FROM REGGAE TO AFROBEAT: PROTEST, POLITICS AND POP MUSIC

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2  Bunny  Wailer  (The  Wailers  -­‐  1963-­‐1974)    

My  music  is  protest music,  music  protesHng  against  slavery,  class  prejudice,  racism,  inequality,  economic  discriminaHon,  denial  of  opportunity  and  the  injusHce  we  were  suffering  under  colonialism  in  Jamaica.    We  were  taken from Africa where  our  fore-­‐parents  were  kings  and  queens  and  brought to Jamaica  on  ships  as  slaves,  where  we  were  stripped  of  our  names,  our  language,  our  culture,  our  God  and  our  religion  

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But  music  is  the  soul  of  Africa  …  and  this  they  were  unable  to  conquer.    […]    Every  twist  and  turn  of  Jamaican  music  

of  the  last  forty  years  has  reflected  what  has  been  happening  to  the  

people,  either  poliHcally  or  socially,  and  oYen  it’s  the  other  way  around,  with  the  music  and  sound  systems  influencing  the  country’s  poliHcs.      

 -­‐-­‐  Prince  Buster  quoted  in  Bradley,  2000:  xv.  

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Overview  

•  History  of  reggae  – Role  of  ska  and  rocksteady  

•  Global  impact  (Bob  Marley)  •  Reggae  in  Britain  •  Afrobeat  (Fela  KuH)  

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Reggae  =  Ska  

Rocksteady  Roots  Dub  

Dancehall  Raga  

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-­‐  Prince  Buster  –  ‘Independence  Song’  -­‐  Lord  Creator  -­‐  ‘Independent  Jamaica’    -­‐  Al  T.  Joe  -­‐    ‘Independence  is  Here’    -­‐  Derrick  Morgan  -­‐  ‘Forward  March’    -­‐  Joe  White  and  Chuck    -­‐  ‘One  NaHon’  

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‘Ska’  represented  a  musical  cross-­‐breed  between  a  fiery,  indigenous  culture  and  black  US  music    -­‐  Chambers,  1985:  154  

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Marcus  Garvey's  words  come  to  pass  (x2)    Can't  get  no  food  to  eat,  Can't  get  no  money  to  spend,  Wo-­‐oo-­‐oo  Can't  get  no  food  to  eat,  Can't  get  no  money  to  spend,  Woo  -­‐oo-­‐  oo    Come,  li2le  one  and  let  me  do  what  I  can  do  for  you  And  you  and  you  alone  Come,  li2le  one,  wo-­‐oo-­‐oo  Let  me  do  what  I  can  do  for  you  and  you  alone,  woo-­‐oo-­‐oo    He  who  knows  the  right  thing  And  do  it  not  Shall  be  spanked  with  many  stripes,    Weeping  and  wailing  and  moaning,  You've  got  yourself  to  blame,  I  tell  you.  Do  right  do  right  do  right  do  right  do  right,  Tell  you  to  do  right,  Woo  -­‐oo-­‐  oo    Beg  you  to  do  right,  Woo  -­‐oo-­‐  oo  

Where  is  Bagawire,  he's  nowhere  to  be  found  He  can't  be  found  First  betrayer  who  gave  away  Marcus  Garvey  Son  of  Satan,  First  prophesy,  Catch  them,  Garvey  old  Catch  them  Garvey,  catch  them  Woo  -­‐oo-­‐  oo  Hold  them  Marcus,  hold  them  Woo  -­‐oo-­‐  oo  Marcus  Garvey,  Marcus  Woo  -­‐oo-­‐  oo    

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June  22nd    1948  Tilbury  (Essex)  

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1960s  –  Ska  and  rocksteady  Jamaican  independence    a  decade  of  strong  economic  growth    •  strong  investments  in  bauxite  mining  •  tourism    •  manufacturing    

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[Rude boys]  were  mostly  unemployed  and  had  taken  to  carrying  German  ratchet  knives  and  handguns.  They  could  be  anything  from  fourteen  to  twenty  five  years  old  and  came  from  all  over  West  Kinsgton.  And  above  all,  the  rude  boys  were  angry.  CondiHons  in  West  Kingston  had  hardly  improved  with  the  passing  years.  Rather  than  buckle  under  to  a  life  spent  doing  menial  work  or  no  work  at  all,  the  rude  boys  took  to  the  street  and  to  crime -­‐  Hebdige,  1987:  72  

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Rudies  in  court,  now  boys,  rudies  in  court  Rudies  in  court,  now  boys,  rudies  in  court    Order!  -­‐  Now,  this  court  is  in  session,  And  I  order  all  you  rude  boys  to  stand  !  You're  brought  her  by  a  verdict  for  shooHng  and  raping,  Now  tell  me,  rude  boys,  what  have  you  to  say  for  yourselves  ?    Your  honour,  Rudies  don't  fear,  Rudies  don't  fear  no  boys,  rudies  don't  fear,  Rudies  don't  fear  no  boys,  rudies  don't  fear,    Rougher  than  rough,  tougher  than  tough  Strong  like  lion,  we  are  iron  Rudies  don't  fear  no  boys,  rudies  don't  fear,  Rudies  don't  fear  no  boys,  rudies  don't  fear  :/    Rudies  don't  fear  no  boys,  rudies  don't  fear,  fe  real  Rudies  don't  fear  no  boys,  rudies  don't  fear,  bad...  

