Gay Protest at Carifest 2007 NYC

Reigns of Power - Transfer Complete

Thursday, June 14, 2007


Reggae Music as we have known, loved and embraced it is no more - The almighty forces behind international capital have won out yet again. What pains me most is that the battle was not even lost it was given over as the troops put down their arms silently in the face of what they assumed to be a superior power, without even really trying, really. The few voices of resistance were so small, feeble, and few and far between they may as well have not existed. The question remains though, now that little Reggae has been conquered and the artists voices silenced, what does it really mean to the gay community now? Are they any more empowered by subjugating a group that pretty much admitted it was no match? Tried as I might to reignite the sparks of old that sustained the early battles our forerunners had fought to uphold truth and rights at all costs, the point is now moot, and so I too rest my case.

It takes a nation of millions, they say, and we definitely had that. What we did not manifest was the will to win and moreover not even any real will to fight. Furthermore just like the panthers, the nation, garveyites, and others of the early pioneers of truths and rights, the defeat came from within as divide and conquer proved its efficacy in history yet again also.

The black West Indian gays alligned themselves with the powerful gay agenda and flipped the script on their indigenous culture which, not unlike black culture in America on the whole, frowned, to put it mildly, on what is deemed in the Caribbean, and many other places I might add, as being deviant, homosexuality.

And so they sang. The artists in their defiance of "nastiness" sang the glories of Ital living...but in the end what did it really mean when it seems for the most part they sang in jest in large measure. With few exceptions, many of the most militant artists embraced the very vices they decried in their lyrics. Not that all artists have to be role models, but imagination of artists as practicing what they preached might well have been equally moot.

If you think about the lifestyle choices in general of many artist and hangers on in the genre, one can not actually take them seriously. Just look at their lifestyles. I mean its all rhetoric, the truth and roots, with only rare exceptions. It would take retiring to the hills in a literal sense to transcend the business side of the runnins, which is what rules.

Nevertheless its a done deal in any case, and my words, this blog, the Reggae by the Bay that once offered rich, historical culture to overflowing crowds, its all moot now, the passing of an era. What remains are only the memories. Its clear the downturn started with the crack epidemic in the mid eighties and so the end should not be a surprise since its been a long time coming.

It's official now. Outrage cosigned on the dotted line. The almightly euro/dollar "rises" highest again...

BEENIE MAN, SIZZLA, & CAPLETON STEP UP TO STOP HOMOPHOBIC LYRICS IN REGGAE
Category: News and Politics

Reggae stars Beenie Man, Sizzla, and Capleton have taken the lead in pushing reggae artists to stop releasing anti-gay hate songs.

According to Britain's Pink News, the three reggae stars were the first to sign the Reggae Compassionate Act in a deal that was brokered by reggae promoters and Stop Murder Music activists.

The Act reads, in part, "It must be clear there's no space in the music community for hatred and prejudice, including no place for racism, violence, sexism or homophobia. We do not encourage nor minister to HATE but rather uphold a philosophy of LOVE, RESPECT and UNDERSTANDING towards all human beings as the cornerstone of reggae. We agree to not make statements or perform songs that incite hatred or violence against anyone from any community."

The deal culminates a three-year-long campaign by the Stop Murder Music activists, which resulted from the cancellations of shows and several sponsors pulling their support of reggae acts.

Peter Tatchell, the Stop Murder Music worldwide coordinator, said, "The singers' rejection of homophobia and sexism is an important milestone. We rejoice at their new commitment to music without prejudice. This deal will have a huge, positive impact in Jamaica and the Caribbean. The media coverage will generate public awareness and debate, breaking down ignorance and undermining homophobia."

The campaign against the three reggae stars will be suspended but Tatchell will continue his campaign against the other acts. He said, "The other five murder music artists - Elephant Man, TOK, Bounty Killa, Vybz Kartel and Buju Banton - have not signed the Reggae Compassionate Act."

In the past, Beenie Man has shared his frustration that reggae music was being singled out especially during the second to last season of the Sopranos when a homosexual mobster was killed because of his sexual orientation. The Grammy Award winner said: "They never attack hip-hop. They never attack the comedians. They never attack none of the moviemakers, none of that. Look at the Sopranos right now, you know, so they not coming under no attack for that, you know. That's it."

from Nikki Woods - - CEO of 360° Media and Entertainment Corp.

To Oakland City Council on Cancelling Buju Banton

Greetings in the name of the Oakland BAY AREA REGGAE MASSIVE (Community). Please know that the Buju Banton show went on as scheduled last night without a hitch. It was jammed packed to the rafters and our beloved Buju Banton's performance was PHENOMENAL. This community is not broke which worked well for the little venue that agreed to host Buju after it was cancelled in both San Francisco and Oakland. YOUR LOSS. With demand that high it was inevitable that SOMEBODY would be willing to cash in somewhere.

Your approval of the Buju Banton show cancellation in Oakland was as baseless a decision as has ever been made by anyone anywhere ever. It is utter insanity to assume a law abiding group of music fans would purposely go out of their way to attack the LGBT community. For What? This is utter lunacy! For future reference, please educate yourself in matters before making a decision. This jumping on the bandwagon without any foundation in reality is folly, plain and simple, and it is a bad reflection on you and your colleagues over in the City Council.

