Tigray

Even so-called “alternative” thinkers get too often lured onto the “mainstream” path, it seems. Something like “international news” has, in this context, always been problematic, as far as I recall.

Over-emphasis in TV news on certain regions of this world, and later finding out that other regions knew more dramatic, more lethal and bloody conflicts, we heard less about. This has in fact recurred during my whole life-time, even as teenager. Around my 16th year, - we’re talking 1990 - the Iraqi war took place, following an invasion of Iraq into Kuwait. Since the US (and NATO) was involved, in the (TV) news in the Netherlands, it dominated – rather: hi-jacked – all other possible news in the world. I noticed this even then, the pro US-bias, though as a music-loving teenager (I was a Reggae-fan already), I was more interested in culture than politics (still, to a degree). I was irritated, though, by the Hollywood-like propaganda tone of that operation and news coverage. I smelled the insincerity, and hidden agendas, on some level, I suppose.

Healthy intuition – one might say – but helped by critical thinkers I knew of and read from. My own (Left-leaning) mother, often critical about some news coverage and hidden interest, probably influenced me too in this.

It has only gotten worse; in earlier decades there was more space for “independent journalism”. This got a large blow since 2020.

Much has been said about this independent journalistic decline, its degree and causes. Regarding causes, I find the relation with “new media” interesting. Internet provides access to a lot of global information, diminishing the role of the “old”, mainstream media, but likewise its “filtering”, leading function. This caused – in my personal analysis – a panic among authorities and the “powers that be”. The “main media” to reach the masses was after all “disarmed” by open information, through the Internet. Hence: panic among those with vested interests.

MONOPOLIZATION

This coincided with a general (modern/neoliberal) capitalist tendency of monopolization - the power of money -, with once different media and newspapers becoming more and more owned by the same concerns. In the Netherlands and elsewhere. With that same power of money, propaganda campaigns through the mainstream media (television, newspapers, journals) – with the p(l)andemic covid scare as test – meant to marginalize internet sources, including social media. Not by coincidence, the terms “misinformation” and “disinformation” were since 2020 heard a lot more, seldom in a just or true sense.

Even in formally democratic Western societies in Europe, Canada, and the US, thus the authorities/politicians/entrepreneurs , used the mainstream media to their advantage, but was luckily unable to impede access to Internet of common citizens.

Tellingly, I find, is the recent lack (say since around 2020) of open, good debates on television, with opposing stances and arguments, yet good manners. That is democracy. Political goals – largely hidden – seem however more important.

BIAS

Meanwhile the reporting, journalist, and news coverage biases keep showing in relative attention, now – as I write this – in 2025.

A bit further on in this post, I will give and discuss an example of this bias, which also gives insight into world relations.

In the regular Dutch news on mainstream media, the Ukraine-Russia conflict, and the Israel-Palestina conflict, compete for main attention, often – predictable – with a biased stance from the start. Strangely pro-NATO in the case of the Ukraine conflict, and generally pro-Israel (in the Netherlands). Regarding Israel, some opposing opinion can more or less still be uttered, even in Dutch media. That Israel’s actions are deemed genocidal regarding Gaza, for instance, by many people, reached the mainstream media, as were pro-Palestina voices. Not regularly, but sometimes.

Russian “apologists” are allowed even less space in the public debate: Ukraine must apparently be defended at all costs. The NATO - and US economy? - have even bigger and more powerful interests than a small country like Israel, I deduce from this.

It also illustrates my “serious joke”, I made in response to people in my surroundings criticizing (assumed) powerful Jews in the US supporting Israel, as some kind of Jewish conspiracy, aligning all too simple Israel with “all Jews”. I countered that (said it to several people personally, and - of course – shared it as open Facebook post on my wall):

“I don’t think there is such a Jewish conspiracy, if there is one, there is an “Anglo-Saxon conspiracy”..

, I stated, seeing US economic dominance with UK support, and neocolonial and neoliberalism’s global influence. Europe, Russia, and China are, after all, also powerful competitors of the US. Israel is an important ally of the US in the region, that is true, but wealthy Arab countries like Saudi-Arabia eventually also. Still, the Middle East with its petroleum industry, is also competitive to the US, in some sense.

