Should Reggae Month be changed?

Groundins

by Charles H.E. Campbell

THE issue of moving Reggae Month to July has now been taken up publicly by persons including Roy Black and Carolyn Cooper.

This issue was examined during a Reggae Month review on March 12, 2009. The meeting was attended by Donovan Germaine, Janice Allen, Jackie Lynch-Stewart, Wayne Wright, Steve Golding, Howard McIntosh, Lenford Salmon, Jade Lee, Dean Mundy, Jerome Hamilton, Tanya Batson-Savage and myself.

I reprint relevant excerpts of the minutes below.

The chair recommended that a survey be conducted to assess the impact of Reggae Month.

Additionally, the proposed general survey would address the question of whether the celebration of Reggae Month should be changed from February and moved to the summer, particularly July. This discussion dominated the majority of the meeting as the group expressed arguments for both sides. The overwhelming majority argued that February should remain Reggae Month.

The arguments are outlined as follows:

Reggae Month should

be moved from February:

* Reggae Sumfest already exists in July and it could provide a centre piece for the month as a major Reggae festival;

* Tourism is low in July and, therefore, placing Reggae Month in July would help to boost tourism in that month;

* February is already celebrated as Black History Month and Reggae Month can be perceived as an attempt to replace this;

Reggae Month should

remain in February:

* Most artistes tour during the summer and, therefore, there participation would be very limited;

* As schools would be out of session, it would be much harder to engage the youth as has been effected in February;

* There is no real conflict between Reggae Month and Black History Month as Reggae has significantly impacted on the development of Black History and a celebration of Reggae is also easily a celebration of Black History;

* While the concern for the impact on tourism was noted it was pointed out that;

* Jamaica's tourism is not yet at a point of saturation so Reggae Month's affecting an increase in tourists in that month would be a positive;

* Reggae appeals to another kind of tourist and can drive tourism in Kingston (which is the home of Reggae), especially for persons who are more interested in engaging with the street dancing culture rather than sun and beach;

* Reggae Month is too important for its fate to be solely decided by its impact on tourism. It was argued that the month would be stronger and more powerful if it is designed first to suit Jamaicans, with tourism being secondary, which would eventually also strengthen its appeal to tourists;

* The month was officially declared by the Governor General and the importance of this should be neither ignored nor under valued;

* Industry professionals argued it was easier for them to turn their attention to Reggae Month in February as opposed to in the summer.

It was generally agreed, however, that it is important to move beyond this and make Reggae Month fully actualise its social and economic potential.

Email:che.campbell@gmail.com

Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Should-Reggae-Month-be-changed-_13922589#ixzz2OTlrRKfQ

Paying tribute to Dennis Brown

Groundins
by Charles H.E. Campbell

ESTABLISHED in year 2000, the Dennis Emanuel Brown Trust promotes the life and works of reggae's Crown Prince.

The trust organises and finances charitable causes as a means of perpetuating the legacy of the late singer, who died in July 1999.

The trust awards high school scholarships to students attending Central Branch All-Age School annually.

They also stage an annual concert in tribute to Dennis Brown on the last Sunday in January or the first Sunday in February (Reggae Month).

Dennis Brown did not attend a high school, however, his lifelong aspiration was to assist children in getting this opportunity.

He attended Central Branch and the trust's members thought it appropriate to honour his alma mater while carrying out his objective.

In 2001, of the four children given scholarships, two matriculated to university level seven years later. From 2002-10, the trust provided five scholarships per year for a total of 49 scholarships, again facilitating matriculation to university. Included in this group is Fredrick Dacres, who is currently World Junior Discuss Champion.

The trust sponsors an annual award at The Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, for the Honour student of the degree programme, who has attained the highest mark in music and education.

From 2004-2011,The Dennis Brown Trust in association with Jamaica Association of Vintage Artistes and Affiliates (JAAVA) staged an annual concert series to raise funds for scholarships.

In 2009, the Trust was joined by Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA), Leggo Records and Sounds and Pressure. They established the current annual Dennis Brown Concert on Orange Street; symbolically at Big Yard where the singer grew up. From the outset, this concert was given tremendous support by Beres Hammond, Freddy McGregor -- then JaRIA chairman, Lloyd Parks and We the People Band, as well as a long roster of performers from the music fraternity. The primary objective was to assist in the movement for the positioning of downtown Kingston as an attraction for visitors from around the world, to come each year to absorb the culture of the people from downtown Kingston, where the music industry was born in the 1950s.

