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REGGAE AMBASSADORS ROUND THE WORLD!
REGGAE AMBASSADORS ROUND THE WORLD!
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This statement by a prominent Jamaican evangelical church leader and theologian is an extremely bold one, given that even today, there are still some church spaces in Jamaica where reggae music is not welcome.
Let me break it down for you so you can see how BOLD it is! Dr. Roper is actually saying that we in the Caribbean developed our culture through resistance. In other words, we did not sit down and accept all the bad treatment being meted out to us by slave owners and colonizers. We resisted! I’m thinking he’s saying that had we not resisted, our culture today would have been identical to that of our oppressors. In our resistance, reggae music as a language of resistance was born … and we gave it to the world! He is saying that it would have a huge impact if used to spread the Gospel in places where there is poverty and oppression. Even more radical is that he appears to be stating that a true Caribbean Christian must be a reflection of their Caribbean culture! Finally, he says that our legacy and culture are to be given to the world to use as a resource to spread the message of the Gospel.
One of the problems that many Jamaican church people have had with the use of reggae music is the fact that it was popularized by Rastafari. Christians consider Rastafari to be diametrically opposed to them and their faith. Consequently, anything connected to Rastafari - the music, the hairstyle, the colours of red, gold and green - was considered to be anti-Christian. Nevertheless, the most widely acclaimed Reggae Ambassador out of Jamaica, recognized both locally and globally was Bob Marley, who identified publicly with Rastafari. One can therefore understand the opposition from the church over the years to the use of reggae music. Unfortunately, many do not know that Marley was baptised into the Christian faith on November 4, 1980, in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (www. caribbeannationalweekly.com, November 4, 2016)
Herbert (Herbie) Miller, Director/ Curator of the Jamaica Music Museum at the Institute of Jamaica identifies the global impact of people at the level of Peter Tosh, Jimmy Cliff, Third World, Burning Spear, Black Uhuru, Bunny Wailer & Bob Marley as being that of:
1. Political and social liberation in the context of colonization.
2. Spiritual influence on the wings of reggae music, (in addition to the above-mentioned were people like Toots & the Maytals, Rita Marley, Judy Mowatt and Justin Hines & the Dominoes.
He pointed out that original Rastafari praise songs predated Marley and the Wailers who sang Christian lyrics (eg. “Thank you Lord …”) before their conversion to Rastafari. Subsequent to that they began to chant “Thank you Jah …” Rastafari is the newest religion which became a way for many across the world to find spirituality. They were writing from the Bible, but were interpreting it differently from how they were being taught by the established church. In relation to spiritual impact, Miller said “people didn’t have to convert (to Rastafari), but they could feel the spirit and understand the power of the politics expressed even through how they ( eg. Gregory Isaacs) dressed.
Without a doubt, the early Reggae musicians played a major role in the African liberation movement, in places like South Africa and Zimbabwe. When asked about the newer breed of roots reggae singers - eg. Kabaka Pyramid and Chronixx, Miller said “good as they are they don’t seem to be able to inspire that natural empathy for humanity as the Marley generation was able to. That depth has become something seemingly contrived. It doesn’t seem natural. It seems forced; a project rather than an instinctive response. Today they carry the heaviest weight, but they aren’t as strong as the second tier groups from earlier, like the Diamonds among others. They couldn’t eclipse them. Back in the day, a group like Black Uhuru had a real connection to what blackness and liberation were all about.”
In talking about Reggae Gospel music, Miller asserted that it is very strongly supported in Jamaica but not as much globally. He pointed out that Jamaicans are very religious, because they are afraid of judgement; they are afraid of going to hell. The existence of Reggae Gospel gives them the opportunity to worship God while they dance and party to their heart’s content, although fundamentalist Christians see ‘reggae’ as sin.
The late 1990s was a significant era as strong reggae performers in Jamaica came under the influence of the Holy Spirit and stepped into the Kingdom. Outstanding among them were Lt. (King) Stitchie, Chevelle Franklyn, Papa San, Junior Tucker (now Pastor), Carlene Davis and Tommy Cowan. Paul Barclay - board member of the Jamaica Reggae Industry of Jamaica (JaRIA), Vice Chairman of the Jamaica Association of Composers, Authors & Publishers (JACAP) and Founder of renowned Reggae Band Katalys Crew - identified Chevelle Franklyn as being the Gospel artist with the most international acclaim coming out of Jamaica and the Caribbean over the last 15 years. Another one out of the region is Sherwin Gardner from Trinidad & Tobago.
Meanwhile, over on the African continent, Christ-followers have been heavily influenced by our early artists out of Jamaica. In this very magazine we have testimonies from persons in Zambia and Nigeria. I caught up with nationally awarded Reggae Gospel artist Dave Azi out of Nigeria recently for a chat. In addition to the influential names called before, he also mentioned Luciano and Don Carlos. He said “100% reggae music has played a vital role in bringing love, peace and unity to people worldwide.” From his perspective, from the beginning, reggae has been gospel because they were writing from the Bible. The problem was in the lifestyle.
Both Dave Azi and fellow Nigerian Psalmist Enotudom have high regard for King Stitchie. According to Azi “He always link up with us his younger ones. Very humble soul. I love and big him up to the max. He is like a father to me and many in Africa.” In addition to Stitchie they recognize Chevelle Franklyn and Papa San (Tyrone Thompson) and Lester Lewis of Winna Man fame.
Psalmist Enotudom has established some amount of influence by setting up a WhatsApp Group and Facebook pages Gospel Reggae Music Embassy (GRME) and Gospel Reggae Network (GRN). Initially set up in 2014 to publicize his own music, God stepped in and led him through the advice of popular Gospel Reggae Artist Righteous Man to turn it into a Network. On these pages Gospel Reggae artists from around the world share their work, relevant information, and receive encouragement in various ways to the glory of God.
Interestingly, the biggest gospel reggae band on a global level is Christafari, a US-based band that tours widely as what they call Musicianaries. Well, if as Rev. Roper said we have ‘given reggae music to the world’ then it should not be a problem at all that the biggest reggae gospel band is not Jamaican or even Caribbean! So what can we say? Mission accomplished?!?
by Jo-Ann Richards Goffe Ethnodoxologist, Exec. Director - CREW 40:4