For these combined reasons, conflicts in Africa, like the one involving Tigray in Ethiopia in the period 2020-2022, got scarce attention in Dutch and Western news on mainstream media. Scarce and superficial, generally. The increase of animosities in Tigray began in the plandemic Covid period (2020), offering – I suspect – excuses for many Western media to ignore African wars, for a hyped-up flu, and international measures. To resume: the estimated deaths of this 2-year war between Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Tigray separatist rebels number up to (around) 600.000 (!). Some even say closer to a million.

TIGRAY

First, the context. As a Reggae-fan, and in time Rastafari-adherent, I maintained a strong interest in Ethiopia (and wider Africa), and read even scholarly works about its history, already before the Internet (Wikipedia and such). In my mind, Tigray was an integral part of Ethiopia’s history as nation.

Indeed, this was the case. The most Northern/NW of Ethiopia’s regions, Tigray, was just North of the Amhara region, historically the center of power of Ethiopia, but always competing with Tigray, which comprised after all Aksum, center of the first large Ethiopian empire – known as the Aksumite Kingdom -, preceding symbolically Abyssinia and Ethiopia as kingdoms and empires, including once what is now Eritrea, and the Amhara region, but also up to the Yemen region, South of (Saudi) Arabia.

The famous Battle of Adwa (Early March) of 1896, when the invading Italians were defeated by Ethiopians (of all ethnic groups, working together!), safeguarding Ethiopia’s independence in a colonial era, also took place in Tigray.

In more recent history, the Tigray protests were crucial in the overthrowing Ethiopia’s totalitarian Communist Derg regime in the Early 1990s – along with other regions/peoples within Europe -, in power since 1975.

Meanwhile, though, the Tigray-Amhara relationship was often one of competition for power, since the beginning. Petty politics and interests, eventually aggrandizing the ethnic differences for political purposes. This happened historically elsewhere in the world too, of course, and even can be seen as a common thread. In world history, that is. This competition had over time differing degrees of intensity, with peaceful periods.

There are long-standing historical antecedents, including ancient conflicts, as often in these cases. The 2020-2022 Tigray War was quite bloody and catastrophic (around 600.000 deaths as already mentioned), as other civil wars. The involvement of Eritrea made it even an international conflict.

CAUSES

The causes of the conflict are somewhat complicated, but boil mostly down to Tigray wanting more independence from the central Ethiopian government, now lead by someone from the Oromo ethnic group (Ahmad Abiy). Before - up to 2019 - a Tigrayan party was in the government (a coalition), which was however dissolved by prime minster Abiy. This “snub” combined with other long-standing irritations, and attacking actions, between Tigray and the central government..

In the course of the two-year war between 2020 and 2022 (when a peace treaty was signed), human rights violations were reported on both sides of the conflict: by Ethiopian and Eritrean troops in Tigray, but also by Tigrayans in parts of the Amhara region they invaded. Destruction, murders, torture, and even rape as weapon, were reported.

This “rape as weapon of warfare” is as unpleasant and wicked as it sounds, of course, but tends to be – for crypto-racist reasons? – over-emphasized in the case of African wars and conflicts (e.g. in the Congo). Again, an odd media bias.

In reality, rape as (demoralizing/humiliating) weapon also took place in European wars, historically (Viking/Anglo-Saxon times, fascist/Nazi invasions, Yugoslavia, a.o.), and in Asia, such as by the Japanese, e.g. during WW II. Not to forget during European invasions and colonization in Africa and the Americas! Also on slave plantations – as in the Caribbean -, which I have studied in a professional context, raping enslaving women by White overseers and masters was common, partly also with demoralizing goals/show of power. Good to point that out, I think.

The 2020-2022 conflict got known also as a “Ethiopian civil war”, yet the involvement of neighbouring Eritrea (also with Tigrayan ethnicity) – due to border conflicts - , made it even an international (rather: regional) conflict.

