RASTAFARI AND REGGAE IN THE 21ST CENTURY

The culture that once existed in Jamaica has been unleashed into the rest of the world through music by some of the most iconic figures such as Peter Tosh, Bob Marley and many more. The music has been enjoyed and celebrated but in the midst of the excitement of blazing positive vibrations what has its followers and by standers learned. This remains the burning question on the minds of some of us out here given the music preaches about living a life of love, compassion and community. Let us be clear that Bob Marley was specific with his message and mainly the message was to people of African descent to be cautious about the evil world we were living in. The world has seen so much evil at levels like we have not seen and it seems to have been made worse by technology. There are simple conflicts that become big and eventually claim so many lives with no remediation in sight. Today's reggae seem to have lost the core essence of music which is one that is filled with a message to humanity. Today ragga and dancehall music seem to dominate the scene in place of the natural reggae which is more disciplined. I suppose the youth in their quest to enjoy the high energy that comes with being a youth have succumbed to just tunes that make them want to move their bodies. The question then is what kind of legacy will that live behind for the next generation given that original reggae catapulted Jamaica onto the world map and made it a top destination in the world. There is no question the island country still has its fair share of challenges but Marley and others from that era has clearly left Jamaican with a legacy. By the way new artists such as Chronixx    is working hard to continue the legacy of what will be considered the great reggae generation. Hip hop in america is going through the same issue but in a much more negative way given that many black neighborhoods in america has been destroyed as a result of gangsta rap which is a break away from the original hiphop practiced by groups and artists such as KRS1, African Bombaata,Run DMC, Public enemy and many more. As the tides start getting low we are beginning to see who is swimming naked with nothing to offer other than hype. The question now moving forward will be whether we learn from the past or we simply pretend and keep on repeating the same mistakes which only leads to a destruction of the black African soul on Gods green earth! 

THE TRUE REGGAE STORY OF THE WAILERS

The formation of the Bob Marley & Wailers is a story that has not been told in a more real and down to earth format. Listening to Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer is a good place to start with this true story of family, music and fame which may have come at a price. This is the true crafting of what is sometimes called trench town rock. Paying attention to this story will free you from paying attention to the glamour and noise associated with Reggae and take to the reason why reggae came to be!