I have been a part of a thriving reggae music scene in Oakland for YEARS and I have NEVER heard anyone even imagining what you suggested when you wrote as your rationale for cancelling the Buju Banton show originally scheduled for the Historic Sweets Ballroom last night that:

"There are several LGBT venues near this concert venue and we must be sure that no possible fanatic followers might try to harm them."

No disrespect but....WTF? Let's be real here.

How could you possibly make such a leap? Because the LGBT is so utterly ignorant of what we are all about, this baseless conclusion is totally and completely absurd and is insulting, demeaning, disrespectful, and dare I say racist, since many Buju Banton fans and members of the Oakland Reggae Community are of African, African-American, or Afro-Caribbean descent.

Let me try and set the record straight for you and yours.

First of all try and get your facts straight before making snap judgements that affect so many people. There is a huge contingent of Conscious (Spiritual) Reggae Music Fans around the globe to whom Buju Banton is the next best thing to Jesus Christ. To those for whom this music is religion and culture, Buju burning out a chichi is not to be taken litterally. He like many of his contemporaries say burn out dirty religion, burn bad parenting, burn out bad mind, burn out filthiness, burn out wickedness, in deference to religious teachings gleaned from the Bible and Christian religion. A post from a different blog explains this further saying:

'As for Boom Bye Bye [the song causing all this insanity] that was made in 1989 when he was 15, it is the norm that whatever is seen as a negative an artist will speak in Hyperbole so as to represent the ending of a concept that one has been shown as wrong. So it would be said in a very extreme manner.

So if you wanted to say Apartheid must end in a song you would sey "Botha Fi get gunshot!"

or for Big Business to stop exploiting poor people - "Jacket and Tie fi DEAD!"

CIA to stop doing what they do "CIA fi get BOMB up!"

An end to Hypocrisy "Hypocrits fi get shot inna dem head!"

And yes it is a belief that the activity of homosexualty is wrong in Jamaica so "Boom Bye Bye"

Now Buju at 15 was following what he saw around him but once he got into his own he has made nothing but some of the most uplifting, inspiring and uniting music to ever come out of any form of Music, the album 'Til Shiloh is one of the greatest albums ever put out by any artist.

He sees himself as a descendant of Zulus, Marcus Garvey and Peter Tosh, so his mission while on this earth is to help those who are oppressed and downtrodden.

As a matter of fact he is the only Jamaican artist to start an AIDS hospice in Jamaica that gets money for those afflicted with AIDS and cannot afford treatment, it is funded by those same shows that the Gay community wants to boycott, in a time when AIDS is ravaging Jamaica and the Caribbean and unfortunately just like the AIDS relief concert in New York that Beenie Man was to perform on the Gay groups are getting them shut down and money is needed badly to deal with the epidemic.'

So hopefully this helps you to see the error of your ways and do a little homework next time. In all my years on the scene, I can't say I've witnessed a more futile, innane waste of time as with these efforts to attack these artists for something they did not start and with whose demise not a single thing will be accomplished in any real sense.

Honestly, I work very hard trying to survive in the expensive and elite Bay Area and am ecstatic at an opportunity to witness an artists of the caliber of a Buju Banton right in my back yard in Oakland as I am always somewhat miffed that the cream of the crop artists in the genre who I most want to see all avoid playing the Bay Area like the plague preferring to play all over the world without incident. Even in Europe they play more large, successful shows than you would believe. I know because I have been there, especially in France and Germany. Could it be the community you defend is more sophisitcated over there and disdains to get too involved with what they don't see as any real problem, but I digress.

Despite the little Capleton, Beanie Man UK riff, this music can not be stopped. In fact it is growing, especially in Italy and Germany, not to mention its mind boggling success in Japan. Rastafari, can't be stopped. Clean up your hearts and come. You will see the fans are as peaceful as you would find anywhere and most don't have the time or the inclination to leave a nice and pleasant, spiritually uplifting, musical stage show that inspires pride and respect for our history and go out and hunt gays...I mean for what? That, like this frivilous campaign to cancel these music concerts, would be an utter waste. In the end what does it really accomplish for the gays, the fact that they proved a point? We'll that goes far I'm sure in getting them the right to marry. I am tired of having to drive 6 hours to LA or flying to Atlanta or New York or Europe to get a chance to enjoy the best artists in the genre that I and my family embrace as a culture. Give us a break will you. We don't care enough about the gays in general to invest the time or the energy to rise up against them in a litteral sense. Speaking for myself...to each his own. Simply take Buju and kin for what they are, performers in reggae music. If the gays really want to defend their community they need to march on Washington or something, the seats of real power, if their issue is that serious. As for Buju and his purported 'threat', see also his wonderful performance on Def Poetry Jam Season 3 and get a real clue. The guy is a poet for goodness sake! Buju Banton is the least of the LGBT's problems.

I hope that after all the hoopla surrounding this madness you get more emails like this one and take them seriously because the next time a show is cancelled on such a baseless foundation, it may become more of a problem than the city of Oakland ever imagined. Our community is quiet in general and we mind our own business, but with this attack on our culture we are determined to unite and speak out, protest, email, write letters and march on Oakland if it comes to that. We can send emails and make phone calls just as well as the LGBTs can. AND WE VOTE TOO! So let this serve as notice that THE MOVEMENT TO SUPPORT REGGAE IN OAKLAND HAS STARTED!!!