The concert was immediately endorsed and given tremendous support by residents and business people in the surrounding communities. It satisfied their yearning to see Jamaica's popular artistes performing live. For some, this was the only opportunity to see them perform, because they live mostly in garrison communities. Over the four years, the attendance has grown to approximately 10,000 patrons.

For that reason, a decision was taken to move the concert to King Street. Long term however, this would necessitate moving to an even larger venue, with less security concerns than obtains at King Street.

As such, with the support and advice of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, this year the Dennis Brown Concert will be staged on Sunday, March 17, on the Kingston Waterfront/Ocean Boulevard.

It is scheduled to start at 5 pm and end at midnight with approximately 30 acts including Beres Hammond, Freddy McGregor, Tarrus Riley, Richie Stephens, Mighty Diamonds, Big Youth, Errol Dunkley, Junior Reid, Carl Dawkins, Iba Mahr, Lloyd Parks & We the People and hopefully, a very special surprise guest artiste.

Lineup of Performers

Beres Hammond	Duane Stephenson
Freddy McGregor	Lloyd Parks & We the People
Tarrus Riley	Andrew Tosh
Richie Stephens	Mikey Spice
Ken Booth	Dean Fraser
Big Youth	Bongo Herman
Mighty Diamonds	Trinity
Junior Reid	Mikey General
Iba Mahr	Prophecy
Errol Dunkley	Warrior Love

Carl Dawkins	Droop Lion
Micah Shemiah	Jesse Royal
Dre Island	Keisha Patterson
Chronixx	Kiddus I
Alaine	Niney 'Observer' Holeness
Mari Isaacs	Sangy Davis
Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith	Phillip Frazer
Ras Michael	Fred Locks
Jah 9

Email:che.campbell@gmail.com

Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Paying-tribute-to-Dennis-Brown_13801571#ixzz2N8v5Ex32

Lauding excellence

Groundins
by Charles H.E. Campbell

TAKING public feedback into account, the Reggae Month Awards Selection Committee has decided to bestow the title of Emerging Artiste of the year to Chronixx.

They also conferred Song of the Year to the international hit Affairs of the Heart by Damian 'Junior Gong' Marley.

The public poll's results reflected that the runners-up in both categories were Konshens and "Bubble Wi a Bubble" by the same artiste, too deserves congratulations.

Interestingly, the first time I saw Chronixx perform was at a staging of Reggae Wednesdays last year. Kabaka Pyramid had introduced him during the course of his set.

Since that time, he has been on heavy rotation on every local radio station and taken the nation by storm with numerous performances. This has created an international demand for appearances on concerts in the region and further afield.

He just recently returned from performances in Costa Rica, New York and Kenya, where both political parties invited him to perform. He played the role of a peace ambassador, given the recent spate of violence, as election tensions stir age-old grievances.

Chronixx is one of the leading artistes in the new youth movement, who sees the industry, not as competition, but to reposition reggae as the world's music of conscience.

Affairs of the Heart is, without a doubt, one of the better songs produced by a Jamaican artiste, both lyrically and musically, in a number of years. This song has strains reminiscent of his older hits. Damian has again successfully fused different musical styles, then added the new 'electro lovers rock' element to produce a laid-back musical mix, buoyed by a catchy chorus. Fans describe Affairs of the Heart using terms such as refreshing, uplifting and enriching. Known more as a DJ, the quality of his song-writing and his singing on this track, is better than most of the standard fare these days, which in my view, leaves a lot to be desired. Released just before Valentine's Day last year, by March 2012 it topped the week's Mediaguide Reggae Speciality Chart in the US and by May it topped Reggae Charts in Jamaica for two weeks.

This year, the two sound systems being saluted are Mello Canary Disco and Metro Media.

