Birmingham revolution

Recently – that is May 2013 - I went for a few days to Birmingham, United Kingdom. It was a city in England I had not visited before. I have been to London a few times, to Bristol, and I visited not long ago Bath and Cardiff as well. Yet Birmingham, in size the second city of all England with over a million inhabitants, was still new for me.

BIRMINGHAM HISTORICALLY

Birmingham is a city with an industrial past; it is even said that it is historically the first manufacturing (or: industrial) city in the world, developed as such in the 18th c. Birmingham’s history thus reflects the historical forerunner role of Britain in the Industrial Revolution, that would have international consequences.

ERIC WILLIAMS

In the 18th c. and afterward the British Empire was at its height. Eric Williams (1911-1981), the scholar and later prime minister, from Trinidad and Tobago, explained in his 1943 study ‘Capitalism and Slavery’ how this is not a coincidence. He came with the at the time controversial argument that Britain’s famed Industrial Revolution was in fact largely financed through Britain’s slave trade and slavery activities in the Caribbean region. Of course, such an opinion was not liked by self-congratulating Britons, who more or less manipulated the writing of history, subtly but insistently popularizing a supposed humanitarian character of the British Empire, emphasizing that Britain abolished the slave trade and slavery before other European states, and before the practice became outlawed in other parts of the world.

That the Industrial Revolution shaping England was financed through slavery was however not mentioned and obscured..

The latter manipulating of historiography is already hypocritical, but it became even worse when the British also explained their colonization of large territories of Africa, in the later 19th c. (when slavery in the British Caribbean was abolished), as part of this further quest, a “white man’s burden”, to civilize the world, in part by also stopping practices like slavery there. In reality the main - and probably only - reason for Britain to colonize African territories was to gain wealth and to exploit. Obvious as this may seem, I found that some historiographers (especially European ones, and even an occasional “lost” non-European one) read and write history in line with this pro-British humanitarian purpose attributed to British colonialism.

I think Marcus Garvey (1887-1940), the Jamaican thinker and activist, saw it more clearly, before Eric Williams. Garvey had a sharp eye for geopolitics and international relations. His expression “Free Africans at home and abroad”, and other statements by Garvey like “The world is my province until Africa is free”, can be seen as Garvey’s response to British colonialism: finishing legally slavery of Africans in the Caribbean, but then colonizing the place of origin of those same Africans.

Birmingham is not a port town, unlike Bristol (which I visited not long ago), London, or Liverpool. So a direct role in the slave trade and slavery is less obvious in Birmingham than in Bristol and Liverpool. From these latter cities ships destined to trade in slaves sailed out to Africa and then the Caribbean, and the gains thus made entered these port cities directly; many buildings in Bristol, Liverpool, and partly also London, were financed with slave trade money (“blood money” you might say).

In line with Eric Williams’ economic reasoning, Birmingham as “the world’s first industrial/manufacturing city” profited from the slave trade and slavery as well. Only more indirectly. According to Williams the slave trade and slavery gains financed the whole Industrial Revolution that would shape Birmingham, and the different industries there. More specifically, Birmingham was the British centre of the metallurgical industry since the 17th c. and through the 18th c., including gun manufacturing, while Birmingham factories also made the weaponry used in slave trading activities in Africa, sugar plantation equipment, and chains used in slavery. Birmingham industries even delivered machinery and chains to slave-laboured plantations in non-British colonies like Brazil and Cuba.

Williams in fact pays quite some attention to Birmingham in his work ‘Capitalism & Slavery’ (1943): to its above mentioned role in the colonial economy (guns, metal and otherwise), as well as, more positively, to the rise of an abolition (of slavery) movement in the city in a later stage.

EXPOSITION

When I recently visited Birmingham (in May 2013), we went to an exposition within the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (pictured below), which gave an overview of the city’s history: from past to present.

The city was more or less established from about 1100 (AD). The city name is of Anglo-Saxon/Germanic origin. From those Anglo-Saxon days the historical time line was followed. From industrialization to further developments and migrations. Interestingly, the Irish were the early migrating (and more or less discriminated) “outsider” labourer group. Later, especially since the 1950s, followed by Jamaican and Caribbean migrants that would become also discriminated. The exposition continued up to modern times with different cultures and ethnicities in the city, and to pop culture like UB40, Duran Duran (who were I found out here from Birmingham). Also Rastafari-adhering poet of Jamaican descent Benjamin Zephaniah was mentioned, as well as a carnival designer/artist of Caribbean descent who went under the name of Professor Black.

In between, Birmingham’s roles and interests in slavery, metals, and gun trade for the slave trade, were not ignored or denied, but explained adequately. Also the famous Birmingham abolitionist campaigner (against slavery) in the early 19th c., Joseph Sturge, got attention.

All in all I found it an interesting and well structured exposition.

BIRMINGHAM NOW

Birmingham was modern and globally focussed then, and when I recently visited I still noticed that it strives to modernity and the global, albeit in a different way. Until not too long ago the city’s focus was still on manufacturing and industry, although in recent decades a shift toward a “service economy” has taken place, similar to elsewhere in the Western world.

High-rise, new buildings are a superficial sign of urban modernity, of course, and current Birmingham has more or less a sky-line – unlike e.g. Bristol -, although high or modern buildings are interchanged with older and lower ones.. Some of the higher building were hotels, aimed mainly at the business market.

The remnants of the industrial past are however here and there present. The many canals flowing through the city and surrounding Midlands date mostly from the 18th c. onward, and had primarily economic, industrial functions. The same as the canals in Amsterdam (the Netherlands), they were laid out primarily for transporting goods for factories, not for ordinary citizens’ recreation or travel.

I noticed that in the present the canals in Birmingham no longer seem to have that industrial function. Now they are used by boats for tourism (thus recreational) purposes. Touristic boats are also to be found on the canals of Amsterdam, but there is a difference: I did not see private citizens having boats on the canals as on the Amsterdam canals. Maybe that is outlawed in Birmingham, I don’t know..

Photo underneath: me in central Birmingham (close to the Mailbox building) with the historical canals in the back

Like before, as I already said, current Birmingham continues to strive to the modern and global – or as one can say: cosmopolitan – in for instance the modern architecture, including high-rise, modern “mall”-like shopping centres (US influence?), while the city is also definitely multicultural. Multicultural regarding its population, as well as in restaurants and bars, and stores, representative of the different cultures in the city, brought by migrants since especially the 1950s: Indian, Pakistani, Jamaican, Chinese, African, even Latin American and other ethnicities. Birmingham is even one of the cities in Britain with the highest percentage of non-British migrant inhabitants: about 42% of Birrmingham is at present non-British of origin, many of these non-European.

BLACK POPULATION

Birmingham is also the place (with the surrounding West Midlands area) in Britain with - after London - the highest percentage of inhabitants with a Caribbean, especially Jamaican, background. A 2007 survey estimated the total number of Jamaican British in Birmingham at about 35.000 persons (compared to about 250.000 in much larger London), which would be about 3,5 % of the about a million people that inhabit Birmingham. This is the highest number outside of London.

The total “Black” population (including other Caribbeans and Africans) in Birmingham is estimated at about 6,4% of the city’s total. Also one of the higher percentages in Britain. Like elsewhere the Jamaican and Black population is relatively concentrated more in certain districts of the city, for instance the districts Handsworth and Aston. You can guess that these are not the most affluent districts, but rather working class areas. “A so it go”..

An interesting comparison would be with Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, where in about the same period (2006) about 69.000 people were of Surinamese background, that is over 9% of Amsterdam’s then about 750.000 inhabitants. The figure of “Black” inhabitants would differ somewhat because Suriname is more equally multiracial than Jamaica (including 45% Indians/Hindustani, or Javanese Indonesians). Furthermore, Antilleans and sub-Saharan Africans (quite present as well in Amsterdam), should then be included. Yet, since most Surinamers in Amsterdam tend to be of African origin, the figure of Black inhabitants of Amsterdam would most probably turn out to be about 9%: higher than the around 6,3% of Birmingham.

Bristol (about 450.000 inhabitants), to compare further within Britain, has an estimated 20.000 persons of Jamaican background, while Manchester (somewhat larger than Bristol) about 10.000 (about 2%). Maybe these demographic differences explain why I’ve heard about internationally known reggae bands with members of Jamaican backgrounds from London (Misty In Roots, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Aswad and others), Birmingham (e.g. Steel Pulse, partly UB40, also dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah), Bristol (e.g. Black Roots, Joshua Moses), even Wolverhampton (Macka B), but not from Manchester. But maybe that’s coincidence, and there are some reggae artists from there as well. Researching I found out that Trevor Roots (which I have heard of) comes from Manchester, as well as the Nucleus Roots I heard of.

Back to Birmingham, and my recent visit to it.. I liked the overall “vibe” in the city, and saw indeed how Birmingham was multicultural: regarding its habitants and in other aspects, such as cultural venues and restaurants. There even seemed some mixture of races. I write “even”, because this is throughout Europe and North America still not so common: multiculturalism tends to mean: different cultures separate from each other, not mixing.

We ate a good, delicious meal at a Jamaican restaurant (Caribana) in the south of Birmingham’s city centre. I’ve been to Jamaica for some weeks, and ate Jamaican food almost daily then, so it was not totally new for me, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. What’s pleasant to the senses will remain as such.

Photo underneath: view of central Birmingham, from Bristol Street. Close to a Jamaican restaurant (Caribana) where we ate. On the left you see (the black building) a part of the music venue 0 2 Academy (formerly Birmingham Academy and Hummingbird)

BIRMINGHAM AND REGGAE

That brings me to another aspect of Jamaican culture and its relation to Birmingham: music, specifically reggae. I knew vaguely the connection of bands UB40 and Steel Pulse to Birmingham. I was never the biggest fan in the world of UB40, save for some nice songs – especially their earlier work and some nice, later original songs. I did not like most of their covers of Jamaican originals: not as good as the Jamaican originals, in my opinion. I liked Steel Pulse more, although also differing per album.