See also posts on:

http://sf.metblogs.com/archives/2006/09/buju_banton_in_sf_not_so_fast.phtml

and

http://www.femmenoir.net/2006/09/on_again_off_againbuju_banton.php

Capleton Rips S.F. (On the low)

Well folks, I gotta hand it to Angel Magik. Johnny Mack and crew has done it again. Not only did they manage to pull off Buju after the gay community got him cancelled and moved and cancelled and moved again, but they went and outdid themselves and got Capleton to hit us up right in the capital of the gay world! I am so proud of Angel Majik. He's definitely puttin' in real work for the cause in the Bay, and, as a fellow Cal Bear too, I support him to the fullest!

I was also proud to have had an opportunity to meet Capleton. Not that I ever doubted it, but I can say of a certainty now that he is a King of the highest order, full of kindness, humility, wisdom, and strength. I can't say enough about the fire man in terms of pure niceness, and the show itself...well, there are simply no words that can do it justice, especially considering the circumstances under which the show went on. The hostile environment of a place that cancelled Capelton in 2004, for all intents and purposes, banning him by the overshadowing movement that has been trying to stop him and other culture artists ever since, was soundly defeated in its own back yard last Thursday, February 8, 2007. This show was on the under. There were no posters, no radio announcements, no big marketing campaigns at all, aside from a few little flyers sparingly handed out to those who needed to know. Subsequently, there were no gay protests and no gay community activists out to try and spoil it for us, at least not that I ever heard or saw.

Capleton took the stage at about 12:20am and stayed there for over two hours straight and all the while dazzling us all with his trademark high-energy, jump-up style. I mean he burned all kinda fire up in that place that night. And we were loving every single minute of it, even stood there waiting for more when it was really over and done. It was an overflow turnout so everyone was packed in as tight as sardines, and it was difficult to even move from one side of the room to the other, let alone in your own space. I know there must have been some kind of fire code violation going on. It was too packed and it was HOT!!! But nevertheless, by some mystical force beyond the super integrated crowd's control, there was only peaceful coexistence going on in the room. It was like a dove had descended on the place despite the extremely limited personal space available to everyone and just brought down peace and unity. The vibe, like the artist himself, was just pure oneness. By the end of it, my mental was so over stimulated, you know how Capleton drops that serious knowledge, I was left speechless, completely absorbed in my thoughts about the way he put things. He reminds me of another West Indian who does that to me also with his poetic stingers, Leon Damas. They have a way of droppin bombs directly on your soul and moving you to somehow respond. Capleton had us all under that kind of spell the whole set as he ran straight through hit after hit, both old and new mentally challenging us to consider our world all the while.

I think the people were just so greatful to get a chance to take in Capleton live that they dealt with the overcrowding and the heat in the place just because they didn't want to mess up their one and only chance to experience Capleton again for god-only-knows how long. We had already waited for this show for at least three years now. Capleton was in full regalia, you know his trademarked phenomenal fashion sense that coordinates everything from the head wrap to the shoes, and his set was tight like a noose. What was cool too was that it was all him. No filler acts beyond the short opener, whose name I don't recall. I, as well as everyone else, went out in the cold pouring rain for only one reason, and the promoters knew that and didn't waste our time. It was packed and hot and uncomfortable inside, but we all stood our ground and waited for the man of the hour. And Capleton, for his part, did not disappoint. After the show, I got to meet this wonderfully intelligent and powerful artist who, by the way, is my all-time favorite in Reggae - bar none, and tell him what I thought. I have never witnessed this kind of proud humility in any world-renowned superstar. He was being true to himself. It was truly uncanny. He has a regal air about him, a grace and style and wit that is beyond impressive. One can see in him that he is truly blessed on many different levels. He is a special human being, and of this I am sure. I am convinced of that fact, despite what I heard from a fellow Reggae journalist who said her experience with Capleton was, well, let's just say...suspect. But I can't say this was a most reliable source either.

In any case, I enjoyed Capleton the man and the artist and have to admit being changed by the experience. I feel somehow empowered to know that there is a Capleton in the world who WILL NOT BOW. I love him to pieces for that and for being real, down-to-earth, grounded, and secure in himself. I haven't stopped listening to Capleton since the show, and it will probably be a long while before I come down from the space he elevated us all to that night. For me at least, the show was just that powerful. I know it was an accomplishment for all of us to have Capleton play again in San Francsico, the place that explicitly banned him a few years earlier, but I had to rep my side of the Bay and asked him to play in Oakland next time, where many of our folks live.

Standing Firm On Lava Ground

By Ashanti © 2005

It appears a culture revolution is underway in Reggae Dancehall and that I-Wayne is quickly becoming one of its most illuminating new points of light. Making his West Coast debut as a solo artist on August 4, 2005, I-Wayne appeared for the first time at Jamaica Live inside Hollywood’s Dragonfly club on Santa Monica Blvd. before a crowd of fans that circled several blocks and waited several long hours to get inside. Their efforts were finally rewarded when the object of their anticipation graced the stage with his trademark falsettos nearly 3 hours later at 1:31 a.m. But to the crowd’s delight, he ran straight though one after another of his widely rotated current hits including the title track from his debut CD release Lava Ground on the VP Records label, "Living in Love", and "One Man Can’t Satisfy Her. He went on to appear two days later at Northern California’s Reggae on the River where he reportedly spit even more fire.