Mello Canary was established by owner/selector Sammy Chong, and the system played mostly in St Thomas until the late 60s when he relocated to Kingston. In 1975 he formed a very successful relationship with Denver 'Jamusa' Silvera. Metro Media was established by Lou Gooden in the early 70s and taken over by Jimmy Metro after he migrated in 1975. Their first selector was Peter Metro and their most popular is Skyjuice.

Established in 2009, the JaRIA Honour Awards is an authentic barometer for gauging the development of the music and its practitioners. It pays tribute to industry players who have figured prominently in the amazing penetration of Jamaican music and culture across the world.

Email: che.campbell@gmail.com

Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Lauding-excellence_13701628#ixzz2LwTDViYp

Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Lauding-excellence_13701628#ixzz2LwSrmczD

The Relevance of Black History

By: Charles HE. Campbell

The controversial statements by Minister Damion Crawford concerning Reggae- Black History Month have not only stirred intense debates on and off air, but it seems contrary to the official policies of the present administration. On Dennis Brown’s birthday – February 1^st, JaRIA joined the Ministry of Youth and Culture at Emancipation Park where they staged well supported daylong activities for the official launch their month long programme of activities promoting Reggae-Black History Month, under the theme ‘Growing up black under the green and gold’

Unwittingly, it has galvanised solidarity within the cultural fraternity for the mission of JaRIA and its component organisations, including the Dennis Brown Trust, to develop, preserve and protect this special period within our annual events calendar. My general impression is that any attempt to change Reggae Month to another time of year will be vigorously resisted by a broad coalition of interests. Most people strongly object to the idea of manipulating of our authentic cultural symbols, purely to satisfy commercial imperatives.

 Regardless of the origins of Black History Month, given the alienation, high level of senseless violence, the wide-spread practice of bleaching and other negative cultural manifestations displayed, it’s a worthwhile initiative for focussing the attention of Jamaican youths on the significant contributions made by our forefathers, not only to the building of this country, but in various endeavours such as literature, science & technology, human and civil rights throughout the world. One of Marcus Garvey’s most famous quotes says “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” In contrast, so often I hear black folks saying things like “Anything too black nuh good” or “Mi nuh like nobody too black”.  Too many of us hate the image that stares back at us when we look in the mirror. Former Assistant Commissioner of Police Les Green recently said “ It played to my advantage being white-skinned because the people trusted white-skinned people more than they would trust a black officer”  This is one of the harmful legacies of our colonial past which, as a nation, we have failed to redress through our educational system.

The other comment by the Minister in that recent television interview that has caused public consternation is his response to Michael ‘Ibo’ Cooper about the lack of sufficient sponsorship of wholesome, family oriented cultural events, such as Reggae Month, by the private sector. He reiterated something I first heard him state last year, which is, that businesses have no obligation, but to their share-holders. Well, that approach is taking us back almost to the dawn of the industrial revolution, which was built on the blood, sweat and tears; the slave labour of our ancestors, and in the sweat-shops of the industrialised world, eventually leading to dire consequences for both the working class and the oligarchy…. Remember 1938! Certainly, by the time I was being taught economics, we learnt that enlightened capitalists also had a social responsibility, if only in their own self-interests, because a stable society would sustain their ability to produce and market their goods successfully.

As that popular Jamaican song says ‘Time longer than rope……’

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/The-relevance-of-Black-History_13620070

Email: che.campbell@gmail.com

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Reggae 50…A New Dawn

By: Charles HE. Campbell

Firstly, Tony Rebel and his family must be congratulated on a very successful staging of Rebel Salute in it's new home of Richmond Estate on the North Coast. From all the reports, the physical improvements inherent in the change of venue, has greatly enhanced the festival, and improved its patronage. Beres Hammond put on another scintillating performance, confounding all the naysayers.

 Following a very successful staging in 2012, Reggae Month is here again, under the theme ‘Reggae 50…A New Dawn’. This is an implicit recognition of the resurgence and heightened profile of young Reggae Bands and conscious/roots Artistes, as well as its deepening integration with other artistic disciplines.

