a bong hit and not having a good conversation that had more history about Africa and the struggle of blacks in a region they knew little about that means so much to the world than the history books. I don’t think it angers me as much. People want to just get high and not understand how political Bob was and reggae music is as much as it is a good time. Reggae music is a battle cry for a revolution. It always was and will always be a beat you can have an uprising to.
I really can not wait till the new Bob Movie to see how they portray Bob’s connection to Africa because maybe those same people I thought I had no choice but to be around will get a serious history lesson and find a new way to understand the power of Reggae as so many of us know it. The little girl in me who was waiting for someone her age to get the connection with Reggae in Africa who never saw one person get the positive vibration. This time, she might hear her redemption song in people who strive to understand a culture so powerful it uplifts everyone regardless of race, gender, or creed, but with this movie, hopefully, the world will get a chance and open a new audience to reggae music and spread the love.
Reggae is, well… my everything. I hold it dear again. It was my friend when I had none, and I can always go back to it like we never missed a step.
Rest in Power, Haile Selassie, that is all. Rest in Power Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti. Rest in Power Aston Francis Barrett, CD, aka “Family Man”
Rest in power Marcus Mosiah Garvey.
All of the images are of a collage I made that is six by 7 feet. I started collecting photos when I was 14 and added Bob’s quotes and words about Jah.