Hearing I-Wayne’s cool-as-a-breeze, harmonic, clarion tones for the first time, one might be inclined, or more likely compelled, to float along with this enchanting sound. But don’t let the smooth taste fool you. This same voice is as multifaceted as they come and erupts like thunderclaps at sporadic intervals with "lightening", "earthquake", and most notoriously "Lava", before launching into acapella entreaties to the black woman in particular to "irie up and live", "stop bleach", and "dash way", or give up, her inclinations toward suggestive clothing and promiscuity. And while he quickly returns to singing as sweetly as a black angel on high, suddenly he erupts again with an unexpected "Hotta", or "Fire Red", or some other emphatic admonition to "burn out dirty living" in all its forms.

It is with this unique harmonic sound, characterized by hard then soft, falsetto and tenor vocal circumnavigations over the revived one-drop riddims that he peppers with angelic odes to the black woman that I-Wayne is being propelled to the top of his game. His passion is infectious as he routinely captivates large crowds with an uncanny ability to miraculously quiet them to silence with only a gentle "shhhhhhhhhh" while touching a single index finger to his lips and admonishing them to listen keenly and learn from the wisdom carried on the winds of his voice.

At the tender age of 25, I-Wayne says he is inspired by the wind to which he says it is important to quiet and listen. By such inspiration, he delivers some of the most lucid and powerful, provocative and compelling lyrical content in the genre with the pace and wisdom of a wise old sage skillfully articulating his message with candid flair, "burning out" immorality, bad parenting, politricking, criminal behavior, and all manner of "bad mind".

For the longest time Dancehall has been saturated by hard-hitting, electronically digitized, hypnotic syncopations encouraging intense winding machinations against a barrage of some of the most extreme and explicit lyrics conceivable. Nowadays, I-Wayne and his crew, Loyal Soldiers, are single-handedly changing up the scene by popularizing culture and one-drop riddims in the Dancehall again, enticing audiences away from the empty pursuit of illicit liaisons and towards listening and learning the ancient wisdom and cleaning up their lives to live uprightly within the tenets of Rastafari. Their message is simply, "burn fire red on all nastiness", as I-Wayne routinely warns in his invectives before, during, or even after his songs. And the fans are responding, as if to ask, "What took you so long to bring this much needed relief from the now mundane, overtly sex-centric focus that has ruled in Dancehall for as long as we can remember?"

It remains to be seen whether this current return to culture and one-drop will make further inroads into the consciousness of the nowadays massive and cause the demise of the currently dominant, highly sexual, bad man mentality, or whether one camp will ever win out over the other, or if elements of both will just coexist indefinitely. All that can be said for certain is that I-Wayne is not only a budding, up-and-coming new form of Dancehall artist, but he, along with Loyal Soldiers, Jah Cure, Fanton Mojah, and Bascom X are quickly becoming the next "Big Thing" to watch for in the new culture Dancehall.

Edi Fitzroy - Back in the Bay

From: http://www.reggaereview.com/archives/1105reviews.htm

By Ashanti

It was a distinct honor and pleasure to be blessed with an opportunity to be in the presence of a living legend on September 29, 2005 when Edi Fitzroy niced up the Bay Area playing for one night only at San Francisco’s Club Dread.

Organized by our very own Corbett Harvey Bowers, who met Edi at Sunsplash in 1986, this show took me back to the days when the dancehall was all about culture. There were many, many odes to the Black Woman, although there were only two actually in the house. For those lucky enough to have caught the fire of this dynamite stage show, you know you were truly fortunate to have witnessed this veteran caliber performance. I’ll admit I was not anticipating the riveting, high-energy and classic performance I got only because I only came on the Reggae scene during the straight ragamuffin late 80’s and the digital 90’s eras when consciousness in the music was somewhat on the wane. Therefore I was somewhat unfamiliar with Edi’s music and artistry. I have since come to overstand that Edi Fitzroy is one of those classic artists of the highest order. He remains highly regarded in Reggae Roots circles and beyond. The longevity, the respect and the admiration he still carries among his old- and new-school peers and fans alike, can be attributed, to a large extent, to his twenty-seven year career commitment to the exaltation of all things roots and positive.

As a result of his conscious focus, Edi Fitzroy has taken his influence far and wide to even extend beyond just the microphone and stage show talents he perfected long ago. His other accomplishments are equally impressive. In 1982, he received the Press Association of Jamaica Award for his contributions to the development of Jamaican music. In a later capacity, as Reggae Ambassador to England, in 1985 he brought Reggae for the first time to the British Royal Festival Hall, home of European classical music. He was awarded the Rockers Award for Most Conscious Performer, and the Most Culturally Oriented artist in the 7^th, 8^th, and 9^th Annual International Music Awards held in Miami, Chicago, and Jamaica respectively. He also won the Rockers Video Award for his tribute song to the Black Woman, “Princess Black”. This song may be one of his best known among the nowadays massive, since he recently did a remake of it in collaboration with the mighty Sizzla Kolanji.