STEEL PULSE

Some of my favourite Steel Pulse songs are ‘Stepping Out’, ‘Rally Round’, and (from an earlier album) ‘Babylon Makes The Rules’. Their song ‘Klu Klux Klan’ is also among their better work, I think. I heard especially the more recent songs ‘Stepping Out’ and ‘Rally Round’ being played recently in reggae clubs in my hometown Amsterdam. Some people like the Steel Pulse tune ‘Roller Skates’ as one of their best songs. It has - as I write this - over two million hits on YouTube! I however find that song ‘Roller Skates’ a bit overrated. ‘Babylon Makes The Rules’ is in my opinion a better song and has “only” 288.000 hits, as I write this. The song ‘Klu Klux Klan’ - also relatively better in my opinion - does “not even” reach the 200.000 hits at present. This does not necessarily mean much, but it shows how tastes can differ among listeners.

Two million Youtube hits seems much in reggae, considering that great, classic Jamaican reggae songs like the Mighty Diamonds’ ‘I Need A Roof’, and Don Carlos’ ‘Just A Passing Glance’ – both big hits in Jamaica itself and internationally popular among reggae fans – do not reach even the 500.000 hits on YouTube at this moment.

Mark H. Harris, who for a time had a Reggae Reviews website, pointed out that Steel Pulse “cursed itself” as they began strong with their debut album Handsworth Revolution (1978), which he finds a classic. He opines that consequent albums of Steel Pulse were comparably less in quality than their strong debut, with weaker songs, and even amateurish here and there, or too commercial in some cases, though he says they would regain their form on later stronger albums. Here you can read his opinions on Steel Pulse albums. I partly, but not entirely, agree with him, though to be honest I haven’t heard all Steel Pulse albums or songs he mentions.

http://www.reggae-reviews.com/steelpulse.html

My favourite British-based reggae act, however, would overall be Misty In Roots, and they were/are London-based. But, more than this: my love for reggae was – from the beginning – mainly focussed on Jamaican reggae. I heard about other reggae fans getting into reggae through British reggae or ska (UB40, Steel Pulse, Aswad, Selecter, Specials a.o.). This was not the case with me: it started and stayed with reggae from Jamaica itself. In time, however, I listened to British-based reggae as well, which at times I liked.

This later and secondary interest for British-based reggae might show in the fact that beyond “mainstream” UB40, and more “rootical” - though still with some “mainstream” feel sometimes - Steel Pulse, I knew relatively little about Birmingham reggae acts. I have heard about Dub Poet Benjamin Zephaniah, but did not really realize he was originally from Handsworth, Birmingham. Zephaniah said the atmosphere in Handsworth was dominantly Jamaican when he grew up in that district of Birmingham. He even called Handsworth “the capital of Jamaica in Europe”.

To be honest, I did at first not even know that Handsworth – as in the good Steel Pulse song ‘Handsworth Revolution’ – referred to a specific Birmingham quarter, not far north of the city centre, and with relatively many Jamaican inhabitants. I did know more about the geography of Kingston, Jamaica (which I have also actually visited much earlier than Birmingham), ironically much farther away from my hometown Amsterdam than Birmingham...

After some research, I found that Ruby Turner (that I know a bit from) was also from Birmingham, as well as toasters Pato Banton, and Apache Indian (of ‘Boom Shack-A-Lack’ fame), but I never really got into these latter artists. Also Beshara was a reggae band with some popularity from Birmingham (lovers rock, but also some roots and Rastafari-inspired lyrics). I have, I admit, until recently never heard of Beshara. What I recently heard from Beshara on YouTube sounded good to me.

I have heard, however, from the Musical Youth, having an international hit as young children with a remake of the Mighty Diamonds’ ’Pass the Kutchie’, under the name ‘Pass the Dutchie' (that is: replacing the ganja reference with a reference to a type of cooking pot). Musical Youth were also from Birmingham. I did not really know that. I live and I learn..

But besides my personal, partly limited knowledge, - which says most about me and my own preferences -, many do point out that Birmingham has since long a quite vibrant reggae scene, since the 1970s, and up to the present. There are presently, in 2013, in Birmingham reggae-minded studios and production houses active, that are connected with the Jamaican reggae scene, and that are successful with their reggae productions. This post on the Birmingham reggae scene of another blogger is interesting in this regard:

http://radiotogo.blogspot.nl/2012/04/birmingham-reggae-production-houses-and.html

Steel Pulse is also still active by the way, though band members have changed over time.

After doing more research and seeing a few documentaries I found out more about the Birmingham reggae scene since the 1970s. I found out that Birmingham’s popular culture and subcultures reflect the multicultural character of Birmingham’s population. This is perhaps predictable. Somewhat more special is that from this multiculturalism also developed mixtures of the different cultures. Even some globally relatively rare mixtures. Not only that many white British youths got into ska and reggae and were influenced by Jamaican or Black culture (including skinheads and Punks)….that is quite well-known by now. But also some black youth from Birmingham were influenced by the Punk subculture, apparently. Also, the Bhangra music genre – based on Punjabi/Indian/Pakistani traditional music, and then modernized - was influenced by Black music genres like reggae and funk in Birmingham. Birmingham is known by the way as the hotbed of this hybrid Bhangra music genre.

Examples of cultures “mixing” beyond just coexisting as a further dimension of multiculturalism, and which can have good, or at least innovative, effects..

The interesting recently appeared documentary ‘Made in Birmingham: Reggae Punk Bhangra’ (2010) – entirely on YouTube - pays quite some attention to the important Birmingham reggae scene since the 1970s, as well as to other genres and subcultures with which it intermixed. It shows how reggae was influential within the whole popular music scene of Birmingham, influencing also Punk, and discusses the said cultural mixtures.

A (historical) compilation album of “Birmingham reggae” songs by various artists, along the lines of the compilation album on the ‘Bristol Reggae Explosion’ - which I mentioned on my blog post on Bristol of June 2011 - seems therefore an excellent idea.

Buddy sung but unsung

I gathered my early knowledge about reggae music when I was about 10 years old, if I recall well. Quite predictably, it was a tape of a Bob Marley album - given by my brother’s friend - that led to deeper knowledge about reggae. Bob Marley’s album Kaya and soon after Burning, Confrontation and other albums. This knowledge became connected with a love for it. As with all true love, increased knowledge also increased the love.

In my mind I never set Bob Marley apart from the wider reggae genre. A recurring critique throughout this blog, as some may have noticed, is that I find that Bob Marley is too often set apart at a supposedly higher level as presumably better, than other reggae. Like it is the cream of the crop, and the rest to be ignored or at least of lesser value. Maybe Chris Blackwell would not mind this wrong idea too much, but I do.

I repeat again that there are several equally talented and great artists within reggae and Jamaican music: before, during, and after Bob. This is not to deny that Bob was a great artist - because he was - and an important one in spreading reggae internationally! I just do not like that particular commercial interests, or subtle forms of racism (since Bob was half-white, and most other reggae artists black), lead to misconceptions among eventual fans.

Therefore I would like to “honour”, if you will, another reggae act in this post, a group/artist that in my personal history helped to strengthen my love for reggae not less than Bob. A group that actually increased my broader love for reggae, especially roots reggae. I am talking about the Wailing Souls.

ON THE ROCKS

Not long after I began to listen to Bob Marley albums (when I was about 10 years old, so around 1984) – within the same year - my brother bought the then recently released (vinyl) album On The Rocks (1983) by the Wailing Souls. I was soon intrigued by it, and liked the sound. Especially the “super catchy” ‘Stop Red Eye’ was a tune on that album that caught me immediately. It is not too exaggerated to say that this album eventually changed my life.

For not just that song I liked, but in fact most on the album. It overall appealed to me even more than the Bob Marley albums I listened before. Maybe it was the somewhat rawer, less-polished harmony sound of the Wailing Souls that attracted me. It sounded more authentic, somehow. Again knowledge and love interrelated: I read all the lyrics on the album sleeve, improved my English and even Jamaican Patois.

I read on the sleeve of On The Rocks not only the lyrics, but also the names of the members and of the musicians, and of the song writers. All this betrayed my curiosity for the world and (often Rastafari-inspired) people behind the album on that Caribbean island. This song was written by member Winston “Pipe” Matthews, the other by Lloyd “Bread” McDonald, others by George “Buddy” Haye. Even these nicknames intrigued me in a way. Each Wailing Souls member sang their own song, and I noticed vocal differences between these singers.

In the early cementing of my love for reggae music this album On The Rocks was thus crucial. Still, along with my brother and friend, I began to explore several other artist in the broad reggae realm: Eek-A-Mouse, Yellowman, Burning Spear, Culture, Israel Vibration, Lee Perry, Ini Kamoze. I remember there was a more or less intense Gregory Isaacs-listening period as well .. So much to keep up to within reggae, and so we – and I - forgot a bit about the Wailing Souls.

FIRE HOUSE ROCK

Forgot not really: some years later: a record collection (still the vinyl days, around 1988) at the house of a well-travelled Spanish friend of my mother was broad and international qua genres, but had quite a lot of reggae. Just looking through the records I saw names I often knew, but albums I did not have/know. It was there that I encountered another Wailing Souls album that I did not really know yet: Fire House Rock (from 1981). I copied it on cassette (relax, I know it is illegal: later I bought it, so..), and soon fell in love with it. Again the names Pipe, Bread and Buddy, with also Garth Dennis (as on On The Rocks) for important harmony vocals. I liked most songs on Fire House Rock… I was then about 15 years old, and after years this album got me since then again listening intensively to the Wailing Souls.

CONTINUING REGGAE TRAJECTORY

Now it’s about 23 years later and I went on on my trajectory of life. I have remained a reggae fan and always considered reggae broadly, with a focus on Roots Reggae: I had a sort of intensive “Culture period” between I believe 2001 and 2005 (focussing on/listening relatively more to the group Culture with Joseph Hill) – which was stimulated by several great concerts I visited of Culture in Amsterdam - , but mostly it was broadly oriented, and I variated between different roots icons: Burning Spear, Gladiators, Jacob Miller, Horace Andy, Israel Vibration, Mighty Diamonds, Hugh Mundell, Lee Perry, Culture, Black Uhuru, Augustus Pablo, and an occasional early dancehall... In time I added some artists we (that is: me and the people I then use to “hang” with) – and I personally – had not gotten around to listen so much before, like Alton Ellis, Sugar Minott, Abyssinians, even some older rocksteady, or early dancehall dee-jay’s. More recently I got into (some) modern dancehall and even more the New Roots (Capleton, Sizzla, Richie Spice).

And yes, between all this I also bought more albums of the Wailing Souls that I did not have yet, or that were released later..