COMPARISONS

Though stemming from very particular historical conditions and antecedents within Ethiopia and the region, even 1000s of years back in time, I argue that in international perspective such a bloody ethnic/territorial conflict is not that unique to Ethiopia. I base this on my historical knowledge.

The 1990 Yugoslavian war was also about competitive territorial warfare, involving trumped-up ethnic/religious differences between Croats, Serbs, Bosnians, and Albanians, many of these sharing histories and even a language: Serbo-Croatian, also spoken in Islamic Bosnia.

Propaganda also plays a role in the Tigray War, and in all such ethnic conflicts (think also Rwanda, where it was unfortunately effective), - and in historical European dictatorships for that matter - though not always successful. Anti-Haitian migrants rhetoric in the Dominican Republic since the 1960s, not often could disturb the peaceful Dominican-Haitian cohabitation in many parts of the Dominican Republic, just like how even up to the 2020 Tigray War, in Tigray and wider Ethiopia, common Tigrayans, Amhara and other Ethiopians, lived peacefully side by side for the most part, in spite of political rhetoric or (state) propaganda.

Historically, some “combined kingdoms” (leading to modern states) have the same tensions as in Ethiopia. The Basque Country had a separatist movement (recently diminished), for independence from Spain (and to a lesser degree France), but in history the Basque region had a founding role in the influential Kingdom of Castile, eventually a formative kingdom of Spain, as the Basque region was a maintained Christian region in the far north, when most of Iberia was under Moorish, Islamic rule. Linguists further assume that the first Castilian kings, also spoke the Basque language. Yet, tensions between some Nationalist Basques, and centralized Spanish, “Madrid/Castilian” rule have always recurred, to differing degrees, partly triggered by economic/industrialization advantages of the Basque country. “Nation formation” is nice for history books, but in daily practice it often is about current-day economic and political interests.

Comparable to - including current economic/political issues/interests - between Tigray and Amhara: sharing a founding historical role in shaping Ethiopia as state – including the mentioned epochs like the Axum/Aksum empire and the Battle of Adwa - , and sharing largely a religion (Orthodox Christian) and scripture (Ge’ez), but still with recurring tensions and competition, regarding ethnic identities of these two “founding” Ethiopian ethnic groups.

DIFFERENCES AND CULTURE

The cultural differences between Tigray and Amhara – and other parts of Ethiopia – are to a degree there, but as between regions of any country: Sicily is not the same as Lombardy, Northern India, not the same as the Tamil-speaking South of India, Yorubaland different from Igbo-land in Nigeria, etcetera.

Tigrayan is different from the Amhara language, but a related Semitic language, with a long history in the region. Not quite mutually intelligible, but clearly related.

Both ethnic groups, the Tigrayans and Amhara, are in name (and language) “Semitic”, but – as studies found – are in fact a genetic mix of Semitic people, mixed with local African and Cushitic peoples (mostly found in female/maternal DNA, suggesting mostly male Semitic invaders). This shows in some sub-Saharan African features: darker skin, hair, other traits, among most Tigrayans and Amhara, in different gradations.

Apart from “looks”, physical genetics, also in culture – and language – there is, simply said, more “sub-Saharan Africa” in Tigrayans, than among semitic Arabs in the Middle East, such as in music. The big Kebero drum is used in churches and for religious festivities, yet the common, smaller “negerit” drum (also a two-sided drum) is commonly used as “steady time-keeper”, usually in a syncopatic relation with hand clapping. Both steady, strong rhythms, and hints of syncopation, show African influences, differing from (mono-rhythmic) use of drums and rhythm in e.g. Middle Eastern Arab music.

The vocal styles (like melisma) show some semitic/middle eastern/North African traits, but also African influences, including a “call-and-response” style (with female choirs repeating lines).

As I saw an Ethiopian online state in praise, that “Tigray music has good rhythms”, I tested this by trying to dance to traditional Tigray music. Indeed it was danceable enough, with steady rhythms, also to a point from an “African” perspective. I know that the rhythmic syncope in “hand clapping” is also found in some forms of Spanish Flamenco – must be said -, but it is of course quite possible that African influences historically reached southern Spain.