It was by his trademark graciousness, that I was allowed the opportunity to reason with Edi after his recent Club Dread show and find out what he has been up to, what he has in the works and his general thoughts on the evolution of this music we all love so well. I also wanted to hear about his experience traveling to Africa. I must add that in trying to interview Edi, I had to fight my way through several over zealous, admiring fans and well wishers who were so incredibly enthusiastic that my getting Edi to myself for the interview was a greater challenge than I had expected. Edi immediately put me at ease continually looking back at me from signing autographs and otherwise interacting with fans to politely acknowledge that I was still waiting, so even though I was in the presence of such a legend, I felt relaxed and was able to just chill with him afterwards. I started out asking about his thoughts on the apparent return of culture and one drop to the dancehall, a question near and dear to my heart, and he summed it up by saying that digital dancehall and its attendant lyrical slackness had, “served a purpose in its time.” So this return to culture is just another part of the continuum of the music in its role as reflector of the culture of the people. “Dancehall [slackness] served its purpose and now has come go back 360° to culture. Slackness was just lyrical content. Nastiness was a ting, just a ting. You know? Jah trampled that now. Just Rasta…Back into the fold.”

Since he is from the same era and place, I asked Eddie if he had ever worked with Bob Marley. He said he knew him from Trenchtown days when he lived in the same West Kingston area when they were young. Edi remembered how he would regularly pass Bob, Peter, and Bunny on the way to school or somewhere, and that it was always very exciting to see them. He says he always knew they were going to blow up and be very, very big in the music. Edi never got to work with Bob musically, but he said he was slated to go on tour with Peter Tosh and Free-I “just before we lost them.” Edi spoke very reverently of Peter Tosh, from whom he says, he derived great inspiration early on. He also corrected me when I referred to “Bob Marley and the Wailers”. He preferred that I refer to them by their original and proper calling as “The Wailing Wailers”. He said that of all the great artists that came out of that early era, he believed Charlie Chaplin was the one artist who never got to reap proper rewards equal to his contributions.

These days Edi resides primarily in Jamaica working with his management team, who he called Rick and Claudette, while doing mostly local JA shows and various community projects. He continues to host a radio program which focuses on encouraging youth to cease crime and violence and to put down the gun. He says he is most interested in reaching out and touching the youths he wants to inspire, saying, “I want them to know that if I could make it out, then they can too”. The goal for the radio program for him is primarily to be a vehicle in the community to encourage the children to success and to help them recognize the reality that they too can change their lives just as he himself had done.

As part of Edi’s return to musical performance projects, he has a new album in the works. Hold the Vibes, with Joe Bressler, on his own label, Confidence Music which is expected to drop in March 2006. As a side note, during the San Francisco show, he actually performed a few cuts off the new album and from what little I heard, it is going to be a scorcher! At our meeting, he was also scheduled to perform a few days later on September 7 at the Dub Club in Los Angeles, CA to further promote his new release.

Based on his collaboration with Sizzla on the remake of the hit “Princess Black”, I asked Eddie about his thoughts on the other excellent but controversial artists out there now, such as I Wayne, Capelton, Sizzla and Buju Banton, all out of what I call the “fire burn” camp, who pretty much running the roots, culture, and consciousness front these days. He simply, but enthusiastically, responded, “I love them”, with his fist placed firmly over his heart. “Love their fire…Good artists.” I went on to ask who his favorite artist was over all, if he had one, and he quickly responded that his past favorite Reggae artist is actually a tie between Garnett Silk and Bob Marley. His current favorite to this day is Shabba Ranks.

I could not leave the interview without hearing how traveling to Africa had impacted Edi whose itinerary has included time in the Gambia, Senegal, Botswana and Ghana. Of this experience, Edi simply said civilization is turning, “African people in Africa are all one….Africa was very exciting.” His most proud and endearing impression was that “Everything out of Africa is Black.”

Being as committed as Edi is to supporting the youth, when he spotted Dugsy Ranks and Mega Banton chilling nearby, he hailed them and invited them to join our interview saying, “All a wi a one family.” Nice! We are talking about a living legend here folks, from Bob Marley’s time! The two youth were in town for a recent dancehall showcase over in Oakland on September 7^th at the Oasis Restaurant & Bar. They were just stopping in Club Dread to pay their due respect to their elder before heading to the East Coast the next morning for a celebrity soccer match on September 2 in the Bronx, NY featuring Lexus, Captain Barkey, Wickerman and others. They also had other show dates planned in New York and Connecticut.

It was an auspicious occasion and I was thrilled and overwhelmed to have all of these artists together. I started by asking Mega Banton how he got started in the music. What I found out was that he started at the tender age of seven with Ricky General and Black Star, and mainly recorded in the studio after school. Just the fact that he has been doing this since he was seven speaks volumes about the level of skill he currently has in his lyrical arsenal. It suffices it to say that his mash up performance over at the Oasis was a testament to that. As for Mega Banton, he says he is primarily in the studio these days working on two new albums, the first of which is due to be released this month and entitled, Compassion for Humanity: Sounds of Inspiration, which he described as being pretty much Roots, Rock, Reggae. His other creation in the works is called, Enemies on Deadly Ground, also slated for release this month. Mega said the focus here is going to be strictly dancehall. Now that’s the Banton I know!