THE WAILING SOULS’ STORY

The Wailing Souls had gone through changes over these years, though, as other groups have. I noticed on their albums from the late 1980s and 1990s, that some members had left the group and only two remained: Winston Matthews (or “Pipe”, the main songwriter historically) and Lloyd McDonald (or “Bread). Later I heard they had settled in California, USA. Apparently due to musical and social changes in Jamaica the members found unpleasant.

As a fan I followed news about the group. I read about what reggae historians had to say about the Wailing Souls. These writers/experts - like David Katz, Roger Steffens, Beth Lesser, or Steve Barrow - all describe how the Wailing Souls were formed in the poor, ghetto area of Trench Town in western Kingston. The place “where singers come from”. Some say it even is the place where reggae music actually was “born”, but some contest this as too simplistic. Trench Town had at least a strong influence on reggae’s formation.

TRENCH TOWN

The reason that singers came relatively more from Trench Town is, well, poverty. Poor people search a way out of the ghetto through music and by expressing themselves. That might seem self-evident. But also particularly singers, instead of instrument players: that also relates to poverty: Trench Town and other ghetto people could in most cases not afford musical instruments, beyond maybe a guitar, often even self-made. Buying modern instruments as used in music studios in Kingston, and being schooled in them, was often more affordable for people with more money, a steady income, and more or less a “middle class” position, living in wealthier “uptown”.

Trench Town and other ghetto (Waterhouse e.g.) people without such means instead specialized and improved their vocal skills and with that auditioned for the studios elsewhere in Kingston, hoping to be able to record a song with the musicians and producer there.

That is how the Wailing Souls began, having honed their vocal harmony skills with the influential musical and vocal teacher Joe Higgs, in the Trench Town part of Kingston. The same Joe Higgs who also assisted and taught Bob Marley, the Wailers, and other artists in this regard (harmony vocals) in Trench Town.

(A view of Trench Town. I took this photo in 2008)

This history is quite well explained by the reggae historians/experts I mentioned before. These historians also mention Winston Matthews as the main person and songwriter of the Wailing Souls, attributing the band’s successes - first they had big hits in Jamaica, later they became internationally known - to the songwriting talents of Winston Matthews. “Though also other members like Lloyd McDonald and George Haye provided strong songs”, or something along these lines, is often added to this.

The Wailing Souls much later, meanwhile having settled in California, had a lesser moment when they wrote songs for the in itself entertaining 1993 Hollywood movie ‘Cool Runnings’, on a Jamaican bobsled team. The songs for that movie were in my opinion too crossover and polished, and less “rootical” than their other works. Luckily they kept making “realer”, rootsy reggae soon after this (later 1990s and 2000s), so my respect for them overall remained intact. They “kept it real” or in this case maybe “returned to the real”.

COMPARISONS

Even some reggae historians who know that reggae is much more than just Bob Marley and the Wailers, compared the Wailing Souls to the Wailers. Not just because of similar band names or that they were also from Trench Town, but also musically. Some compared the singing voice of particularly (oft-lead singer) Winston Matthews to Bob Marley. The sophisticated harmony singing, taught by Joe Higgs - who also taught the Wailers - of the group was also compared to the Wailers.

Why these comparisons? Seemingly it was meant as a compliment. Yet I would rather say that Matthews sings good because he sings good, not because his singing sounds somewhat (not even so much) like Bob Marley’s . I think Matthews has a more “melancholic” quality to his singing than Marley’s. The harmony vocals are maybe in some ways comparable, but neither overly similar to the Wailers (Peter, Bunny and Bob). Personally, I liked the harmony vocals of the Wailing Souls overall more than those of the Wailers, actually, for being more melodically varied.

So let’s please stop the nonsensical “it’s good reggae because it sounds like Bob Marley & the Wailers” dogma. The same dogma that made Grammy or even specialized reggae awards recently go relatively most to Marley’s sons, and rarely to equally talented Jamaican reggae artists toiling for years (though Black Uhuru and Burning Spear were positive exceptions).

Maybe this shows that the Spanish expression: “las comparaciones son odiosas” (meaning: comparisons are hateful) has some truth in it. Comparisons are often hateful indeed. Also because it fits with my earlier mentioning of the interrelation between knowledge and love: if you compare something away, you no further have to know more about it, let alone love it..

Okay, Matthews’s aching, slightly hoarse but nice voice does have some similarities with Marley’s singing. McDonald’s singing voice is “clearer” and “mellower” by comparison. The other who sang regularly, George Haye, had also an aching, slighty hoarse voice (like Matthews), but tending more toward a “chanting” Burning Spear or Joseph Hilll-like voice and a bit more “rasping”, when compared to Matthews. Interesting how the members of the vocal groups complement each other.

RESEARCH

Researching the Wailing Souls I found that there was much attention to the central role in the Wailing Souls of founding member Winston Matthews: indeed he wrote and sang most songs after all. But “most” here means about 50% of all songs (sometimes he wrote songs with Bread). The other songs were in most cases either written and/or sung by mostly Lloyd “Bread” McDonald or George “Buddy” Haye. The strong songwriting skills of Matthews are also heralded in several publications by different reggae experts (from the extensive ‘Rough Guide To Reggae’ to works by David Katz, Roger Steffens, Beth Lesser and others). In itself I agree with this: Matthews wrote several great songs (e.g. ‘Busnah’, ‘Bredda Gravalicious’ a.o.), among my all-time favourites.

Lloyd “Bread” McDonald wrote good songs and sings well. Bread would by the way appear on the much-promoted documentary ‘Marley’ (2012), directed by his namesake Kevin McDonald (did the latter’s foreparents own slaves in Jamaica perhaps?). Bread got thus some exposure, though degraded to serving Marley’s story. With Pipe and Bread as remaining Wailing Souls since the 1990s several interviews were held with them, especially in the last 10 years, also to be found online.

REUNION

Further following reggae news, I heard that the Wailing Souls reunited again in 2007: older member Garth Dennis rejoined with the remaining two members then for concerts, after last having worked and sang together in the early 1980s. Rudolph “Garth” Dennis was long a harmony singer in the Wailing Souls (since the 1970s) – not unimportant for the total sound of course - , but he did not write too much songs: mainly the good tune ‘Slow Coach’ on the 1979 album Wild Suspense, which he also sang. Garth Dennis received more media attention also because he released a solo album around that period (2007). I am quite curious about it.

The other early member of the foursome that was Wailing Souls in those earlier days, George “Buddy” Haye, did not really join this 2007 reunion (he was still alive then to my knowledge), and somewhere remained “out of the picture”, or kept a lower profile. I did not find out if he was still musically active somehow from 2007 onward.

BUDDY

Haye was already with Matthews and McDonald in a precursor to the Wailing Souls under the name the Renegades, recording since the 1960s, Ska and Rocksteady days. He was there when the Renegades (with Pipe and Bread) recorded their very first single ‘You’ve Lost The Love’ (around 1965).

Reggae historians and experts, such as those I mentioned before, seem to have less to say about Haye than about the other band members. They do tell how Haye went to art school in Jamaica, and began in time to focus on his art, indicating at times that he had therefore less time for rehearsals in the band. His stay with the Wailing Souls was probably for that reason (other art activities?) interrupted between 1968 and 1974, but he rejoined in 1974, and stayed with the Wailing Souls up to 1984, contributing to a number of albums. The last album he worked on for the Wailing Souls was the strong Stranded album from 1984 (contributing three songs, besides of course crucial harmony vocals).

I understood he later went to live in Los Angeles.

INITY

Does this matter? Maybe the strength of the Wailing Souls was their unity (as in the word “harmony” of harmony vocals), and strong personalities combined into one strength: no competition. Mind you: we are talking about a “harmony vocal” group: the combined voices is what makes this group’s material strong, not just one voice.

This unity among the Wailing Souls seemed so strong that on some albums it was not even mentioned if specific individuals sang or wrote songs. On the early 1980s albums Inchpinchers and Face The Devil, for instance, all songs were credited to be written by ‘the (all?) Wailing Souls’ (also on discographical websites giving credits info). More than disregard, this might be a refreshing lack of ego competition: “I an I is equal”.

On other albums individual credits were however mentioned, so this seems inconsistent.

LESS ATTENTION

Either way, it nonetheless surprises me a bit that nowadays George "Buddy" Haye gets less media and scholarly/journalistic attention in the “reggae world” than Garth Dennis (who in the earlier Wailing Souls wrote less songs and sung less lead vocal than Haye), but that is partly because Dennis was also involved in the formation of another legendary Jamaican group, Black Uhuru, and because he recently has released a solo album. (And because he unlike Haye rejoined the two remaining Wailing Souls in 2007, as I already mentioned).

I think, however, that Haye was in fact also quite important for the Wailing Souls, but also for my love of reggae personally. This because the song ‘A Fool Will Fall’, on Wailing Souls’ Fire House Rock album was written and sung by him. Other songs of him I heard before are also among my favourites: ‘Baga Trouble’,’ Jah Is Watching You’, and ‘Wild Suspense’ (interesting fact: ‘Wild Suspense’ takes its lyrics from a Marcus Garvey poem, ‘The tragedy of white injustice’). On the album Stranded especially Haye’s song ‘From Sunrise To Sunset’ is a good, melancholic (in the good sense of the word) tune. Also other songs he penned on other albums were mostly good, though it is often hard to find out if he wrote the songs, due to the combined credit info I mentioned.

A problem with the latter is that less-seasoned Wailing Souls’ listeners might not recognize Haye’s voice (when not mentioned in the credits/info): his vocals are like I earlier said a bit similar to Matthews’ singing voice though somewhat more…how do I put it.. “rasping”. I’m curious if someone who knows something about the Wailing Souls’ reading this might recognize Haye’s lead vocals on specific songs of the early Studio One recordings and on the albums Face The Devil and Inchpinchers..

I can understand that you also might say ”it does not matter: I & I live in one Inity… Rasta bredren a one"…, but the beauty of such Inity lies in respect for the constituting “I’s” or I-ses (Rasta term for personalities), that then came together in I and I.

Therefore I think it’s a pity that Haye/Buddy got and gets less attention than the other members of the Wailing Souls.

