Jamaica Sees Resurgence of Marley-Era Political Reggae: AP
1999.
Jamaica Sees Resurgence of Marley-Era Political
Reggae
KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) -- Two
decades after Bob Marley and Peter Tosh ruled Jamaica's airwaves, their
political reggae is booming again -- thanks to a national reexamination of a
bloody era.
The late greats penned
lyrics that documented the political struggles and state-sponsored political
violence of the 1970s, a period when Jamaica's politicians used street gangs to
sway voters.
Over time, that violence
became less political. Warring gangs created by Jamaica's political parties
turned to drug trafficking and fighting over turf. And reggae's reign eventually
gave way to dancehall, a reggae-rap
hybrid.
That is changing. A wave of
soul-searching began when former Defense Minister Dudley Thompson apologized in
August for his statements in 1978 belittling an army ambush of gang members
allied with an opposition party.
At the
time, Thompson said five gang members killed in the ambush were "no angels." No
one was convicted in the episode, which became a symbol of
repression.
Shortly thereafter, Prime
Minister Michael Manley's government banned a song about the incident by a band
called Big Youth. "This time we won't forgive them," its lyrics declared. "This
time say it's murder."
Thompson's
apology has unleashed a torrent of mea culpas from past and present political
leaders and raised demands -- so far rejected by Prime Minister P.J. Patterson
-- for a truth and reconciliation commission.
"If we are going to talk about the
cleansing the society we have to open up," said Pearnel Charles, a former
government minister. "I have been involved in the corruption of the politics ...
and I am not proud of it."
As talk of
the issue intensified, radio stations followed suit. Deejays and a new
generation of listeners have turned to the near-documentary lyrics of Marley and
other reggae pioneers to hear the tale of a poor nation struggling to build a
democracy after centuries of slavery and British
colonialism.
"The artists sang about
what was happening, even more so than what was documented in newspaper
articles," said Barry Gordon, a popular disc jockey who has spearheaded the
reggae revival.
Like Marley, who grew
up in Trench Town, a People's National Party garrison, most reggae singers were
raised in neighborhoods caught up in the political
violence.
Under pressure to choose
between Manley's People's National Party and former Prime Minister Edward
Seaga's Jamaica Labor Party, most reggae stars remained neutral. They moved
among Kingston's chessboard of warring communities and chronicled the suffering.
Following the 1978 ambush, almost all
of Jamaica's reggae stars took the stage at a Kingston concert to support peace.
Its highlight: Marley made Seaga and Manley clasp hands over his head and
promise an end to the violence.
It
didn't, and Jamaica saw years more of political violence.
"Singers like Bob Marley and Peter
Tosh were describing what was perceived on the street as the hypocrisy of the
ruling class," said Roger Stefans, a reggae historian. "Jamaica isn't a bookish
country. The newspapers ... didn't capture the feeling on the street the same"
as reggae, Stefans said.
Gordon said he
has pushed the period's political songs in recent weeks "to teach younger people
.. what happened."
Richard Burgess, a
disc jockey at a rival station, also reported a "swell of interest" that caused
him to up the reggae content by more than
half.
At Nuff Music in Kingston, which
specializes in "vintage reggae," owner Neville Lewis said sales are up more than
40 percent. A younger generation is buying reggae, he
said.
"Most of the time it's just
people like me, who grew up with all the trouble," said Lewis, 45. "It's nice to
see the young people taking an interest. This music is where their dancehall
comes from, and they might learn a
little."
While dancehall has its own
politically charged songs, critics say misogynistic lyrics and a celebration of
violence have cheapened its
message.
"When you think of dancehall
you think of half-naked women. It's not a voice for the frustrations of poor and
downtrodden," Stefans said.
Owen
Campbell, 17, found that voice in Tosh, who was shot and killed at his Kingston
home in 1987.
Marley died of cancer in
1981.
"He's got this song, 'Peace
Treaty,' about a gang truce that happened in 1978 but didn't last," Campbell
said as he rifled through old records at a makeshift Kingston
market.
Copyright 1999 The Associated
Press.
Posted: Fri - February 7, 2003 at 12:23 PM