Reggae Revival in Jamaica

[Hortical]

Reggae making a revival in Jamaica, recalling golden era of '70s

(Reuters) - The main event at fight night in Kingston, a popular boxing showcase, was hours away, but the crowd at the National Stadium's indoor arena, from the young and hip to the elderly, was already pumped.
When reggae artist Tarrus Riley entered the stage, the screams of the full house were deafening, and the fervor persisted throughout his performance.
A musical and social roots movement called "Reggae Revival" is on the rise in Jamaica, where the raunchier dancehall genre has been king for the last two decades. The revival evokes music from reggae’s golden era of the 1970s, dominated by the late, laid-back legend, Bob Marley, who put reggae on the global map with his catchy tunes and spiritual and socially conscious lyrics.


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[Gamma]

Ah really hope suh.

[Mosiah]

But dancehall was rocked by a series of scandals involving some of its stars. The Grammy-winning singer Buju Banton was convicted in 2011 on cocaine conspiracy and trafficking charges and is serving a 10-year sentence.

In April dancehall star Vybz Kartel was sentenced to life in prison in Jamaica for the murder of a former associate.

Coincidence?

[Assasin]

Notice Buju is the poster boy for Dancehall in this article??? Is Buju Dancehall or Reggae??? I think for most of his career he was a cross between. He started in dancehall but he has some good reggae albums.

[Willi]

Buju was lately more reggae, like Garnet Silk.

[Stonigut]

Let me see, can anyone name one song in this current reggae revival that gas any kind of social, political or spiritual resonance or gravity, I can't really think of one in this revival.

[Islandman]

Wow. Stoni if you can ask a question like that that you have not been listening to much of their work. Thats all I can say.

Now if you are expecting a 1970's style of delivery then no you are not going to get a lot of that, but last time I checked it was 2014. Time moves on and music changes with it.

[Stonigut]

I am just looking for message music, music with vision, not pop with a roots style vibe, I am looking for a "meesenjah"

[Jangle]

What message are you looking for? The Berlin Wall fell in '89 and Apartheid ended in '94.

[Islandman]

That is the thing. Different generations have different experiences and different influences. Maybe what they are writing about may not move us they way our generation of reggae artistes did but their message is still relevant.

Also Stoni there may not be a single standout messenger in this generation, it would be great if there is but there is no law that says there must be one. What is more important in my view is that the movement grows and sustains itself. It is very hard to do that with a style that appeals primarily to a demographic 2 generations older than they are. That is like the old country pastor whose church still only sings hymns written 100 years ago and then wonders why everybody in the congregation is over 70 years old and the church is on its way to extinction.


Kabaka Pyramid - Never Gonna Be A Slave

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVmux6zIUko

Jesse Royal - Modern Day Judas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FET__7Z89qY

Eternal Fire Chronixx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R04trE8T190

[myYout]

Chronixx 'Aint no giving in' or 'Odd ras' or 'Behind Curtain' and dem innah di dancehall mold. If yuh waan message, wha bettah message dan dem deh. Ah Sorry him bus dem suh early. An ah ole chune dem.

[Assasin]

The problem is how many station you hear dem tune a play pon???

The movement is alive and well but them youth and tune deh soon gone a Europe and bypass Eastern US and Jamaica because we nuh play dem tune deh and the man them have to go where the demand.

An idea is listen to XM reggae station and you hear some a them tune deh, but listen local station and all you hear a some one punchline songs going 120 BPM.

[myYout]

true dat, wi evah acknowledge anyting till foreign or merica gi it di sign ah approval yet.

[Stonigut]

Yeah, but..... The church is filled with millennials and younger all over the world, so that point don't really hold much water but I understand what you trying to say.

I like Kabaka but don't love the name!

[Stonigut]

You kidding right. Struggle just starting, rich getting richer, poor getting more disenfranchised than ever, gap getting wider, slavery is getting worse all over the world, man disregarding his environment to the point of ruin for all, water getting scarce, clean water even scarcer, clean air potentially will be something we may have to buy.the divide between people widens as technology supposedly brings us closer, that is just a few for starters!! The real schisms just starting to bubble up now and will only get worse.