Interesting, I find all this about Tigre/Tigray culture..Yet, Amhara music (and wider parts of Ethiopia) has much of the same musical elements and instruments too, including further shared Ethiopian string instruments, like the Masinko, or the Krar lyre, or the Washint flute, and others, also recurring in both Tigray and Amhara music.

Also the dominant type of (Orthodox) Christianity is shared among Tigrayans and Amhara (both with only small Muslim minorities, the Tigrayan one a bit larger). The same applies to other aspects of culture (food, music, etc.): partly similarities. Even the “shoulder” or “upper torso” dance of Northern Ethiopia is largely similar. Some small differences, also in musical instruments and customs – traditional clothing -, but overall mostly related cultures, the ones of Tigray and of Amhara.

In conclusion, the “cultural” differences are simply overall not all that big, lying mostly in details and variations, though some crucial differences are noticeable. The differences and conflicts are more “political”, related to both petty politics and “autonomy” demands.

MIX

In addition, based on different Ethiopian people I got to know personally – also as friends - , and on other information sources, one must not exaggerate the “pure-blooded” nature of these ethnic divisions. Most Ethiopians I know are a mix of different ethnicities, often even with different religions (Christian and Muslim): mixing Amhara with Oromo and/or Gurage, Tigray, and other peoples, in their bloodline (traced back to grandparents etc.).

Even the Emperor (up to 1975), Haile Selassie – while associated with the historically powerful Amhara ethnic group - , was in fact only partly of Amhara descent, having also Oromo and Gurage blood, according to several sources. This in fact is quite common among present-day Ethiopians, especially – predictably - those in Addis Ababa, as the main city was and is a hub of migrants from other parts of Ethiopia.

POLITICS

It comes thus down to it that predominantly politics and economics - more than ethnicity and culture - are behind the recent conflicts: not very surprising. These are even related to something as vane as party politics. Some nationalistic pride and grudge on all sides, indubitably also play a role, territorial integrity, independence, etcetera. Cultural reasons play less a role in this conflict, I dare to conclude. Mostly, material, “tangible” reasons, only seeming more rational, but in fact absurd. If anything, this shows the senselessness of the conflict and war even more: culture (even if less “material”) is “the people”. Politics and economical control is “the elites” (even within ethnic groups, party/separatist leaders and such), thus sacrificing in a sense the masses.

Tigrayans accused the Ethiopians attack on opposing forces in Tigray as involving even a wider “genocide” of Tigray from Tigrayan civilians, and even of "ethnic cleansing". Ethiopia denies this.

This last accusation reminded me of the naming of “genocide” of Israel’s actions in Gaza against Palestinians, by more and more commentators, even a bit in mainstream media (and even more in alternative media, of course), often even suggesting a full “ethnic cleansing” plan of the coastal Gaza region by pro-Israel forces, which is however hard to prove.

There in Israel, and in Ukraine (with Russian-dominated provinces), also territorial warfare, economic interests, and built-up animosities, long-lasting feuds, etcetera, translated “ethnically” for political purposes. This avenges itself again and again, resulting in violence, and dehumanizing the enemy, as such wars (internationally and inter-culturally) usually encompass, and violent and deadly military attacks and terror.

We heard only much, much less about the Tigray War, than about those other conflicts, or earlier ones in the Middle East, or involving NATO interests, even when with much less casualties, than the estimated over 600.000.

Because there is nothing to gain (materially, geopolitically, o.o.), - for the “big powers” in this world - .. a cynic might conclude..

Despite the 2022 peace treaty – as could be expected – derived conflicts still persist up to today within Ethiopia, even in central parts. An Ethiopian friend of mine, who visited his family in Addis Ababa in late 2024, also still noticed tensions and security measures within the city of Addis Ababa.

MAINSTREAM

With this, I bring my point home that attention in the mainstream media in the West is biased and skewed, with much conflicts largely ignored, for being irrelevant for “big power interests”. Even self-declared “alternative” or “woke” thinkers fall in that biased trap at times, I noticed: choosing to debate or take firm stances in conflicts with less casualties/les bloody than this one, or other ones, following mass media agendas, ignoring other ones. People are people.