Maybe he himself chose to withdraw from the active music scene. Yet, when a person had made such good songs, with also strong lyrics, I automatically get more intrigued about the person behind the singer/songwriter. This is not just me, of course: as other art, music is a human-to-human interaction, is about connecting souls, and others might have it with other artists they feel somehow connected to.

Like I said I’ve searched on the Internet and read. I even e-mailed known reggae historian David Katz. I was glad he answered me, but unfortunately he did not know too much about George “Buddy” Haye either.

Buddy apparently lives now in Los Angeles, and I further gathered through writings some knowledge about his general biography, unfortunately without much details. I did not find anything on the Internet about the (visual?) art he was said to be involved in for decades. Perhaps I hoped to find an enthralling painting with Rastafari imagery by Haye, haha: from sonic to visual art, so to speak. Or a sculpture or installation by him, who knows.

On YouTube I found only one, short film of Buddy alone when he had become older (without knowing for sure if he was still musically active then), and a few older films of him as part of the Wailing Souls when still a foursome, and filmed before 1984, when he was still part of them. An example is from a BBC documentary, presented by Jools Holland (Wailing Souls performing on the Jamaican streets the Haye-penned song ‘Peace and Love Shall Reign’).

Being a “fan” of an artist is by definition personal and subjective. I think Haye wrote the kind of roots reggae songs that I loved, and sang in a way I liked too. Songs that connected to me, and that “spoke to my heart”, to use an appropriate cliché. I also find his conscious, Rastafari-inspired and philosophical lyrics intelligent: “The world has been uneven yeah, save the massive poor people oh yeah” (from the song 'Baga Trouble'), and the effective “It was the act of affection that puts my love into motion”: seemingly simple yet conveying a deeper, human wisdom. Or the strong, philosophical opening line of the classic song 'A Fool Will Fall':

“A lying tongue is just for a moment. And Righteousness is an everlasting foundation”..

(George “Buddy” Haye, ‘A Fool Will Fall’, 1981)

This line, maybe along with the opening line of Bob Marley’s song 'Rebel Music' (“Oh why can’t we row this open country..Why can’t we be what we want to be? We want to be free”) more or less summarizes also my own life philosophy. It speaks to me that much..

Also the line “It’s true we have been misled..knowing right from wrong” (from the song 'Peace and Love Shall Reign') intrigues me. These are the kind of lyrics I like so much in much roots reggae: Rastafari-inspired, which consists of a spirituality, but still connected with humanity and critical of social reality and injustice..

A FOOL WILL FALL

'A Fool Will Fall', from the Fire House Rock album, is my favourite George Haye song. It is not just my favourite Buddy tune, it is my favourite Wailing Souls tune (though there are close contenders like ‘Busnah’, ‘Mr Big More’ , ‘Bredda Gravalicious’ a.o.). I can even say that it was, and still is!, actually one of my favourite reggae songs ever. And of all genres, for that matter…

What makes this song so excellent, in my opinion? It's also interesting to analyze this in light of the fact that I also write songs myself for quite some time (this way I can learn too). I think it is the combination of a slow “rockers” riddim by the Roots Radics band – who had a sort of “sparse” sound -, the strength of the lyrics, the well-placed and creative harmony and call-and-response vocals (as on many Wailing Souls’ songs), and the engaging, emotive voice of Buddy.

But a good song is also determined by a good general structure, as experienced songwriters can tell you. A basic “verse-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus” structure is only part of the story. A good song is not a purely rational – or objective – thing of course. Nonetheless some objective “guidelines” can be gleaned: a dramatic development toward the chorus (as climactic/high-point), which synthesizes the central lyrical message, and often this chorus is in higher notes (an higher octave), parallel with the symbolic “high-point” it represents. And with more harmony vocals at the chorus.

The Wailing Souls often make good use of “bridges” in the song structure (between verse and chorus). This is good to point out, because in the later 1980s and 1990s experienced Jamaican musicians began complaining how some new dee-jay’s and singers came with simpler songs to the studio than before: just one- or two-chord tunes, lacking a bridge, and built around perhaps a catchy hook or two. This type of song often is less enduring, gets old sooner, and speaks less to the soul and heart than more complex songs (as in roots reggae was more common up to then), although the simple melodic structure is sometimes compensated well with rhythmic complexity and power (changing the balance).

Other aspects that can make a song good relate to technical musical details like chord progression and a returning ”tonic note” in the main chord (e.g. G-minor), that returns throughout the song at the right moments, providing rest-points or anchors. Technical details, but for the musical feel often important.

All these aspects seem present in most Wailing Souls’ songs, reason why their songs are often outstanding and enduring, while the Wailing Souls' well-chosen harmonies, personal vocals, and distinct reggae rhythms gives them at the same time unique qualities.

The song ‘A Fool Will Fall’ has in my opinion all these good, enduring characteristics of a classic. It is “outstanding among the outstanding”, so to speak, and George “Buddy” Haye’s voice singing on ‘A Fool Will Fall’ has some qualities making the song a bit more “mystic”, or “dreader”, when compared to the tunes by Matthews or McDonald on Fire House Rock, that are nonetheless good in other ways.

Therefore: ”Buddy” will, whatever he is doing now, always remain my “soul buddy”. Music - and the fact that it is recorded - can be such a beautiful, connecting thing..

(What I have found of George "Buddy" Haye on YouTube I have assembled in this Playlist on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBiUHLE6GUMh9M58lOWwsQyJ8SywXWUYS)

Reggae music lovers (in the Netherlands): Bill

INTRODUCTION

How people got to be reggae music lovers or fans has always fascinated me. Maybe partly because reggae still is off/outside the mainstream, also in the Netherlands. It is not found that easily, let’s just say. It requires (to a degree) an extraordinary life path: that is, different from copying the masses, or simply following what’s commonly on television or the radio.

Reggae has of course since decades gone international and widened its fan base, but I have known individually quite different reggae fans within the Netherlands. Black and white (and Asian, or mixed etc.). Males and females. Old and young. Some with little education, some highly educated. Of different class backgrounds. Some combine liking reggae quite equally with other genres (e.g.: some with African, funk, soul, some with hip-hop, some even with non-black music genres), while others on the other hand adhere almost “strictly” to reggae music, and do not get into much else. Some like roots reggae more than dancehall or vice versa. There are even reggae fans – believe it or not - who do not smoke the “ganja herb”. Furthermore, some have an interest or sympathy for the related subject of Rastafari, some do not, or even despise it. The latter, despise, I find somewhat odd since Rastafari is not the same as reggae, but is nonetheless connected to it.

These differences (and similarities) between and among reggae fans/lovers intrigue me, also in relation to personal backgrounds. That’s the reason why I would like to interview specific individuals who love reggae.

About 10 months ago – a post on this blog of 5th of June 2012 - I started this series by interviewing my “bredda” (Jamaican Patois for “brother”, but also “friend” or “mate”) Abenet, who was in his late 20s (see: http://michelconci.blogspot.nl/2012/06/reggae-music-lovers-in-netherlands.html).

This time I interview another “bredda” of mine, Bill.

BILL

Bill is a younger bredda who as I write this is 18 years old. His full name is Bill van Oostrom. He is a DJ (or “Selector” in reggae/Jamaican parlance) of mostly reggae music, playing and selecting songs in different clubs and at different reggae- and/or dub-minded events in and around Amsterdam. His DJ name is (Selectah) Ill Bill.

That is more or less how I first met him: Bill, a younger, Dutch guy with short to medium-length dreadlocks, was at one time “Selecting”, being the DJ, or – as some say - “spinning”, in a reggae-minded club in central Amsterdam (while I was there). But I encountered him more and more after this, since late 2012: at a Mad Professor concert in Amsterdam, other reggae concerts (e.g. of Ziggi), or King Shiloh sound system sessions. And at other times when he worked as DJ/Selector at reggae-minded clubs (e.g. Frontline or Café The Zen) I visited regularly in Amsterdam.

Ill Bill was also one of the Dee Jays at the 10 Years Anniversary party of the (Dutch-based) reggae organization the Black Star Foundation. This party/event named ‘A Decade Of Reggae Music’ was held the 22 of March of 2013, at concert venue the Melkweg in Amsterdam. Dutch and Jamaican reggae artists like Joggo, Vivian Jones, and Spectacular performed at that event on stage.

In short: I know him from the broad reggae scene in Amsterdam, as both DJ and visitor..

Since I heard him “select” tunes (mostly old-time vinyl, by the way) as a DJ in clubs and at several parties, I already got a vague idea of his preferences within reggae. Talking to him in person it was specified more, as well as through (modern times!) Facebook posts by him of songs. Often the songs he either played or linked to I liked as well. Sometimes he pointed me to names I did not know. Partly, our reggae tastes seem similar.

Still, there is enough that remains unknown to me about Bill as a reggae lover, about the person behind the DJ Ill Bill. That’s why I asked him some deeper questions.

TRAJECTORY

Bill estimates he got into reggae really somewhere between his 10th or 12th birthday, at first mostly listening to music of Bob Marley, as well as Dutch-based reggae acts Beef and Ziggi (Recado). Alongside reggae his musical tastes were, at first, varied and he then also listened to hip-hop, rock, grunge, or pop.

He relates that what strongly appealed to him in reggae was the “relaxed vibe” that combined with rebellious lyrics and messages. He also found the apparent “simplicity” of reggae to be - in fact - powerful.

In time he started to specialize and “delve deeper” into reggae. It was around when he was 15 year of age that Bob Marley became less interesting, too well-known for him, and he started checking out other reggae artists who were at their prime at the time: Sizzla, Buju Banton, Capleton and others. He got to like them, and around that time (around his 16th) he had become a DJ, starting to focus then more on Dancehall Reggae, and he got into that: including the type of dancehall with “slackness” lyrics.

He explains how he by then understood the lyrics – in Jamaican Patois and English - better, also of this type of Dancehall. He found out that the lyrics consisted indeed too often of “slackness”, meaning often boastful, and violence- and sex-themed lyrics. He did not appreciate this slackness so much, and got bored with it.

DUB

He tells how he then searched other directions, but still within the broad reggae realm. In his school, the new, not quite reggae, but reggae-influenced genre of ‘Dubstep’ was then upcoming and had fans. Through this Bill got interested in deeper origins of this Dubstep: namely more original reggae 'Dub', as it arose since the Roots Reggae era in Jamaica, in the 1970s, pioneered by King Tubby and developed by Lee Perry and others, and later variants in Britain, such as by Mad Professor and the Vibronics. He really got into dub.

