2018
R1-20/FREE
The BEAT 15 June
Community newspaper
Jahman blushes Mzamane Ringane
Local Rastafarians took pictures of the controversial Mutabaruka when he performed in Modimolle. Photos: Mzamane Ringane
The Jamaican rastaman and dub/ rhythmn poet Mutabaruka’s controversial roadshow swept through Modimolle last Friday 8 June, leaving blushing faces in its trail. Mutabaruka touched base with the region by invitation from the Modimolle-based Black Lives Matter Foundation. Born Allan Hope, the Jamaican elevated poetry to dizzy heights, creating a completely new music genre known as dub/rhythm poetry, but he was also popularly known for his groundbreaking talk radio programmes, Cutting Edge and Steppin’ Razor. In Modimolle the audience either liked or hated him, as he tore into interests across the spectrum, ranging from religion to politics. For instance, when a well-known local pastor bemoaned the fact that he had missed the Mutabaruka show, little did he realise that the man would take a swipe at the selfsame Christianity doctrine. “The worst liar between a pastor and a politician ... is the pastor,
because while the politician makes promises about life (on earth), the pastor promises good things after your death,” he told the stunned audience. Rastafarians arrived for the controversial show from Modimolle and surroundings, eating out of their hero’s palm, as he questioned almost every aspect of conventional wisdom, such as that “black people like everything except themselves.” He dared that should one’s denims get torn at the knees, the owner
would either have it sewn, or throw it away. “But still the fashion capitals of the West can take the same trousers, deliberately tear it in places, and then sell it to us at a profit. And we do consume such things,” he said. Zunaid Mossam of Black Lives Matter said as event managers they had targeted an audience of around 300, but had to accommodate double that number, which he said was testimony to Mutabaruka’s growing popularity.