It is a good thing we still have access to all other kinds of sources – alternative sources of information and news -, mostly with less bias, if one searches well. Also a wider (ideologically detached) knowledge of world history – that I more or less have gathered over time – surely helps to put things in proper perspective.

Video clips and reggae

It has partly to do with an idea I have. As yet I only “play” with the idea, but it can become concrete. There’s even an above average chance that it will actually come to fruition. The idea is: making a video of a song of mine.

The song – of which a video can be made - is there. In fact, several are. For some reason (that I myself do not really know) I try to keep my songwriters’ persona apart from my other persona’s, such as this “blog persona”. Now, upon reflection I think it is a bit silly: neither is a “persona”. I do not have a persona: writing songs and my specific love for music is part of my person, myself as a human being. Writing about certain themes as well. The same “I”. I tried in the past to present a persona, but could not keep it up: luckily there is not too much of a “con man” in me. ”I’ll be myself and no one else”, as Dennis Brown sang in his song 'Tribulation'.

With video I mean moving image, including something of a story and or symbols – even with a script or scenario -, not the slideshows of photos that are so common on YouTube. Visually and artistically enhancing the song, that’s the video’s ultimate goal. With this theme I also continue on my last blog post (on documentary films). But I will not expound on a plan or idea that is not concrete yet. The song in question is neither made public yet. Therefore I am not going to discuss this potential video or content thereof. (You’ll hear and see it, when it’s ready and public, haha).

Since I am a big reggae fan, and also to a degree an expert on it (love and knowledge are intertwined for me), I thought it would be a good idea to analyse “reggae videos”: the song’s genre I want to make a video for is also reggae. I could also analyse all video clips of all popular music genres, but that is simply too much, I think. Yet it can be relevant. That is why I chose an intermediate solution: this post is on broad aspects of pop music video clips in general, but specifically focuses on reggae video clips: what characteristics recur?, what do good (reggae) videos make? etcetera...

This way even if (almost) no one reads this post or blog (which is quite probable), I still maybe get ideas and background info for my own prospective video. Ha!

REGGAE AND VIDEO CLIPS

My nascent and developing love for reggae music owed nothing to the videoclip. It was in the vinyl and cassette years that I started to listen to reggae: Bob Marley, Wailing Souls, Culture, Burning Spear, Israel Vibration, Gregory Isaacs, Dr. Alimantado, Yellowman...Mostly roots and early dancehall. I am talking about the mid-to late 1980s. It was about the sound, the music, the words, the “feel”...The visual came into play, however. I liked it when on album covers photos of the artists making the album were shown: to see what artists look like, expressions on faces, and sometimes even something of the surroundings and an atmosphere. I was somewhat disappointed when an album cover (front, back, nor inside sleeve) showed not the artists, and even more when there was neither another clear image (just a white or blue cover for instance was a bummer: Gregory Isaacs’ 1984 album Easy for instance was fine, with some good songs -'Tenement Yard'! - , but had a cold and boring, unimaginative blue cover).



But these disappointments or irritations were mostly marginal. It was and is about the music and the idea. Mainstream and more commercial genres had video clips, so I reasoned. Then, during the late 1980s and 1990s this was largely the case. Video clips just had become more common in the course of the 1980s (reason why Bob Marley never actually made a video clip himself), but became especially the norm in more commercial genres: Duran Duran, Genesis, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Prince and other artists made (or supervised) video clips made especially to accompany a song on the market. This had to do with big companies, commercial goals, and also, well, racist policies of MTV etcetera. Outside of the reggae person’s realm, you might say...

MAINSTREAM

Temporarily, however, I later became more fascinated with video clips. Especially those that I saw on Yo! MTV Raps. Mainstream, but not too much, let’s say. Especially early, “old school” hip hop often had video clips that seemed more real and authentic than those of other pop genres. I liked Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s 'The Message', and songs and videos of Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions, Poor Righteous Teachers, Eric B & Rakim, Ice T.. These seem to portray real life and social problems, I thought. That is the difference: specialized in reggae I did not need video clips to get me into reggae. On the other hand, I got into some hip hop through video clips.