Also joining us for a brief chat was Dugsy Ranks who’s Man a Gangsta is out now as a fourteen-song, mixed CD that he is currently promoting and for which there is also a video. Dugsy’s actual album is slated to drop in March of 2006. It will include some collaboration with another old school reggae legend, Jimmy Riley. When I went on to my next questions regarding slackness versus culture, the response of these young DJs was telling. Dugsy insightfully attributed the renewed interest in a return to culture in the dancehall to hard times. He said hard times generate a renewed longing for culture. “People need something to hope for and help settle their minds…something to hold onto to ease their heads.” Interestingly both Mega Banton and Dugsy Ranks both hail from Waterford in Portmore, Jamaica. I guess Waterford has a penchant for turning out, respectable, intelligent, articulate, hard working, young men who can totally rip shop, wreck shop (to use some hip-hop analogies) and cork dancehall when they want. Both young men struck me as committed, determined, hard-working artists. When asked about the man himself, Edi Fitzroy, Dugsy vehemently replied, “Princess Black a one wicked tune. Bad! No rate no DJ who naah play it!” When I asked what kind of music they listen to in general, Mega responded by saying he listens to a wide variety of music both for inspiration and to learn. When I asked of them what they wanted to leave the Bay Area massive with, Dugsy replied first saying, “tell them to email the promoters to request the artists they want to see at the shows” and Mega Banton nodded in agreement.

It absolutely warmed my heart to see this joining of the old school with the new in mutual respect and love. It was especially nice to see the younger generation coming out to pay homage to their elder statesman. It was like a coming full circle, 360° back to love. All-in-all, Edi Fitzroy struck me as a righteous, humble, spiritual artist who still has fond remembrances of the early days in the music when he routinely worked with culture artist such as Mikey Dread, whose career he helped launch. He seems comfortable with himself, his career, and his life up to now and having studied accounting in school says he may use his educational background to one day write a book about it all. Though touched by tragedy in his personal life, the loss of his only son and his good friend Joe Strummer, leader of The Clash, his faith remains unshakable despite life’s challenges. He says, “The Lord grants all wishes. All one has to do is just ask him. Seek and ye shall receive.” This appears to be the epitome of what Edi Fitzroy is about, was about, and will always be about: a man of great faith and endurance over time.

Wherefore Art Thou Reggae Bay???

This is an old article I published some time ago in response to the Gay community single handedly crushing the heart of a Bay Area Reggae scene that used to thrive in Oakland, CA. prior to the protests and bans instituted around 2004...under the tutelage of Europe's "Outrage".

Whatever happened to the Bay Area Reggae scene? It is so broke, busted, and disgusted as to be unrecognizable now from what it once was.

Remember the Caribee? Firehouse 7? The Full Moon Saloon? The Farm? The Omni? The Uptown? Couple of other spots in downtown Oakland and Jack London whose names escape me now, that one spot up in the oakland hills once a very long time ago. Even the Maritime Hall in the City had a cool thing going for a time. Sadly all of these places that once vibrated to the rootical rhythms of the drum and bass line on the regular, are gone, gone, gone. I try keeping the memories, but its hard given what the remnants of the former scene is looking like now. Pure Joke business. Mind Motion, Toks, Tony Moses, and a few other original cats are still around, but the roots scene itself, especially live shows featuring top artists gone, gone, gone.

What happened to the Bay Area Reggae scene that was? From the 1st Caribee up on Webster to the 2nd one downtown Oakland to the Firehouse 7, Gabby's (undeniably the best Jamaican Food to hit this area EVER). These places used to be packed little sweatboxes. I mean they used to be jamm packed to the rafters, even on weekdays! You could barely move through the crowd sideways most nights...It seems it was the closing of an era when Oakland's beloved Caribee closed. That proved to be the beginning of the end. It was around that time that the raggamufffin reggae set at the Caribee started to appeal to the hip hop crowd that used to be up at that other club up the street that things fell apart. The vibe just totally changed. There started to be shootings outside and whatnot....At a Roots DANCE, Come on. I recall reggae in the Bay used to be the equivalent to having a higher consciouness, claiming one's Black history and having pride in Africa and being one of its descendants. It was similar to the early days of hip hop when it used to be conscious, had deeper meaning and was generally about something other than sex, and "murder, death, kill". Back then it was about the Message in the music in a real talk kind of way. It was also standard, with few exceptions, that when one went to the reggae spot they donned their African inspired finest. Not anymore. Today what passes for a Bay Area reggae scene, in terms of what it once was, is the same as what you find at the hip hop/rnb spots: bare as you dare for the ladies and for the men, generally speaking, thugged out, but you know, in a pimped out kinda way.