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Reggae  is  transmogrified  American  ‘soul’  music  with  an  overlay  of  salvaged  African  rhythms,  and  an  undercurrent  of  pure  Jamaican  rebellion.  Reggae  is  transplanted  Pentecostal.  Reggae  is  the  Rasta  hymnal,  the  heart  cry  of  Kingston  Rude  Boy,  as  well  as  the  naHvised  naHonal  anthem  of  the  new  Jamaican  government  -­‐Hebdige,  1976:  140-­‐1  

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[Reggae  ceased]  ‘to  signify  an  exclusive  ethnic  Jamaican  style  and  derived  a  different  kind  of  cultural  legiHmacy  both  from  a  new  global  status  and  from  its  expression  of  what  might  be  termed  a  pan-­‐Caribbean  culture’    -­‐  Paul  Gilroy,  1993:  82  

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An  ‘Africa’  which  lay  dormant  and  forgo2en  inside  the  language  of  the  white  Master.  Read  between  the  lines  the  Text  could  be  made  to  

deliver  up  this  Africa,  to  free  it,  and  to  restore  it  to  the  ‘righteous  sufferer’  

-­‐  Hebdige,  1979:  33  

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Rastafarianism  

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Rastafarianism  -­‐  Ras  Tafari  Makonnen  -­‐  Haile  Selassie  I  -­‐  Ethiopian  Regent  1916-­‐1930  -­‐  Emperor  of  Ethiopia  1930-­‐74  

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The  Rastas  played  out  the  kind  of  existenHal  absurdity  in  Jamaican  society.  They  defiled  the  sacred  images  of  the  white  Jesus  as  liberator  through  their  own  theology  of  Haile  Selassie,  and  yet  they  also  offended  the  spiritualist  churches,  which  supported  Jamaica’s  poor,  by  shunning  the  pracHce  of  possession  trances.  The  Rasta  call  for  repatriaHon  to  Ethiopia  was  a  rejecHon  of  poliHcal  involvement  in  their  own  society.  -­‐  Lewis,  1993:  9  

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Their  refusal  to  imitate  English  mannerisms  –  the  undisputed  sign  of  respectability  in  Jamaican  society  –  showed  a  disregard  for  convenHon.  They  viewed  marijuana  –  a  drug  popular  among  the  working  poor  as  a  palliaHve  to  help  them  endure  labor  in  the  fields  –  as  a  tool  of  illuminaHon  to  make  one  aware  of  the  bourgeois  world.  These  traits  marked  the  Rastas  as  a  challenge  and  a  threat.  -­‐  Lewis,  1993:  9  

27  Bob  Marley  -­‐    1945-­‐1981  

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I  don't  have  prejudice  against  meself.  My  father  was  a  white  and  my  mother  was  black.  Them  call  me  half-­‐caste  or  whatever.  Me  don't  deh  pon  nobody's  side.  Me  don't  deh  pon  the  black  man's  side  nor  the  white  man's  side.  Me  deh  pon  God's  side,  the  one  who  create  

me  and  cause  me  to  come  from  black  and  white  -­‐  Marley  interviewed  by  Webley,  10  May  2008  

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CompilaHon  /  1974  /  Trojan  Records  ‘Duppy  Conqueror’  

Yes,  me  friend,  me  friend  Dem  set  me  free  again  Yes,  me  friend,  me  friend  Me  deh  'pon  street  again    The  bars  could  not  hold  me  Walls  could  not  control  me  now  They  try  to  keep  me  down  But  God  put  me  around    Yes,  I've  been  accused  Wrongly  abused  now  But  through  the  powers  of  the  Most  High  They've  got  to  turn  me  loose    Don't  try  to  cold  me  up  On  this  bridge  now  I've  got  to  reach  Mount  Zion  If  you  are  bull-­‐bocor  I'm  a  duppy  conqueror,  conqueror    

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Most  people  think  great  God  will  come  from  the  sky  Take  away  everything  and  make  everybody  feel  high  But  if  you  know  what  life  is  worth,    You  would  look  for  yours  on  earth  Now  you  see  the  light,    Stand  up  for  your  right    