Then there were occasional video clips in other genres that somehow fascinated me, such as e.g. Al Jarreau’s 'Mornin’': a nice song with a video fitting its mood and lyrics (of a man in love), including the happy cartoon birdie, although bordering on cliché. It worked for me. Even outside of “Black” music: there were videos that were as effective as they were atmosphere-enhancing. I was intrigued by Ultravox’s video for 'Vienna', I found it fitted well the song - which I liked – and its mood (even if I did not know what neither song nor video was exactly about,..I still not..), as well as The Stranglers’ video for the nice 'Golden Brown', seemingly referring to Western views on Egypt. Spandau Ballet’s videos, on the other hand, seemed too overdone and pretentious for me, as were some videos by Phil Collins (about whose vocal skills I’m neither impressed, but that’s another issue), and e.g. David Bowie’s video for the 'Ashes to Ashes', a song I liked, the video less (too distracting, maybe). More recently I thought Nirvana’s video for 'In Bloom' was funny and moving.



Still remaining more a reggae than a hip hop (or any other more mainstream genre) man: I largely kept disassociating the “video clip” from the reggae scene.

CROSSED OVER

Actually there were some reggae video clips around since the 1980s, meaning actually scripted video clips. A nice example is 'Amigo' by Black Slate from 1980, a celebratory tune that reached the mainstream (if marginally), even with its Rastafarian content. I did not really see it when it was a hit (a “summer hit” it was called) in Britain or the Netherlands, but years later, and I liked it. A nice video, scripted but kept simple, and with the Black Slate band members enthusiastically participating, rendering it somehow genuine. The increased dancing at the end fits the celebratory tenor of the song well: the lyrics are about how Jah is your good friend and guide. No special effects were used, but I did not miss these.



Eddy Grant does make reggae, but his 'Electric Avenue' is not reggae, yet borders on it in some way (Caribbean vibe?, social criticism?). I liked this video (the song as well), though it had “vague” aspects and special effects which related to the lyrics, but maybe not everyone got.

Since the late 1990s some changes in the music industry, modernization, internationalization, or otherwise, made that more reggae video clips started to appear. It had partly to do with a slight connection to the mainstream some reggae obtained. Not even reggae as a whole, but certain crossover artists (like before once in a while with Third World and others) – or artists trying to cross over - made scripted video clips: Shaggy, Maxi Priest, Shabba Ranks, even Pliers and Chaka Demus. Even videos of Black Uhuru ('Great Train Robbery') or Sly & Robbie had crossover aspects. Sometimes they seemed influenced by hip hop videos..

OUTSIDE OF THE MAINSTREAM

This continued and increased after 2000. Mainly mainstream-related, but “democratization of media and means” (to put it some way) in the music industry, also in Jamaica, made that video clips appeared even for not obviously crossover attempts. Think artists like Sizzla, Capleton, I-Wayne, Anthony B, Chezidek, Lutan Fyah, Fantan Mojah, Richie Spice, or Natty King. Artists who, so to speak, “keep it real”, and are outside the international pop mainstream (MTV, Grammy, that kind of shit). Real and Rastafari-inspired reggae, in this case part of what is called the New Roots movements. These video clips are mostly okay, I think: some kept very simple, some more complex, mostly not too distracting, and with the artists appearing most often naturally behaving. These videos are rarely shown on the most commercial stations (MTV), but at times on other stations, even in the US (such as those aimed at the “Black” market). Richie Spice’s video for 'Righteous Youths' seems well-balanced: right degree of symbols (youth, Rastafari) relating to the message, and the music performance as central.



Video clips originally had a commercial rather than an artistic goal (promote the song on television), and the question is then: does reggae – real reggae – need video clips in this day and age? Promoting is not always bad, and this way other audiences can be reached, while still keeping it authentic. It is also nice to be able to take a good look at the artist or musician who is singing a song or performing.