The phat echoes and heavy, pounding bass lines of dub was “what he really was searching”, he states. I imagine he partly means the kind of bass that you, with piled up, large speakers (sound system style), feel vibrating through your whole body, especially your belly.

..AND MORE

This does not mean that Bill since then only likes dub. It is only one of the types of reggae he got into. In fact, he points out how he is a big fan of vocal songs combined with dub versions. It was long common in Jamaican music, in the vinyl age, to have a vocal song followed by an instrumental or dub version of it. This became customary for many Jamaican records since around 1968. Interestingly, Bill says that this dub version of a song actually gives you time to think better about the A-side with vocals, that played before.

Bill surely has maintained this strong attention toward lyrics, also of the tunes he plays as DJ. He presently even claims he knows all the lyrics of all the tunes he ever played/spinned as DJ/Selector! That’s remarkable.

He thus likes Jamaican Dub, and e.g. UK Steppers Dub, but equally - vocal - original Roots Reggae, and Early Dancehall.

VINYL

I saw and heard Bill play (spin) mostly “old-time” vinyl records. That is an observation not a critique. I myself in fact slightly prefer the sound of “vinyl” as well: it just feels as if it makes the music flow better. I think that flow got lost a bit between the O’s and 1’s of digital transcription of sonic waves.

Bill says however he is not a Strictly Vinyl Selector, though I initially thought this. He confirms that recently he prefers vinyl, but he interchanges it still at times with CD or digital music (wav, mp3).

He describes how precisely this switching from digital to vinyl music is a “magical” experience for him. For with vinyl, he gets more the feeling he literally “has the music in his hands”. Added to this, he points at the greater difficulty of mixing vinyl tracks (compared to digital tracks): making it a more interesting challenge for him as a DJ.

His DJ name is, as mentioned, DJ Ill Bill. Why “Ill” Bill?, I asked him. Like many unusual nicknames there is a good anecdote behind it: at the Magneet festival he was with Doctah-T of the Dub Doctors. Soon after he would join the Dub Doctors. As a kind of contradictory joke he presented himself as a doctor who is ill himself. Hence the name. Before this he went under the name DJ Buffalo Bill, but it became Ill Bill.

MUSICIAN

Bill is a Selector, but he is also occasionally a musician, you might say. He has been playing the guitar since he was 8 (thus: for about 10 years now). In addition, he is involved with production of especially electronic dub and Deep Sounds. He also enjoys playing the melodica at times.

He also makes/composes instrumental music, such as dub reggae songs. These, along with his mixes of reggae songs by various artists, can be found on his SoundCloud channel (see: http://soundcloud.com/dj-ill-bill-amsterdam)

Somewhat in line with this musical creativity, though more indirectly, he also spins/plays the reggae instrumental or dub music for others to toast, chat, or sing over. I have seen him spin and change the tunes and collaborate thus live in clubs for upcoming and more settled artists like Netherlands-based (but from Saba in the Caribbean) Rastaman and “cultural” Dee Jay (in the Jamaican reggae meaning of “vocalist”) One Root Freeman, as well as for known Jamaican artist King Kong. Ill Bill selected for both One Root Freeman and King Kong at the New Year’s Party (2012-2013) at Café the Zen in Amsterdam.

RASTAFARI

Bill tells me that the message and lyrics of Rastafari-inspired, “conscious” reggae, the message of “peace, love, unity, and equality” appeared as natural and self-evident to him, and were in sync with his way of being. That is why he loves reggae, he explains: it has a message which meant and means very much for him. Moreover, he says it shows that he is not the only one who sees in daily life things that are in fact wrong and unjust.

PRESENT

In the present Bill is a big, and really committed, reggae fan, listening to it on a daily basis and constantly, and also spends much time searching reggae records. He mentions that on his i-Pod (again: modern times!) he listens now to, e.g., Augustus Pablo, King Tubby, Johnny Clarke, Twinkle Brothers, Black Uhuru, Capleton, Ranking Dread, Kanka, and also to Nyahbinghi drumming like of the Sons of Negus.

CONCLUSION

Bill has in common with the reggae lover I interviewed before on my blog, Abenet, the same importance he places on “positivity” in music and lyrics: Bill did say after all that he was put off and bored by slackness lyrics in much dancehall. Abenet saw aspects he could relate to within Rastafari, and Bill associates even more strongly with the Rastafari message.

Comparing with myself: what I suspected, based on my experienced and informed estimation (I try to avoid having prejudices), seems true: Bill’s taste in reggae is not too different from mine. Not identical, but close to my tastes. I also share the same association/identification with Rastafari, and find - like Bill - intelligent, socially conscious lyrics important.

Musically we seem to have a lot in common as well. A difference is maybe that I like Dub a bit less than Bill (only some selected dub albums and songs), and tend to be also more vocally oriented. I must say that I never got into UK Steppers too much, and even less into Dubstep or Jungle, but that’s me.. I do like some dubs of Augustus Pablo though, including with the melodica instrument, so that I do have in common with Bill, who likes to play the melodica now and then.

In common we also have our love for Roots Reggae, and Early Dancehall in the broad sense. More specific I also like the strong chatting “flow” of Capleton, and I am also a fan of Black Uhuru, to mention some artists Bill said were on his i-Pod. I have never heard before of Kanka, though, another name Bill mentioned. It turns out to be Dub-like.

Since I play bongos (percussion) my interest in Nyahbinghi drumming increased as well, just like Bill listens to it, though I always have been interested in drum patterns, and “grooves”, since I was very young.

All in all Bill has a lot of love for reggae, showing in a strong, sincere commitment to and interest in reggae music and culture, in all its variety, as well as in Rastafari and lyrics. It also made him quite knowledgeable about the genre and related themes. These seem to me good characteristics for someone who is a Reggae Selector/DJ at different venues and events..

Lioness On The Rise

One of my favourite “new” reggae songs, is ‘Times Like These’ by Queen Ifrica. It was released in 2011 and is a crucial tune! Dancing to this is better than sex (there I said it, haha). Besides its fitness for helping you “rock your body line”, it also has intelligent, conscious lyrics, and is a good composition, and is well sung: “singjay” style more or less, and soulful. I like how the vocals are varied: even the chatting/dee-jaying (or: toasting) part has layers and bridges.

Interesting are certainly also the opening lines spoken by Marcus Garvey. That could very well be Marcus Garvey’s actual voice: some recordings were made back then of Garvey’s speeches in the 1920s (and around). These are to be found on YouTube as well. Predictably, the sound quality is not up to current standards, but it is audible.

I depart from Queen Ifrica’s song specifically also because she is a woman. She is a reggae artist and a Rastafari adherent. Both these areas (reggae and Rastafari) are said to be – overall – male-dominated. It is, however, I think a mistake to attribute this gender difference to African or black Jamaican music. Also White pop culture or music genres tend to be male-dominated and -defined: from country, to rock, to house, to heavy metal: generally led by men with a few exceptional women.

RASTAFARI AND GENDER RELATIONS

Rastafari is also described as male-dominated. The recent book 'Rastafari: a very short introduction' by Ennis B. Edmonds (Oxford University Press, 2012) makes a point of it, devoting a chapter to gender relations within Rastafari. Rastafari is male-led, Edmonds describes, and meant primarily as an emancipation movement of black men, while black women are expected in practice to have serving, secondary roles in the movement. They tend to enter the movement through males, Edmonds also writes. On the other hand, he also writes how this secondary female position has been questioned from the beginning in the Rastafari movement. Furthermore, the absence of too tight structures and rigid guidelines in Rastafari in practice leave the women more space than maybe some men want. Nonetheless, Edmonds points at the difference with other Afro-Jamaican spiritual traditions like Myal, Burru, Obeah, or Kumina where women tend to have more leading roles in religious practice.

BIBLE

As Edmonds also explains, Rastafari is partly focussed on the Bible, albeit specifically on rereading it from another (Black/African) perspective. This female subordination within the movement is thus based upon the Bible, more than on African retentions. Contrary to what some (want to) believe: gender relations were at the time of European colonialism (say: 18th c.) not more equal in Europe than in sub-Saharan Africa at the same time. Other authors have before and recently questioned the rigidity of this female subordination within Rastafari. These authors, such as Maureen Rowe, also acknowledge the male dominance in Rastafari, but point at changes and flexibility from the movement’s beginning. Over time more and more has changed, and since the late 1970s even some more structural changes toward gender equality have become evident. Since then women entered on their own in the Rastafari movement (not necessarily through a man anymore) and started to choose their own dressing and other ways.

The very readable recent book (with chapters by different authors) ‘Rastafari in the New Millennium’ (Syracuse University Press, 2012), edited by Michael Barnett, devotes a part (three chapters) to gender relations within Rastafari. In this work, also the Bible as inspiration for (most) Rastas is presented as source of female inequality. In the Bible women are presented throughout (mostly) as irresponsible factors, by bringing lust and corruption, thus disturbing men’s larger plans, starting of course with Eve eating the forbidden apple. In line with this the Bible propagates male control over women. Many Rastas follow the Bible in this regard, though some more loosely. The Twelve Tribes of Israel mansion (=subgroup) within Rastafari is relatively more Biblical or Christian-influenced – they believe in Christ and that Haile Selassie is a “reincarnation” of Christ. At the same time Twelve Tribes allowed to enter some “progressive vibes”, apparently, as women were eventually allowed there on ritual gatherings as equal to men earlier than in the other mansions/groups (Bobo Shanti, Nyabinghi), though also in these latter groups things are said to have changed. This change toward female equality generally set in more structurally since the late 1970s, and seems to meet not much resistance from Rastafari men or elders, allowing thus an increased independent female role within Rastafari in the present. Some inequalities remain though.

Even if Edmonds, and other authors, are partly right - though I think especially Edmonds exaggerates certain parts - one must be careful that such criticism will not be misinterpreted. How he formulated some gender aspects in Rastafari, especially Edmonds (Rowe and other authors less) – maybe without intending to – presented Rastafari as a type of macho, male vindication movement, born out of an unpleasant combination of male insecurity, patriarchal sense of superiority, and sexual frustration. This is also said (and more appropriately, I think) of Fundamentalist Islam and the Talibaan in Afghanistan. Female subordination by the way also applies to Hinduism, and to Christianity in earlier times for that matter.