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That  unHl  the  philosophy  which  holds  one  race  superior  and  another  inferior  is  finally  and  permanently  discredited  and  abandoned;  That  unHl  there  are  no  longer  first-­‐class  and  second-­‐class  ciHzens  of  any  naHon;  That  unHl  the  color  of  a  man's  skin  is  of  no  more  significance  than  the  color  of  his  eyes;  That  unHl  the  basic  human  rights  are  equally  guaranteed  to  all  without  regard  to  race;  That  unHl  that  day,  the  dream  of  lasHng  peace  and  world  ciHzenship  and  the  rule  of  internaHonal  morality  will  remain  but  a  fleeHng  illusion,  to  be  pursued  but  never  a2ained;  And  unHl  the  ignoble  and  unhappy  regimes  that  hold  our  brothers  in  Angola,  in  Mozambique  and  in  South  Africa  in  subhuman  bondage  have  been  toppled  and  destroyed;  UnHl  bigotry  and  prejudice  and  malicious  and  inhuman  self-­‐interest  have  been  replaced  by  understanding  and  tolerance  and  good-­‐will;  UnHl  all  Africans  stand  and  speak  as  free  beings,  equal  in  the  eyes  of  all  men,  as  they  are  in  the  eyes  of  Heaven;  UnHl  that  day,  the  African  conHnent  will  not  know  peace.  We  Africans  will  fight,  if  necessary,  and  we  know  that  we  shall  win,  as  we  are  confident  in  the  victory  of  good  over  evil.    –  Haile  Selassie  I  speech  to  the    United  NaHons  General  Assembly  in  1963.  

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1970s  Jamaica  •  Socially  and  poliHcally  divided  •  Michael  Manley  government  favoured  Cuba  

and  developing  world  over  US  and  UK  •  In  1977  Archibald  Dunkley,  the  early  Rasta  

leader  wrote  in  The  Ethiopian  World  that  ‘Michael  has  come  to  do  the  will  of  God  for  Rastafarians’  (Lewis,  1993:  69)    

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1960s/1970s  Britain  Afro-­‐Caribbeans  ghe2oized    •  London,    •  Leeds,    •  Coventry  •  Birmingham.    Unemployment  on  the  increase    TradiHonal  industries  waned      Afro-­‐Caribbean  migrants  and  their  families  were  hit  harder  than  most.  

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Ska  music  provided  white  urban  youth  with  a  way  of  recovering  a  ‘tradiHonal’  working  class  idenHty  and  culture  that  was  perceived  to  be  in  decline  or  ‘under  a2ack  from  outsiders’  –  eg.  Asian  immigrants  (‘Paki  Bashin’)  (see  Clarke  1976:  99-­‐102)      •  Joe  ‘The  Boss’  -­‐  Skinhead  Revolt  •  Claude2e  and  CorporaHon  –  Skinhead  ‘a  

Bash  ‘em  •  Byron  Lee  and  the  Dragonaires  –  

Elizabethan  Reggae  •  Rico  -­‐  Brixton  Cat      

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A  ‘militant  consciousness’  of  racial  oppression  and  injusHce  emerged  within  Black-­‐BriHsh  youth  subcultures  during  mid  1970s  against  what  was  perceived  as  ‘a  white  racist  society’  termed  ‘Babylon’  (Brake,  1992:  116-­‐143)      

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The early 1970s marked the emergence of Rastafarianism. This music was now being produced specifically for British, European and American markets (often in the format of the album rather than the single) through companies such as Island Records to target a much wider audience •  Bob Marley and the Wailers - Natty Dread •  Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry - Arkology •  Linton Kweshi - Forces of Victory/Inglan is a Bitch •  Culture – Two Sevens Clash •  Junior Murvin – Police and Thieves

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Rastafarianism  and  reggae  ‘significantly  altered  the  way  in  which  noHons  of  ‘blackness’  and  

black  idenHty  were  expressed’    -­‐  Benne2,  2001:    81    

Influenced  punk  during  late  1970s  (taken  up  by  alienated  white  working  class  youth).  They  shared    ‘similarly  opposiHonal  stances  against  the  dominant  BriHsh  society’  -­‐  Hebdidge,  1979:    64  

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The Clash -  White Man in Hammersmith Palace, -  Rudie Can’t Fail, -  Police and Thieves, -  Living in Fame

Reggae artists such as Marley also began to acknowledge ‘cross-over’ with punk music with releases such as Punky Reggae Party in late 1970s. Politicised black-white reggae bands such as UB40 emerge

Rock Against Racism, Anti-Nazi League and Red Wedge benefit concerts and albums of late 1970s further consolidated alliance between punk and reggae outfits (Steel Pulse, TRB, UB 40, Culture, Billy Bragg) They ‘galvanised a white following for reggae - empathised with the fundamental politics of its sound and lyrical content’ . It fed into ‘shared local experiences and cross racial affiliations’ - strong left wing university following during 1980s (Bennett, 2001: 83)

This image of multiculturalism contested ‘racist’ identities assigned to ethnic groups by politicians, news media and the National Front.