Important is that the visual should support the song/music, not the other way around. This touches on the same theme I discussed in my previous post: the visual should add, NOT distract from the content. In fact: the music should ideally speak for itself! Examples of distractions are too superficial special effects, sexual references (e.g. sexy dressed/undressed and sexy moving women or men) when the song is not even about sex, or strange camera focuses/viewpoints or filmic effects unrelated to the song. If I want to be distracted..it should be from something bad or boring, NOT from a good song. Another example of distraction: (unnatural) overacting, such as by the artists: seemingly more consumed by the video than by the song. The music should come first! Visually good dancing to the song’s riddim, on the other hand, can enhance the listening experience..

DO WE NEED VIDEO CLIPS?

Do we need video clips then? Well, if they do not distract they can certainly add something to the song’s “feel”, such as through the artists, images, atmospheres, proper symbols (for much roots songs Rastafari symbols are relevant), city- or landscapes, or cultural expressions. This can even – if well done – add to the authenticity. As a combined art form so to speak.

For somebody “deep” into reggae - like myself - the promotion function of a reggae video is maybe not necessary. If I find, say, Sizzla’s 'Chant Dem Down' a “crucial” song (and I do) and do not have it on mp3 or CD, I can always check it on YouTube, where the vast amount of music continues to surprise me. Connect the computer with the amplifier of my stereo and “ram it!”. The video on YouTube probably is accompanied by a mere short text, a photo of an album cover, or of Sizzla, a slide show, or sometimes even a well-scripted slide show with Rastafari imagery and effects (check I Wayne’s 'Smart Attack' on YouTube for instance), but that is not that important: I just want to primarily “listen” to the song.

On the other hand: I heard Sizzla’s 'Chant Dem Down' in a reggae-minded club. Maybe a video clip on visual media would help others get to know a song or artist they did not know, but like. It is all about spreading your music as an artist. There is not necessarily something wrong with that, as long as the video does not “distract” too much, keeps it authentic and real, shares the message and intention of the song (or even strengthens the intent, if possible), and even broadens the listening experience. That is an interesting artistic challenge, besides the promotional purpose.

Is the video fitting with the artist as a person, with the song, with the lyrics (when discussing, or in real life often in a place/town... show it), and with musical aspects? I guess there should be authentic ways to make video clips accompanying songs: well-scripted, artifice only if necessary, touching, moving, even educational, or funny (if appropriate)?

EXAMPLES?

I aim at being as original as I can. I do not intend to copy other video clips, so I am not planning to use “models” as such. I do admit, however, that elements of certain videos “inspire” me toward something in the same vein. The mentioned 'Amigo' for instance, “travelling” on the road (as in Sizzla’s 'Thank You Mama' video), flash-backs, walking in rural areas/nature (like Fantan Mojah’s video for 'Stronger'). This Fantan Mojah’s video is a good example of letting the music come first: the video does not distract, but adds. Low-key with few special effects. Or, a clear story line, such as in the video of Natty King’s catchy song 'Mr Greedy', also may be effective.



Of course a “parody” of sorts is possible, but a reggae “video clip parody” I know also happens to be of a (albeit loose) cover version: I am talking about Sizzla’s 'Subterranean Homesick Blues', a nice dancehall cover/reworking of the Bob Dylan song, with a similar video: artist with words or texts on papers and even also a “cool” or “hip” guy on the other side of the street from the artist apparently talking with someone. The surroundings looked different, however (more Caribbean thus relevant). My song is not a cover (the vocal part), not even a loose one, so such a “model” video is I think irrelevant in this case.



Too much special - or too special - effects are maybe not my thing (I am not very visually oriented). Moreover, these probably do not fit the introspective lyrics of the specific song I have in mind. If and when I ever get to making the video, I am curious how a video would visually support the song: if I appear in it: should I act to a degree (though I prefer to behave naturally) – with clothes I usually don’t wear, things I don’t do, places I don’t go -, or just be myself? If I act, portray a role.. can irony make that more palpable? Singing or dancing to my song in the video I do not mind, but that is not what I mean with "acting". Further..is humour appropriate? What symbols fit the lyrics and how are these visualized? And a few special effects can still have an additional value, if not excessive... I’ll see (hopefully).....