Luckily it is not so bad and unequal in Rastafari as in these latter religious movements. Mainly because Rastafari is first and foremost a Black Power movement, emancipatory and liberating, largely born out of a response to colonialism, historical racism, and slavery. Secondly, because its structure is relatively loose.

Also should be realized that Rastafari developed (since the 1930s) in a Jamaican social context: gender inequalities in it are thus simply mostly similar to the norms in the surrounding society. This also applies to the taboo - or ban - on women preparing food when menstruating. It may be in part an African retention, though some point at (again) Biblical/Christian sources. Some say this ban on menstruating women cooking is for being polluting, others say – less harsh – that it is to spare these women the work and give her rest. The Bobo Shanti among other Rastas uphold this ban on menstruating women cooking – or even segregate menstruating women from men – but the same ban or taboo can be found to differing degrees also among non-Rastas elsewhere in Jamaica and the Caribbean historically (among Afro-Surinamers for instance, both Maroons and Creoles). If and/or how the commonly used swear words in Jamaican Patois, “Bombo Clat” or “Blood Clat” (both meaning “tampons”), relate to this I don’t know..

It is thus mainly from the Christian tradition, and aspects of male dominance in broader Jamaican society (in turn Christian-influenced) that gender inequality partly emanates. It is not unthinkable that this got combined with more individual male insecurities and frustrations. Dutch writer Arnon Grunberg once said, in the Dutch journal Vrij Nederland, that globally widespread hatred for women/misogyny in essence comes forth out of some kind of “fear” for women. While he wrote this in a quasi-ironic article, I think he had a good point.

DIFFERENT VIEWS

Jamaican Rastafari-adherent, dub poet, thinker and radio host Mutabaruka also critiqued the patriarchal characteristics in the Bible and of the main, institutionalized religions in this world (Christianity, Islam a.o.). He argues that the Bible and other such books were written by “insecure men”, wanting to keep women in their place or subdued. I think he certainly has a good point. He values earlier, “nature” religions, in Africa and elsewhere, for having had more attention to “feminine energy” - an energy supposed to be more aimed at sharing and caring than the male one -, a feminine energy repressed later so much with the Christian mind-set.. The latter Christian mind-set of course also shaped Rastafari (in part). The example of Mutabaruka, however, shows that also within Rastafari there are more or less pro-female thinkers, like Mutabaruka, but also others. Rastafari-inspired reggae lyrics are further rarely ever misogynist in nature, though some espouse conservative/traditional views on specific female clothing and behaviour. Such themes are not a main theme, however: criticism of Babylon (system), hypocrites, and criminals tend to be more important themes.

Edmonds in his guide to Rastafari does have a legitimate point, however, when he points at the contradiction of Rastafari setting out to question racist and European-defined notions of the Bible and Christianity, placing Africa and Black people first, while maintaining conservative notions of the subordinate woman from that very same Bible.

In any case, the two crucial, inspirational figures for Rastafari, Marcus Garvey and Haile Selassie I, were not known to be too patriarchal in their worldview. Their own writings, which I read, and documented actions do even point at – for their times – relatively progressive and equal views on women. Haile Selassie was the first Emperor of Ethiopia to be crowned together with his wife, Menen (in 1930).

Marcus Garvey even called Black women Goddesses and praised their virtues, such as in his 1927 poem The Black Woman (see http://thisismr.wordpress.com/2013/03/10/the-black-woman-by-marcus-garvey/). Despite being from an earlier generation, Garvey seemed thus more progressive than Malcolm X, who I find to be overall an interesting thinker, but who at times relegated black women too much to serving roles (to black men), as did the Nation of Islam as a whole.

Besides different opinions among Rastafari, it also is the case that clothing codes in most mansions were for long - and partly still are - stricter for females than for men. Some Rastas even protest against women wearing trousers/pants, while men are allowed to wear these. A similar hypocrisy as among many Muslims and conservative Christians: men dress as they want, but women’s dressing is under scrutiny of others. Even this has changed recently, though. A comparable hypocrisy is there with regard to sexual promiscuity, or having multiple sexual partners at the same time: accepted (to a point) for men – as in Jamaican society -, but much less accepted for women.

Also, certain rituals and gatherings within the Rastafari movement - especially more conservative groups - are – or were for long - only for men (drumming, reasoning), though there has come more flexibility in this over time. Also other African-derived traditions elsewhere in the Caribbean, such as in Cuba the Yoruba-based Santería folk religion (wherein for long only men could play the drums) had such exclusions. Similarly the Abakua secret societies (based on models from the Calabar region in Nigeria/Cameroon) found among Afro-Cubans, only allowed men as members: they even historically allowed white Cuban men before black women, oddly enough. Even in the motherland Africa itself, however, such pro-male, gender-based exclusions have in recent times been limited in these and other traditions. The African predecessor of the Afro-Cuban Abakua in the Calabar region, the Ekpe secret society, now allows women for instance.

In short: gender relations could be better – more equal - still in some terrains within Rastafari, but it’s far from “Talibaan-like”. Not even remotely. Now even less than in earlier times. Crucially: the gender inequality and secondary roles of women, may be here and there present, but are secondary, marginal, and not central to the Rastafari movement, which is primarily aimed at uplifting black people (of both sexes).

Queen Ifrica therefore is not a “token” nor an exceptional figure of any kind. She does not seem to be the “subservient” type of person to me (I don’t know her personally, but I assume this). And is not in any way out of place, neither within reggae, nor within Rastafari.

INFLUENTIAL WOMEN WITHIN RASTAFARI

Besides Empress Menen, Haile Selassie’s wife crowned together with him, for the Rastafari several other black women are influential, and are praised by them. One of these is Queen Nanny – the Maroon rebel woman who in the 18th c. fought against the British colonial system of slavery in Jamaica. Also the Nyabinghi order within Rastafari - an older, traditional group within Rastafari - is named after a (legendary) Queen in East Africa who fought white, European oppressors. Somewhat ironic in light of a female name-giver, some stricter Nyabinghi elders used to hold more segregationist, traditional views on women than other groups within Rastafari, but also that has changed. Queen Ifrica in her lyrics mentions also Miss Lou (Louise Bennet): an influential Jamaican female poet, who among other things popularized/emancipated the popular Patois language use as opposed to English.

INFLUENTIAL WOMEN WITHIN REGGAE

As I mentioned, like - for some odd reason - virtually every other (popular) music genre – white, black, or Asian - reggae is also male dominated. At least numerically. Most singers/artists recording were (and largely still are) men, most musicians are men, most studio owners and producers are men. Most, but not all. There were and are quite a few female singers and later deejays in Jamaican music, often writing their own songs: for instance Marcia Griffiths, Judy Mowatt, Hortense Ellis, Suzy Cadogan, Phyllis Dillon, Deborah Glasgow, Rita Marley, Sister Carol, Sister Nancy (of ‘Bam Bam’ fame: a song covered a lot, such as by Pliers), and Lady Saw. Later came Tanya Stephens (“It Is a Pity..”), Etana, and Queen Ifrica (and still later Jah9 and others). Outside of Jamaica (the US Virgin Islands) Rastafari woman Dezarie is worth checking out, because of her strong songs.

There is a gender difference, maybe, in that for especially the earlier cohort of women singers associations with men seemed more important for their careers (Marcia Griffiths worked with Bob Andy, Hortense Ellis is the sister of Alton Ellis, and Rita was of course Bob’s wife), than for the relatively more individually operating male singers in Jamaica. Sister Nancy is the sister of male reggae artist/deejay Brigadier Jerry, but she said her brother did not particularly help her get in the music business (no nepotism there, haha): she found her way herself. Sister Nancy by the way was the first popular female early dancehall dee-jay on her own. Also Queen Ifrica is the biological daughter of earlier singer (already in the ska and rocksteady days) Derrick Morgan, but favouritism or nepotism is not likely, since she did not really grow up with him. Besides this: the music in Jamaica is traditionally put to the test in the dancehall: this test for the public determines your popularity, not just strategic personal connections. A good example of an effective meritocracy!

Females entering the music scene might often be connected to male artists, but on the other hand, also most male reggae artists started their careers through differing contacts with producers and other artists. And then putting their music to the test of course..

Among the even more male world of producers in Jamaica, the most important female music producer in Jamaica was Sonia Pottinger, who produced records by Culture and other groups and artists. Instrumentalists and musicians are also mostly men within Jamaican music, with a few exceptions, though female backing singers are not uncommon.

That there is a male domination is also evident in the fact that the women singers who as an exception come more to the fore tend to have lyrics of love songs, while men seem to feel more free to have lyrics about everything, including social concerns. The same condescending difference – as all oppressive mechanisms internalized by many oppressed themselves - can be found in country and other Western pop music, of course: men sing/talk more about the world, women about her relationship with a man (the country song ‘Stand By Your Man’ being a sad example). A deep, long-lasting effect of historical female subjugation to men, to which reggae was unfortunately not immune. Also this has changed more and more within reggae, though. Queen Ifrica is one of more examples of recent, upcoming women in the reggae scene, also having socially conscious, and Rastafari-inspired lyrics.

Like many of the Jamaican male artists, Queen Ifrica and other female artists, like Etana, furthermore show a strong, individual personality, rendering their music more original and strong, in my opinion. It seems self-evident that to be an outstanding, original artist you have to have a strong, distinct personality, not be a mere appendix of another (male) person.

LYRICS

Finally, I return to what I briefly mentioned before: women in reggae lyrics. Though a full study of this would require more space and time, I have quite some experience and knowledge of it by now. I listen to and study reggae and Jamaican music for over 25 years now.

Despite the mentioned criticism by some of female exclusion or subordination within Rastafari, I can say that overall Rastafari-inspired reggae lyrics are rarely denigrating to women. Maybe some who do not know Jamaican Patois think that ‘No Woman No Cry’, the international hit for Bob Marley, had an anti-woman message, but it had not. In Jamaican language No Woman No Cry means in reality No Woman DON’T Cry. In the lyrics it is said to cheer up an individual woman.

Furthermore I cannot recall any Rastafari-inspired reggae expressing hatred for women because of their gender (and not e.g. personality). Some artists express more conservative views than other, criticizing women that seem to free and independent and that do not accept male authority (the Heptones’ ‘I Hold The Handle’: nice song but slightly questionable lyrics in my opinion), or Rastafari-inspired critique against women dressing/behaving loosely, wildly, or allowing abortion. Yet at the same time, many Rastafari reggae artists have lyrics against raping, denigrating or mistreating women.