Aside from the disappearance of the culture focus, the best artists in the genre, for all intents and purposes, appear to avoid the Bay Area these days like the plague and head straight for LA. Many of them are de facto banned from even playing in the Bay Area while we, the fans are the ones that lose out big time. I used to look forward to those annual and sometimes bi-annual Stone Love sets with Rory and them at the Lake Merritt Boathouse. That set used to knock! You don't even hear me! What is left instead is a barrage of local acts, which some are pretty good, but.....well they ain't Stone Love. Nothing against local acts, (I did catch a wicked, once-ina-lifetime, inspired-from-a-higher-power set with the two Trini sounds (TNT's Doogie vs. Ashanti Hi-Fi's Kobe at the Omni Restaurant and Bar in Oakland that was definitely a gold medal winning night). Last year's Mega Banton vs. Dugsy Ranks set at the Omni was way cool too, but not strictly speaking culture, but wicked nevetheless.

In spite of the fact that their does exists in the Bay Area some really potent local telent, I really wouldn't mind checking out Capleton in the Bay again, or Bounty, or Beanie, or I-Wayne, or any of the other high production quality, light and sound enhanced, high powered, stellar Reggae artists. Even a World Chamption Sound outta any one of those Islands to play an all night set right here in the town would be off the charts. I know the Marleys are coming, but that's not exactly what I mean, though it's cool. I'll take what I can get, I mean them brothas coulda skipped over Norcal and gone straight to L.A. too, but they didn't, so it's all love.

Back in the day though, the Bay Area used to be a mandatory stop on the Reggae circuit for ALL the toppa top artists. Even the Filmore used to hum with big name Reggae acts on the regular, as did the Circle Star and Golden Gate Park, and other spots....but not anymore. The Gay movement crew pretty much put the ka-bosh on all a that. And for what? I mean just because I might be found jumping up at a Capleton show, doesn't mean I'll be cruising around S.F. looking for Gays to burn later that night. I generally have better things to do with my time. If a Gay person is Gay, more power to him. Just don't bring none of that vibe around to me in no personal way. I mean basically, you won't find me picketing out in front of any racist skinhead music venue. They just singing a song to feel better or whatever. Half of them will be wearing a suit the next day reminiscing on what wild nights they gotta stop having, anyway irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. I mean we all got bigger problems. To each his own, I always say. Just don't bring no madness and we cool.

We all know racism is alive and kickin in tha 2006 just as it was in tha 1806, and even before, but shutting down a music concert is probably the abosolute least effective way of fixing the problem. Racism, Gay agenda, Black agenda, it is all soooo much deeper than a music concert. I think the Gay community is overreacting when it comes to our hardcore Roots Artist's performances. First of all, these are generally poor people, or at least they start out that way. Their fans are generally other poor people too, relatively speaking, and I'm only speaking in terms of finances, though that too is not always the case. Regardless of financial bouyancy or the lack thereof, even if we wanted to burn all gays, is that even realistic? I mean I can barely get to work each week after payin all my bills and trying to keep from drowning financially let alone trying to hunt down some gays. Their somewhat frivilous overaction is denying Bay Area roots fans a chance to check all but the most commercially accepted (read: least political) Reggae acts, and it's the fans who lose.

Despite the unfounded level of fear in the Bay Area gay set, I WILL admit that I WAS ready to burn sumpthin when I geared up to go see the mighty king Capelton at Reggae In The Park a few years back (when the Gay vs. Reggae started to come to a head) only to find that he SOMEHOW had been replaced with Mikey Dread. No disrespect but Mikey Dread had played the Bay so often back then that I don't think there was anyone left who hadn't seen him a FEW times already, whereas Capelton was like a one in a million for us. And then when Morgan Heritage canceled, or GOT canceled last year or so, I was like, WTF? It boggles the mind that in the end there was never even a hoop nor holler from anywhere in the Bay Area concerning this quiet development that resulted in the banning of all our top artists from performing here, basically censoring them. Now I ask you, what happened to freedom of speech? The acts just went quietly away into the night, never to be seen nor heard from again in this Bay Area. Now there maybe more to it, but for sure this is primarily the result of the mighty gay machine steamrolling us by bringing its subtle but obvious influence to bear on the situation. But I have to ask also, in the end, are gays any more empowered now or more protected as a result in any real terms by banning these artists? Just ask Governor Swartzenator. Truly, I would have expected more from the reggae crew that used to run the Bay, though many are gone (lured away by areas that are better able to meet their musical needs I'll bet) and again, the scene here is not the same. I mean here we are high and dry like the Sahara in August and losing out big time to even France and Germany and many, many other cities in the U.S., let alone other countries that are now rigging and jigging while we burn our DVDs and Ipods UP watching shows AFTER they are months or years old. And we are paying mad loot for even those! Even in the UK where some of these same big artists now blackballed in the Bay still play, they are selling out shows every week all over Europe, TODAY. I know because I just got back! And these are countries that are gay friendly. But the fact of the matter is that in the end, the band plays on. Yes the hardcore culture get their flack for their lyrical blaze over there too, and a few Beanie and Buju, and Capelton shows got cancelled as a result, but they just up and rescheduled at a different venue and the shows go on even bigger and better because of the enhanced publicity. And it's not only that, but it's also because of the strength and cohesion of the International music community that is bold enough to openly defy such blatent censorship as a farce, and said, hey, let the artists get PAID. I just say get over it gay Bay. You got bigger worries than any threats from visiting reggae artists and their fairly safe to say non-confrontational Bay Area fan base, many of whom have jobs and are doing cool enough to let you do your thang as long as we can just as boldly do ours. We just want to go out, socialize, and enjoy the music and cultural scene that we love. I can't say the two elements wouldn't EVER mix it up if they came in contact, but in this uber pluralistic Bay Area, it's just not that likely.