Therefore, the slate of events listed for this year, in celebration of this national treasure, is reflective of the continued growth of the Festival, showcasing Jamaica’s dynamic entertainment sector, as well as the breath and diversity of our music and creative art-forms. JaRIA’s premier events – the popular ‘Reggae Wednesdays’ which have always high-lighted all the genres of Jamaican music, returns to Emancipation Park for the second time, with a twist. Through divine intervention, the first of the concert series fall on Bob Marley’s Birthday (February 6^th). The night is dubbed ‘From Mento to Marley’, featuring a varied musical fare, such as the Jamaican Symphony Orchestra performing the ‘Marley Symphony, movements 1 & 2, arranged by Jon Williams, Energy Plus Mento Band playing Marley’s ‘Who The Cap Fit’ and ‘Small Axe’ in Mento style and Ska Rebirth led by Sparrow Martin. Patrons will also get the rare twin opportunity to see Count Ossie’s son, Time and his band of drummers the indomitable Mystic Revelation of Rastafari and master drummer, Ras Michael and the sons of Negus. The night will feature Hempress Sativa and one of Bob Marley’s sons from Trench Town, Fabian Marley.

  Ash Wednesday (February 13^th) will feature gospel artistes in a concert called ‘Reggae Praise’ from 2pm – 6pm, followed by ‘Voices’ of Reggae including stars like Freddie McGregor, AJ Brown and Mikey Spice, in the evening.  The following week, on Wednesday February 20^th, ‘Progressions’ has an impressive line-up of mostly young performers including: Chronixx, TOK, Akmatic, Lutan Fyah, Ikaya and Pentateuch

 The last concert of the month, ‘Reggae Gone Global’ is going to be an exciting integration of music, dance, fashion and drama.

The elegant JaRIA Awards Concert takes place on Saturday February 23^rd. Icons such as Jimmy Cliff, Frankie Campbell, Cynthia Schloss, Joe Gibbs, Stephen Stewart, Soldjie Hamilton, Bunny Lee, Paul ‘Jah Screw’ Love, Aston ‘Familyman’ Barrett, Bobby Ellis, Queen Ifrica, Beres Hammond, Mighty Diamonds, Third World and Barry Gordon will be Honourees in various categories.

As customary, the Tribute to Dennis Brown will be staged downtown. Having outgrown its original location, the concert has been moved to the larger King Street this year, and will feature performances from Shaggy, Beres Hammond, Ken Boothe, John Holt, Taurus Riley, George Nooks, Horace Andy, Errol Dunkley, Rootz Underground, QQ, Andrew Tosh, Dean Fraser, Lloyd Parkes and We The People.

All JaRIA Reggae Month events will be streamed live on www.jariajamaica.com and on www.facebook.com/jaria.jamaica

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Reggae-50----A-New-Dawn_13497589

Email: che.campbell@gmail.com

The Re-emergence of Sizzla

By Charles H. E. Campbell

Over the recent holiday season, Sizzla re-emerged as the most popular, in-form and hard-working headline act on the live circuit, at this time in Jamaica. A casual glance of the flyers and advertisements, as well as the show reviews, reveal that he not only performed at a majority of the large annual stage shows and ‘name-brand’ events such as Sting and Superjam, but skilfully moderated his repertoire and approach for smaller, more intimate gigs like Resistance – a live tribute to Producer Fattis Burrell, staged by his son Kareem. This is a subtle but critical aspect of performance careers, too often missing from our younger artistes. From all the reports, Sizzla displayed throughout, that he has reached a new plateau in mastery of his singing, audience rapport and stagecraft. In so doing, he’s set the template and raised the standard bar for local performances going forward.

On two of the shows, Sizzla was ushered off the stage by police officers after the prescribed 2am deadline for live events, in accordance with the Noise Abatement Act. Once again, this brings centre- stage focus by the Entertainment Sector on the urgent need for its reform.  It also drives home the dire consequences for the sector if the Government doesn’t establish Entertainment Zones across Jamaica, as one of the new measures being explored to allow live music to thrive, especially during the peaks of our annual cultural calendar.

In the meantime however, promoters will have to be more cognisant of the restrictions and time constraints imposed by this Act. They will have to better plan their event schedules, especially the running order of live performances, so that headline acts are given the maximum time they deserve to delve into their repertoire for the pleasure of the patrons.