There is neither very much misogyny in other reggae, not even in the “slackness” (violent/explicit) lyrics in dancehall since the 1980s (though it is not absent). Commonly vilified for being violent and sexist, such lyrics are also often “joking” and carnivalesque. If someone sings/chats he “loves punanny” - “punanny” being Patois for female genitalia or “pussy” - (several artists have sung/chatted this on songs: Shabba Ranks and others), this is maybe explicit or – arguably - distasteful, but it is not on forehand denigrating to women. We can assume that the punanny’s belong to adult women, willing to let the man in question “show love” to them (sorry, too graphic, haha). On occasion more morally questionable, macho and male domination lyrics do appear – similar to or worse than the machismo of the Heptones song ‘I Hold The Handle’ – in dancehall and reggae, but it is far from the norm. It is less common than anti-gay lyrics (which in turn are not even as common as many think).

A strange irony is further that some of the most explicit, ”macho”/sexist (let’s say playful condescending) lyrics by male artists tended to be relatively popular among women. Dee-jays like General Echo, Yellowman and others who specialized at least partly in such sexual aggressive lyrics in the 1980s had relatively large female fan bases. Maybe these female fans were attracted by the edge, “danger”, or controversy. It seems a bit difficult to understand, but the same – unexpected female fan bases – can be found in for instance hip hop, where women and girls loved the work of NWA, of which some lyrics, such as on the sexual gang bang of a young, underage girl in their song ‘She Swallowed It’, I found personally not only distasteful but also immoral, and much worse than even the worse, sexist Jamaican dancehall lyrics. Yet some females liked that album and song by NWA. I understand that even less.

Lady Saw was a female dancehall artist who had slackness lyrics that were sexually quite explicit, and became quite popular in the 1980s and 1990s, having earned thus a position in the Jamaican music scene. Lyrically, she points at her sexual independence and often shows what can be called female pride and power. But…let us beware: there we find again the subtle oppressive/downpressive mechanism of the threatening risk of a woman artist’s lyrics being confined to love and sex (men talk about world problems, females mainly about male partners) . Recently, however, Lady Saw’s lyrical focus moved somewhat more to the social and spiritual (less slackness).

Furthermore, with Queen Ifrica, Etana, and several other women artists and singers in recent times came to the fore in the Jamaican music scene with more socially conscious and spiritual lyrics, and who associate themselves with the Rastafari movement, like Queen Ifrica and Jah9. Moreover, musically and creatively they show themselves to be easily the equal to their more numerous male peers in Jamaican music, having released strong songs and albums that are overall well received among reggae fans.

Snoop and Rastafari

The bond between black Americans and Jamaicans is obvious on the one side, but complex one the other. The basis of the connection is obvious: shared histories of slavery, race/ethnic similarities (African origins), and degrees of African cultural heritage. Added to this can of course be the racial oppression and discrimination following the period of slavery. Whereas African descendants in the USA form a minority in the US as a whole, albeit a large one in some parts of the South, Afro-Jamaicans of course form a large majority in their country, which did not prevent racial injustice to persist: a white, or just a lighter/mixed skin colour overall still equals a higher social and economic position within Jamaica.

The language also plays a role. Haiti has a black population, as does in part Cuba and (farther away) e.g. Brazil, yet a language barrier certainly is operative here. The cultural focus of Jamaicans is much more on the US than on Latin America. More specifically the focus is on black Americans, sometimes called “brothers” or “cousins” by Jamaicans, and their culture and music. Historically, Jamaican music genres are partly influenced by US black genres in their formation – ska was partly influenced by R&B from the US South -, and today there are still US black musical influences in Jamaica, even though the island prides itself (justly) of an own, rich musical tradition. The connections thus remain. I have touched this topic on my blog before.

OWN CULTURE

I happened to be in Jamaica at the time of the winning of the elections of the first black president of the US, the 4th of November 2008. This was certainly followed closely in Jamaica. Mass media and even more the internet made access to black American culture even more accessible to common Jamaicans in recent times. A too strong US cultural influence as arguably can be found in several countries in the world is somewhat “mitigated” in Jamaica – despite its relative proximity – by the strong pride Jamaicans take in their own culture. The large populace in Jamaica still prefer music by Jamaicans, and “the own” remains thus dominant in popular culture. It is not as much sidelined by US culture as happened in other countries (e.g. some European ones). Not even black US music became very dominant in Jamaica.

There is nonetheless a recent musical/cultural influence of US hip-hop on recent Jamaican dancehall. Ironically, in light of hip-hop's origins as an offshoot of Jamaican musical traditions. Now an influence comes back, so to speak. Some US artists often reach fame in Jamaica, have hits there, or even perform there regularly. Yet a dominant, direct US dominance there is not, safe for in certain circles, especially among the higher classes.

MARCUS GARVEY

Historically, the connection between Afro-Jamaicans and African Americans has also been complex. Marcus Garvey was a Jamaican-born visionary who fought and organized successfully for black people’s rights and their improvement internationally. He thus was an important early Black Power activist, being in that sense a trailblazer and influential upon Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and the Black Panthers. He especially became influential after moving to the US in 1917, and mainly among US blacks. Not that he had no followers in Jamaica or the broader Caribbean region, but in the US he became most influential. He seemed to be the right man at the right time for (millions of!) US Blacks, becoming his followers and sympathizers. In comparison, Garvey was marginalized in his native Jamaica, which he also felt as such. Not all, but many black Jamaicans, he stated, strove to be culturally white and English, and were not open to black pride, nor interested in the Africa of their forebears. Jamaica was then after all still a British colony. The “mental slavery” he would also refer to. A Jamaican to the rescue of US Blacks seemed Garvey thus.

Marcus Garvey apparently responded to a specific historical need for discriminated and oppressed blacks in the US. After his extradition from the USA, in 1927, Garvey first returned to Jamaica, and started some initiatives, but again felt sidelined, eventually moving to London, England later in his life, where he also died in 1940.

CULTURAL INFLUENCE

For the decades after Garvey’s extradition from the US in 1927, Jamaican influences on US blacks were there occasionally, but this time more culturally than socially/politically. It related in part to migrations; e.g. later in history – as may be known – Jamaicans influenced the development of hip-hop music and rap. Hip-hop and rap are in essence Americanized offshoots of the Jamaican deejaying tradition.

Bob Marley, however, did earlier - in the 1970s - not reach as much black American fans as he himself wanted. Of course there were US blacks who liked Bob’s music – the Exodus album did fairly well among US blacks - , but the main fan base of Bob in the US consisted of liberal-minded (often marijuana-smoking) young white kids. This may be surprising – seeing the Rastafari and Garvey-ite lyrics of many of Bob’s songs – but can perhaps be explained by the superficiality of commercial pop culture. Some fans undoubtedly listened to the lyrics, but also many Marley fans were more superficially attracted by the relaxed, catchy riddims and songs, and relaxed Caribbean and weed-smoking, hippy-like “vibe”, Marley’s music in their mind conveyed. Not everyone is “intellectual” enough, so to speak, to focus on the meaning of lyrics when it comes to something associated for many with the festive, like pop culture.

SNOOP

I relate these facts, possibly known to many readers, because it makes a recent controversy all the more interesting. I am referring to African American hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg’s controversial self-declared conversion to Rastafari(anism), after visiting Jamaica several times. Snoop’s claimed conversion means a change from his less-serious, gangster-like hip-hop ways of before. Quite a big change, actually, making it less credible for many. Conversions from a life of sin or crime to the spiritual or religion (e.g. Christianity or Islam) are on the other hand not uncommon, and need not be insincere per se. Malcolm X is but one of many examples of such a change in his life.

Nonetheless Snoop Dogg, now with a new name Snoop Lion, met a lot of criticism or, milder, scepticism from some Jamaicans and Rastafarians. He was called a fake by Bunny Wailer, while other Rastafarians gave him, if often hesitantly, the benefit of the doubt. Jamaican Rastafari-adhering Dub Poet/thinker/radio host Mutabaruka pointed at Snoop being one of the "architects of Gangster Rap", finding this a bit hard to combine with his acclaimed growth to Rastafari spirituality, though he still gave him a chance. Further, the fact that Snoop was known as a fanatical weed-smoker, also in his hip-hop days, made many assume that his conversion to Rastafari should not be taken too seriously.

Sincere or not: the focus of a black American on a specific Afrocentric part of black Jamaican culture remains nonetheless interesting. In some sense it even is original, I opine. Black Power is associated in the US dominantly, though not exclusively, with the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan, or related groups. I’m not in the head of Snoop Dogg/Lion so I cannot ascertain at this point his sincerity, but all in all it is an interesting step.

Snoop’s own statements on his reasons for converting seem somewhat contradictory, though some things he said seemed to me a sincere search for a more spiritually fulfilling life. I just do not know how “deep” this is. There might be as well a commercial reason: reinventing himself as a musical artist – now reggae instead of hip-hop - to reach new fan bases, perhaps.

RASTAFARI AND US BLACKS

Despite doubts and scepticism, Snoop’s “conversion” raises I think an interesting point. Why are relatively few US Blacks/African Americans interested in Rastafari? Many often even perpetuate the same clichés about reggae, Jamaica, or Rastafari as a lot of white Americans, while on the other hand connecting their sense of Black identity with a religion (Islam) that is – for all intents and purposes - more Arab than African. Only an overall small percentage of African slaves brought to the West were Islamic or from Islam-influenced parts (the Senegambia region especially). Most were not.

Rastafari is, as Mutabaruka describes it, historically a “Black Power movement with a theological nucleus”. It is based in part on Marcus Garvey’s ideas. That “theological nucleus” nonetheless may have some European (Christian/Biblical) influences, notably from British forms of Protestantism so influential in Jamaica’s history. Most Rastafari adherents however would claim that Christianity and the Bible are not European, but manipulated by Europeans. It is true that Ethiopia adopted Christianity before Europe did. The focus on Africa is much less present in the Nation of Islam (or related) Black Muslim groups, though not totally absent of course. The Nation Of Islam also soon gave up the goal of repatriation to Africa, most Rastafarians still espouse. Regarding content Rastafari is all in all “Blacker”, I argue, than the Nation of Islam.