So what is a starving reggae fan to do? Maybe wait for the Reggae on the River to roll through, which at $400 a ticket and held waaaaaaaay up in east bubblef***k, uhhh...no.. that won't do either. Not to mention it always sells out months before anyone I know even starts thinking about checking for the lineup, thus pushing the ticket prices straight through the exostratosphere. When I started looking this year tickets were going for $600. I for one would like to see an AFFORDABLE yet bomb a** Raggamuffin Roots Reggae set right here in Oaktown and not wayyyy up in Garberville, though it has become one of the ONLY places in Northern CA where top reggae artists perform on the regular these days, sad but true. Though I don't mind camping outside once in awhile, maybe I prefer a modern venue, of which the Bay Area in general and Oakland in particular has many, with seats and modern amenities available. Maybe I don't want to drive several hundred miles and have to sleep in my car or in a tent to see all the top name acts I want to see, nor do I necessarily want to hang out in hippieville, though I've heard it's more diverse since the days when it was like a Reggae woodstock complete with random nude sunbathing and a whole heap more...not really my scene. I would much prefer a Raggamuffin, Conscious Roots type blowout Explosion deal featuring somebody like I-Wayne, Capleton, Sizzla, (I would say Jah Cure, but you know...), Jr. Gong (though he is generally accepted even in the Bay today because of his royal staus as Bob Marley's son, even though he CAN spit the lyrical fire on occasion), Gyption, Ritchie Spice, Chuck Fenda, Mr. Perfect, Jah Cure when he gets out etc., etc. I want the big gigantic towering speakers thumping nothing but crazy BASSZZZ. I want a Heavy, Heavy culture rotation with a West Indian selecta (or the closest wicked D.J. to that real deal) who is known globally as a master of their art form, a DJ who refuses to play ONLY the oldest tunes he can find the entire night long (a real problem in the Bay) but knows how to mix in well enough brand spanking new songs or dubplates in swift and commanding ways to keep the crowd from ever wanting to leave. I want to walk around smelling the scent of jerk chicken, curry goat, and oxtail in the air, while Guiness and Red Stripe pour from all angles, (or sorrel or something if you don't drink). I want all the back-in-the-day posse in the house too. I know yall still out there somewhere. Take off that suit for a weekend and let's do it like it should be done, school these youngsters, do it the way we used to do it, the way we STILL be doin it in the privacy of our own homes since there is really nowhere else cool to go do it outside anymore, like we will be doin it always.

I might be only imagining at this point, but I see it all happening one day, and soon. One indication is that the Caribee is back! Well, sort of anyway. It reopened in the same location under the name Karibbean City. They sell food in the back and everything just like they did when the same spot was known and loved as the Caribee. Maybe Margret might even pop in for old times sake and do a wicked wine for us like she used to. And just like the closing of the old Caribee began the decline of the once booming Roots Reggae scene in the Bay maybe, just maybe the new Karibbean City might bring back a spark of life to the barely recognizeable culture scene in the Reggae Bay. The brother Johnny Mack is doing a few things too. I caught an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G Spragga Benz set that was so wicked and rough as words can not even begin to describe at a Johnny Mack event a little while back at Berkeley's Shattuck Downlow, though he does a fair amount of bare as you dare oriented stuff too. But, if I have anything to say about it, the show must go on here in the Bay, with culture, with natural vibes, and bigger and even better than before. And folks won't have to spring for $600 a ticket to enjoy it either. They won't have to drive nearly 300 miles to get to a show in LA, or in the foothills as I often do, or fly to Europe to catch a top act (I'm hardcore like that if I want it bad enough), and the gays will not be shutting anything down! What right do they have anyway? I mean I know they running Oaktown in a big way nowadays, but if they just do like the rest of the crowd and just either stay home if they have a problem with the artists or, if they want to, come to the show and just look natural and be cool and steady, (We ARE talking a bunch of righteous West Indians and African and African American men here, so just tone it down a notch please). We got to try to keep the peace. Regardless, we all have to live here. In any case, the heart of Reggae culture is all about the natural, so just try to be part of the crowd if you're so inclined, or just don't go to the dang show if it offends you so much. But if you do go, just level the vibes and be cool, and no one might not even trip about you, and you might even have a good time....cause "when the music hits, you feel no pain." As for trouble...don't start none, won't be none. So what say you Bay, let's put our heads together and get our beloved artists comin' back to the Bay like we did back in the day. I know I could use a conscious Reggae set every now and again to help get through my weekly grind, and if I can elevate my consciousness and overstanding while I'm at it, then it's all the more crucial given our current climate in this country with so many wars and rumors of wars and the like. As I always say, ain't nothin to it but to do it! So let's get it started. We do that, and we can deal with the rest later like our folks across the Atlantic, who are STILL getting the benefit of seeing the top artists in great shows. I think we can pull it off if we come together and make it happen. What say you?