Old school
Ol skool
A suh dem call wi
Reggae music, Jamaica music, Mento, Ska, Rocksteady & Reggae through the late 60s to the 70s, 80s & 90s produced masterpieces to the world
Many of the artists today recycle those riddims, bass lines, lyrics and even covering those historic tunes
The 50s into the 60s, many Jamaican artists had the ability to play musical instruments, rehearsed together for hours and invented so much within the music, entertaining audiences with a feel good factor, driving the dances that developed from the music of the day
Everyone was seeking the next hit
From listening to some of the foundation artists, they recorded just so that they could be heard on the radio. That was the driving force more so than haggling for money
Sadly, pretty much all of the musicians, singers and performers made very little money from their music getting ripped off by the producers of the time, yet some of the greatest music was produced under these horrid circumstances
Some, like myself am fully aware that reggae today does not carry the same impact as the artists and the songs from bygone times
There is so much great reggae music that it is highly possible that we don't need any new music nor any new reggae stars to shine more light on this corrupt world where we all reside as it has all already been said and done by the veterans. There is no more great reggae music to be had. The time of leadership from the music has passed as we no longer hero worship performers as we did with Marley, Spear, Tosh and the like
The corruption seems to have penetrated to the core of the music where there is no reward for rehearsal with instruments and most importantly, eaten away at consciousness within the lyrical content of today's offerings
First, rehearsal:
Not as many people play instruments anymore it seems, and if the number is the same, there are no bands
No live reggae bands to speak of
One of the reasons I believe, is the time we currently live in. Narcissism is encouraged enough where everyone is the star. Many who play instruments well wish the spotlight for themselves so there seems to be no path to playing with a team / band
Everyone is a star today if one has tik tok or Instagram to entertain between 2 to 100 people daily with their posts. For many, this is enough. The instant gratification of 10 likes is more enticing and rewarding than 3 hours per day, 6 - 7 days per week, for 6 months to a year of grinding just to get small gigs
One cannot blame the players of instruments in this time who do not wish to practice
Consciousness:
Today, everyone is wise
Everyone knows everything
Save the world, save the whale, stop the war, save the children, peace & love etc is completely played out
Folks don't wish to be preached to in these times
Human rights have become a truly complicated message in this day and age
Yet
Consciousness is key
The right message/s will find the right person / people so I'm always optimistic
Live bands
Studio musicians
Conscious artists
These I feel are the root to creating great reggae music within any era
Ol skool
A suh dem call wi
Reggae music, Jamaica music, Mento, Ska, Rocksteady & Reggae through the late 60s to the 70s, 80s & 90s produced masterpieces to the world
Many of the artists today recycle those riddims, bass lines, lyrics and even covering those historic tunes
The 50s into the 60s, many Jamaican artists had the ability to play musical instruments, rehearsed together for hours and invented so much within the music, entertaining audiences with a feel good factor, driving the dances that developed from the music of the day
Everyone was seeking the next hit
From listening to some of the foundation artists, they recorded just so that they could be heard on the radio. That was the driving force more so than haggling for money
Sadly, pretty much all of the musicians, singers and performers made very little money from their music getting ripped off by the producers of the time, yet some of the greatest music was produced under these horrid circumstances
Some, like myself am fully aware that reggae today does not carry the same impact as the artists and the songs from bygone times
There is so much great reggae music that it is highly possible that we don't need any new music nor any new reggae stars to shine more light on this corrupt world where we all reside as it has all already been said and done by the veterans. There is no more great reggae music to be had. The time of leadership from the music has passed as we no longer hero worship performers as we did with Marley, Spear, Tosh and the like
The corruption seems to have penetrated to the core of the music where there is no reward for rehearsal with instruments and most importantly, eaten away at consciousness within the lyrical content of today's offerings
First, rehearsal:
Not as many people play instruments anymore it seems, and if the number is the same, there are no bands
No live reggae bands to speak of
One of the reasons I believe, is the time we currently live in. Narcissism is encouraged enough where everyone is the star. Many who play instruments well wish the spotlight for themselves so there seems to be no path to playing with a team / band
Everyone is a star today if one has tik tok or Instagram to entertain between 2 to 100 people daily with their posts. For many, this is enough. The instant gratification of 10 likes is more enticing and rewarding than 3 hours per day, 6 - 7 days per week, for 6 months to a year of grinding just to get small gigs
One cannot blame the players of instruments in this time who do not wish to practice
Consciousness:
Today, everyone is wise
Everyone knows everything
Save the world, save the whale, stop the war, save the children, peace & love etc is completely played out
Folks don't wish to be preached to in these times
Human rights have become a truly complicated message in this day and age
Yet
Consciousness is key
The right message/s will find the right person / people so I'm always optimistic
Live bands
Studio musicians
Conscious artists
These I feel are the root to creating great reggae music within any era
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