The difference of course is that the Nation of Islam developed in the US itself after Garvey left the US, leaving behind an influence but also a vacuum. Rastafari developed on an island outside of the US: an island later predominantly known as a Caribbean destination for tropical holidays, and perhaps for its lively musical culture.

Another factor that may be influential in all these processes is the fact that culturally more African cultural aspects survived in Jamaica than in the US. This related to differences in the slavery regimes. There is some truth to the statements by e.g. black comedians in the US that black Caribbeans behave and talk differently – more African-like – because they were “dropped off first” from the slave ships on the islands before the ships reached the US. But after this, the slavery regime was also (compared to the US) even more extreme and harsh in Jamaica: with high mortality rates among slaves, surpassing births, making new African imports necessary for British colonial authorities. In the US the black slave population eventually grew (better food and other type of work are explanations given by historians), requiring not many new African slave imports.

More African culture has thus been preserved – even if reworked – in Jamaica. This is not to say that subtle African cultural aspects are absent in US Black culture. In fact, indirectly several African cultural features live on among African Americans in the US: musically, culturally, socially, linguistically, shaping it the way it is, albeit in interaction with Anglo-Saxon, White dominant culture. For instance: in African American Vernacular it is “I’m a saying”, in Jamaican Patois/Creole it is “Mi a seh”. In the US the Standard English "Going to" is replaced by “Gonna”, in Jamaican Patois/Creole they say “Gwine” for Going to (be). Of course these are gradations of a same African, in this case linguistic heritage. Similar musical and rhythmic patterns can be found originally in folk Jamaican music and folk US black music. The African heritage is maybe more limited and indirect in US than in Jamaican Black culture (also in music). Both in the US and British Caribbean, however, drumming was at a point forbidden, unlike in Spanish or French colonies where African drumming music in direct forms were tolerated under certain conditions.

All in all, nonetheless, there is a relatively more direct connection with the African roots in Afro-Jamaican than in Afro-US culture.

REACTIONS TO SNOOP’S “CONVERSION”

Reactions to Snoop’s conversion were thus varied. He was deemed a fake by several Jamaican Rastafari, including Bunny Wailer. Others embraced him more, like Rohan Marley, one of Bob’s sons. Many are somewhere in between.

From a musical perspective, reggae artists – although also Rastafari – have also critiqued Snoop Lion’s entering of a music he does not understand too well, aesthetically, so to speak. Jamaican reggae artist Anthony B said this in reaction to some songs by Snoop Lion he heard – which he found of weak musical quality and not up to par -, though he considered Snoop a talented musician/artist in his own, rap genre. Others applauded his move to a more positive lyrical message, but still doubted whether this qualifies him as a true Rastafarian.

In light of rap and hip-hop origins as an off-shoot of Jamaican music, a hip-hop/rap artist turning to reggae seems, however, less extraordinary. In Snoop’s case his love for the music of Bob Marley connected him to reggae, and through this eventually to Rastafari. But just loving Bob’s music – or smoking weed - is of course not enough for this.

Donald Manning of the reggae group the Abyssinians said during a discussion (‘Reggae University’) at the Rototom Sunsplash festival in Spain in 2010 that “knowledge” is essential to be a Rastafari: not just hair or clothes. Others say that more is needed than just having the knowledge: you have to live it with a (natural) life style called ‘Livity’. This includes natural living, eating vegetarian, non-processed food, combined with being guided by the ideas of Marcus Garvey and Haile Selassie.

Rastafari is not a very much centralized, institutionalized religion, and neither has strict codes for its followers. It differs from subgroup to subgroup within Rastafari - some, as the Bobo Ashanti, have stricter rules and traditions - but much is unfixed or debatable. Many of the basic tenets are thus interpreted loosely, though there are certain crucial points beyond doubt: Marcus Garvey, the importance of Haile Selassie, Africa, of course a righteous living (no crime or abuse), questioning Babylon (Western) system, and at least certain dietary/intake considerations, e.g. no pork, cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs. Marijuana is accepted (though not obliged), especially for meditational purposes. I do not know whether Snoop Lion follows all these points and aspects (I know only the marijuana part for sure). And these are even minimal requirements in my opinion.

If his crime days are really behind him that is a good start. If he knows more than average about Marcus Garvey and Haile Selassie this is better still. But I do not know all this about his knowledge and views, neither about his lifestyle and dietary customs. Too much interference in one’s private life soon becomes unpleasantly authoritarian and collectivistic: it goes more with what can be called “religions” like Catholicism, which Rastas also criticize. While it is a freer, some say “looser” spiritual movement with attention to strong individualism, Rastafari still upholds certain values – which I outlined before -, though without such enforcement.

OTHER CONVERTS TO RASTAFARI

A debate about Snoop’s conversion is nonetheless acceptable I think. The fact that Snoop is a black man, makes it a bit odd though. White reggae artists like Alborosie, Groundation, and Gentleman are also self-proclaimed Rastafarians, or use Rastafari terminology. They did/do not seem to meet as much criticism. Jamaican Rastafari generally speaking seem to accept – or have come to terms with – white (or other non-black) people joining an originally black movement like Rastafari. While some are sceptical about white Rastas, many also appreciate it as a sign of an international influence (starting with Bob Marley, often), that is wholesome, or at least puts Rastafari or Jamaican culture on the map. The scrutiny anyhow seems all in all less when compared to Snoop’s conversion. Maybe it is Snoop’s Gangster Rap past that heightens the mistrust. Or his fun-loving, non-serious image.

Also the Soldiers of Jah Army (SOJA), who seem to have quite some fans, consist of white Americans, who - as evident from their band name - claim to have become Rastafarians. They also are dreadlocked. In some lyrics they say, however, that they interpret Rastafari in their own way.

More annoying is a band named Christafari. They consist of members who were – as they say - Rastafarians but later became Christians, espousing this Christianity as much as they can. Members say they were Rastafarians in their teens when they were taking drugs but later converted to Christianity. The whole suggestion behind this is offensive to the Rastafari community. They further add insult to injury by wearing dreadlocks, and still using also other Rasta-derived symbols, including terminology such as “Jah” in their lyrics. Like everyone they have the right to their beliefs, and to free speech, but I think it’s objectionable to use more or less as a Rasta-influenced Roots Reggae format for this. I agree in this sense with (once) online reggae reviewer Mark H. Harris (see: http://www.reggae-reviews.com/christafari.html).

GANJA HERB

In the recent documentary ‘Bob Marley: the making of a legend’ (2011), based on Esther Anderson’s (private) films with Bob Marley in 1973 and 1974, the topic of Rastafari was touched as well. Esther Anderson was one of the girlfriends of Bob Marley, travelling with him and the Wailers on (international) tours in 1973 and 1974. Just before “bigger fame”. The time-frame was limited, and in part the focus, but I found the documentary engaging. This was because the (for then) modern equipment (Sony camera) filmed Bob and others in casual, daily life, giving more insight in him as a person. The filmed discussions (including “reasonings” as the Rastas call it) between Peter Tosh and Bob Marley, were very interesting. During such a reasoning Peter Tosh argued that God is “within” the human being, and not “above” in the sky and apart. Most Rastas adhere to this view of the “inner divine”. The ganja herb (marijuana) serves to help find this inner divine person: one of the I of the “I and I” concept. Tosh thus presented the ganja herb as essential for Rastafari under/overstanding of life. Other Rastas view this differently, saying marijuana is not really necessary for such a heightened/deeper consciousness (argued by e.g. Mutabaruka who did/does not smoke weed).

I cite this specifically because Snoop Lion, before his conversion, was also known as a fanatical marijuana smoker. It seemed an essential part of his identity. Is using/smoking ganja/weed really required to reach Rastafari consciousness, or what is called “IanI consciousness”? I think it’s more complicated than that. After all…there are a lot of weed/marijuana smokers world wide whose thinking or behaviour are not at all “Rasta-like”.

An interesting recently published introductory work to Rastafari is a small book called ‘Rastafari : a very short introduction’ (Oxford University Press, 2012), written by Ennis B. Edmonds, a Jamaican scholar and expert on Rastafari (http://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Edmonds/edmonds.htm). The “very short” of its subtitle should not be taken too literally: it is a book, no leaflet, and still has about 127 pages. It is introductory, yet informative even for those who are quite knowledgeable already about Rastafari: it pays attention to nuances, internal differences and discussions, and different sides and developments. It is a good and pleasant read as well, and Edmonds knows how to explain even difficult topics relating to Rastafari. He also reports the view as expressed by Tosh in the documentary. It is worth to quote in length:

“It [ganja] is the vehicle that leads one through the distorted landscape of Babylon and the false consciousness spawned by its oppressive institutions to a discovery of the true self, the divine I capable of self-direction. Interestingly, ganja smoking is usually the precursor to growing dreadlocks and the declaration of Rastafarian identity” (Edmonds, 2012, p. 49).

At the same time Edmonds also points at Rastas who do/did not need ganja for this consciousness.

I quoted Rastafari reggae artist Donald Manning (of the Abyssinians) before who associated being a true Rastafari with proper knowledge. I therefore wonder what Snoop Lion’s knowledge about Rastafari is. Has he read ‘The philosophy and opinions of Marcus Garvey’? And further a good, imparcial biography of Haile Selassie (not the one by Ryszard Kapuściński, that one was parcial and partly invented), the as informative as well-written biography of Marcus Garvey called ‘Negro with a hat’ by Colin Grant, or any introductory work on Rastafari?. What does he know about Africa? Has he informed himself through other people? Judging by some of Snoop’s own statements in this regard, he knew some aspects of Rastafari (natural living and food, lion symbol). Even if his knowledge is by now extensive: does he “live” that knowledge and how?

Of course it all depends on his personal choices, and he is free to make those as he wants. If it is anything more than commercially or opportunistically motivated, I myself applaud the joining by a black (US) American of the Jamaican-originated Rastafari movement. I find it - if sincere - refreshing and in a sense even hopeful. I think it also makes sense, perhaps a bit more than becoming Muslim (even when of the African American Nation of Islam variety) as other US hip-hop artists have. Especially when looking from a “Black diaspora” perspective, as well as in relation to the history of Marcus Garvey and Black Power.

Time will tell how real and sincere this conversion of Snoop Dogg to Snoop Lion is…