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Musik Reggae/Dancehall Reggae: The Smoking lyrical Gun
Musik Reggae/Dancehall Reggae: The Smoking lyrical Gun
| Reggae: The Smoking lyrical Gun |
| Skrivet av Andy Collins |
| 2009-06-17 22:23 |
 Urbanlife.se is itself a world dedicated to promoting urban culture and music but this time, we thought about delving into a hidden world – the world where a religion found its melody. Though Reggae is now something everyone’s exposed to and is extremely popular here In Sweden, much of the larger population has no idea about its inception and goal. We hope you find our explanations sufficient to enter deep into this particular domain that is still vastly unexplored. “It's about peace, peace, peace!
Love the Lord God with all your heart. And love your neighbour as yourself.'' From the mouth of a Rastafarian This is a story about African-ness, discipleship, craft and creativity boosted - what most shall think - in not so much an appreciated way. Or, for the greater crowd, it is another presentment of R’nR; no, not Rock ’n Roll but Rastafarians and Reggae. It’s a story about the Land of Nimble Fingers, where cricket is the sport and reggae is identity; it’s a story of the Black youth subculture and religious movement that arose in the ghettos of Kingston, Jamaica, in the 1950s.
The participants were referred collectively as Rastafarians, who regard Ras [Prince] Tafari [his first name] (Emperor of Ethiopia; 1892-1975) as divine. Their collective identity? Long hair tied in dreadlocks, woolen caps, using marijuana and a kinship through reggae and also a complete faith in Bob Marley and Peter Tosh being demigods.
However, the roots of all these go back to nostalgic feelings. To understand that, we must first know about the Nyabinghi (chants) played at Grounations (worship ceremonies), about the accompaniment (drumming, prayers, repeating chants, dancing) and cannabis smoking, the latter being strictly a ritual. Nyabinghi relates directly to an East African movement that occurred in the 1850s and continued for 100 years; the movement was initiated for raising an armed defense against European imperialism. Jamaica, that time, going through similar anti-colonial efforts picked up the theme. This time, Nyabinghi became a dance form the medium to go against an oppressor by invoking the power of Jah. Jah (pronounced dza; from Hebrew Yah) is the shortened name for God used mostly in the Rastafari sub-culture. As a symbol of their African-ness, Rastafarians opted the drum for it’s believed that the drum is where the divine energy of Jah’s spirit remains present. And we must not forget the slave owners who encouraged African music and helped it survive slavery. However, it was in their own interest to patronize for the music kept the morale of the slaves high. Further inflow of influences from Jamaican natives and the European slave owners then formed an Afro-Caribbean base. Later, the Maroons (communities of freed slaves) carried pure African musical traditions to interior Jamaica, nurtured it and contributed to the founding of Rastafari. By now, we should’ve discussed a bit of Ska, the style of popular dance music that also originated from Jamaica. For, to understand reggae and Rastafari and their inherent connection, we must know well this blend between traditional Jamaican folk music, tribal drumming patterns, American R&B and jazz. The Dictionary of Jamaican English (published in 1980), claims reggae to be based on the heavy four-beat rhythms of Ska. The end of measures in Ska portrays expressions of rejection of an established white culture and represented through a distinctive rhythm guitar playing; it also identifies itself with the sound of gunshots and sounds of bullets ricocheting from the ghetto walls (skengay; skeng = gun / ratchet knife). Born in the streets of the Kingston Ghetto
Reggae, being born in the streets of the Kingston Ghetto, portrays the ghetto life as well and thus bears a rude boy (would-be gangster) impression. It, therefore, started as the music of this particular emergent culture, which also brought into it the politicized lyrics. Socio-economic injustice thus found a place in the new, faster beat-driven reggae sound that soon became the identities of musicians like Toots and the Maytals, the Wailers, Peter Tosh and Bob Marley.  The trend got much popularity through Jimmy Cliff (played the protagonist of the 1972 film The Harder They Come) and became a massive cultural force turning reggae into a global phenomenon. Reggae, while undergoing such developments also developed a connection with the Rastafarian movement. It is this connection, which explains why reggae songs promote the use of cannabis (also known as herb or ganja) as it’s considered a sacrament in the Rastafari movement. Rastafarians accepts Haile Selassie I, the former Emperor of Ethiopia, as the incarnation of God, called Jah or Jah Rastafari. Haile Selassie is also seen as part of the Holy Trinity and as the returned messiah promised in the Bible. The Rastafarian movement, being about gaining equal rights and equal justice found a common ground to share, grew popular worldwide through such artists as Dennis Brown, Maxi Priest and Gregory Issacs, to become an weapon for every urban poor. Reggae has influenced generations across the globe and is immensely popularity with Swedish youth. Sweden hosts Europes largest Reggae festival and numerous other reggae events which attracts acts from around the world. Ire!
Listen to the urbanlife ipod for some of our reggae samplers!
Main picture of The Abyssinians by aixcracker 
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