This triumphant re-emergence of Sizzla is in-keeping with a positive trend in our music that has been taking root over the last five years. Conscious and Roots style Reggae are once again coming into their own amongst local artistes and music fans alike; gaining prominence on the live circuit, if not on local radio airplay. This movement has, in large part, been led by artistes such as, Protoje, Kabaka Pyramid, Chronixx, Jah 9, Iba Mahr, Jesse Royal, Ikaya and Bands like, Raging Fyah, C-Sharp and Uprising Roots.

 Billy Wilmot and his family should be given a lot of credit for the monthly Jamesia series, through which most of these acts continuously honed their craft, while getting tremendous exposure.

 Recently Mr. Vegas and Busy Signal, two of Dancehalls dominant stars, grabbed news headlines when they both released Reggae albums, enhancing their personal profile and catalogue, while bringing even more international attention to the genre.

Most of these artistes will be appearing on Rebel Salute, which is being staged on January 18 & 19, at a new home this year, Richmond Estate in Priory St Ann. The change of location to the North Coast and new format are bold moves by Tony Rebel and his family, so I wish them blessings and the best of luck.

Email:che.campbell@gmail.com

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/The-re-emergence-of-Sizzla_13363529

Review Business Model

By Charles H. E. Campbell

Winston Blake of Merritone fame recently proffered the opinion that the year 2012 was the worst in recent memory for the Jamaican Music Industry. Furthermore, given the parlous state of the US economy, this dilemma is unlikely to ease anytime soon.

Winston Blake

  There is sufficient empirical evidence to bear this out. All genres of music have been adversely affected by this prolonged, intractable worldwide recession and by the ability of fans to download music free of cost. Plummeting Jamaican Reggae Music sales seem to indicate that it has relatively borne more of the brunt of their compounded impact.

 The recent revelation by VP Records executive Neil Robertson, on December 12^th, of very weak sales, during that week, of Reggae’s top 50 songs on the Billboard Reggae Charts, is a continuing trend, but just the tip of the iceberg. While the year commenced positively, with an upward blip on the radar, as the year progressed, except for a few of our premier artistes, the data on performance tours also reflected a downward spiral.

 Now is an opportune time for us to review our business model and seek ways of improving our performance in the international market-place.

  Native Wayne Jobson of Indie 103.1Radio, Los Angeles, has volunteered some favourable market indicators which may help in designing urgently needed corrective measures. To paraphrase him, “Jamaica has (seemingly) abandoned reggae and has let others claim its birthright.
The sales figures for Rebelution (50,000) and Soja (40,000) are quite strong in today’s market, and both these groups play "Roots" style reggae with more traditional song structures.
Meanwhile Rihanna (from the Caribbean), with the two best songs she has released to date, takes Reggae - ‘Man Down’, and Dancehall - ‘Pon De Reply’, and becomes the biggest star in the world. Rihanna is the biggest download artist of all time (more than Michael Jackson and the Beatles); also she has the most Facebook friends on earth.

 Close behind Rihanna in Facebook friends, is the other biggest star on earth, Bob Marley.

  Jimmy Cliff however, recently got a six page article in Rolling Stone magazine, and his latest album ‘Rebirth’ got a FOUR STAR review. Even Michael Jackson and the Beatles do not get six pages. That’s how much they respect Reggae when it’s good.

America and the world have fully embraced Reggae as a musical style just as Jamaicans (seem to) have forgotten how to make it. Good songs with good hooks will always win out over fad and bluster.”

In an attempt to promote the conversation, my initial thoughts are: Too many of our current releases contain weak tunes and lyrics; while not wishing to discourage experimentation or the infusion of other pop influences, as Marley and Third World successfully did, unlike early Dancehall music, which incorporated Mento rhythmic patterns with Reggae’s heavy drum and bass, today’s style has less musical distinction from and is too fused with its US progeny - Hip Hop;  with the absence of multinational record companies supporting our acts, Jamaican artistes lack marketing vehicles with a global reach, needed to sustain the penetration of international markets; the Reggae genre suffers from lack of adequate airplay in our domestic arena, which traditionally created the initial buzz/hype; we suffer from a negative market perception, caused by the anti-social behaviour of a few high profile acts, which has damaged the entire Jamaican brand. The solutions are implicit.

Email: che.campbell@gmail.com

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Review-business-model_13307819