Black and white communities steadily became more harmonised around the ‘shared’ space of local neighbourhoods, streets, ‘dancehalls’ and pubs – Racial distinctions, particularly between young people, become far less important to identities

•  One of the central strategies of New Right in Britain – as in the USA under Reagan and Bush – was to represent the presence of Black British youth as a ‘social problem’ and unemployed white youth as the ‘dangerous classes’

•  Labelled within political and news discourse as a potential ‘enemy within’ (see Brake 1992)

•  Posed a cultural threat to British national identity or ‘Britishness’

•  A series of media moral panics in relation to ethnicity in Britain become common place – street crime, welfare, violence welfare dependency etc

•  Series of inner city riots between 1980-85 highlighted the plight of disenfranchised inner city black-white youth during period of massive unemployment and social deprivation (see Brake 1992)

Main Two-Tone act The Specials - a multi ethnic outfit - produced a series of punk-influenced ska cover versions and originals on self-titled first album (1979). Songs also drew links with earlier ‘skinhead’ musical tradition

–  Too Much Too Young –  Rudie, A Message to You –  Gangsters

Doesn't Make it Alright, significantly, interrogated the ethics of racial assaults and violence against ethnic minorities in British cities, indicting The National Front as a threat to race relations in UK

More importantly, second album More Specials (1981) further highlighted political stance of group in alliance with Black-White British working class youth with releases such as Do Nothing, Why? Racist Friend and Ghost Town

52  The  Specials  –  ‘Ghost  Town’  1981  

•  Two Tone also included other bands such as The Selector and The Body Snatchers (all-girl) Concentrated mainly on covers of ska ‘classics’ Too Experienced, Do Rock Steady

•  Reformation of band into Special AKA (1983) led to national campaign for the release of imprisioned political activist Nelson Mandela in apartheid controlled South Africa after commercial success of anti-racist anthem Free Nelson Mandela

•  National concert followed (1985) at Wembley Stadium raising social awareness of racism in UK and South Africa - arguably helped bring about the release of Mandela and eventual liberation of South Africa

•  Birmingham based multi-ethnic outfit The Beat - who emerged in 1979 - relied much more heavily on Jamaican reggae traditions of toasting (rapping), over-dub production and intricate use of brass section. –  Hands Off She’s Mine –  Rough Rider –  Drowning

•  Nevertheless the band retained militant stance against New Right politics that celebrated multi-culturalism and promoted a breakdown of ethnic boundaries –  Stand Down Margaret –  Doors of Your Heart

•  In summary, Black-British music was initially bound up with the experiences of second generation Afro-Caribbean immigrants in Britain

•  Initially emerged through indigenous Jamaican ska during the 1960s. By the 1970s this genre had began to be specifically targeted at Black and White British audiences within multi-ethnic urban centres

•  Fusion of punk and reggae during mid 1970s helped to transform genre (militant political stance) which became popular with white working class British audiences – through shared experience of unemployment, poverty and deprivation – supported new ‘youth based’ multicultural identities

•  Success of Two Tone and bands such as The Specials and The Beat marked the emergence of indigenous multi ethnic outfits and explored important concerns for black and white working class youth in post – colonial Britain during the 1980s – provided an influence to later politically committed and militant ‘second generation’ ethnic bands – Asian Dub Foundation

•  Initiated the launch of benefit concerts and raising of social awareness amongst ‘white mainstream’ audiences. Street (1992) in Wagg (1995) argues that such ‘events’ mark the final incorporation of resistant and militant forms of music into the mainstream of the culture industry and beginnings of corporate sponsored rock (eg.Band-Aid)

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Fela  KuH    1938-­‐1997  

Middle-­‐Class  Nigerian  Musician  PoliHcal  acHvist  Kalakuta  Republic  Jailed  for  currency  smuggling  Died  of  AIDS    

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 •  ‘Reggae  Wallpaper’  D.ST.  •  ‘Tybee  Umbrella’  Bri2any  Randolph  •  ‘Rasta’  Naomielise  Harden  •  ‘Bob  Marley’  Sougata  Ghosh  •  ‘Bob  Marley’  Luke  McKernan  •  ‘This  Old  Rasta’  josh  hunter  

•  ‘creaHve  commons  -­‐Franz  Patzig-­‐’  A.  Diez  Herrero  

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