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Reggae For Life ~ Sold Online

6/29/2016

Reggae For Life was a campaign that I started probably over two decades ago. I did recognize that there is / was nowhere to turn to get support or aid for reggae music in Canada. It is / was my thought that there were enough reggae fans of all types who loved the music as much as I do that would support a program as a fiscal feeder system to develop a Canadian contribution to the genre worldwide.

There are MANY shows, artists, performers, producers, studios, musicians, publishers, internet radio shows as an infrastructure is being created by us Canadian natives. Yet homegrown reggae music has no presence on Canadian radio and many of the Canadian practitioners of reggae music have no way for earning royalties from commercial airplay and there isn’t enough of international radio support for the vast majority.

Money can only be earned through performing at concerts or studio work making dubs.
Enter RFL! I started out with tank tops and wristbands back in the day and today in 2106 I have knapsacks. Very attractive knapsacks I might add.

The purchase of the product /s goes DIRECTLY to the upliftment of reggae music through performances, contests as well as promotionally.

The bags (knapsacks) are $20.00 and add $5.00 for shipping and handling in Ontario. Yes I am willing to ship across Canada yet we’d have to work out the shipping rates prior to sending. Etransfers can be sent to canadianreggaeworld@gmail.com. So as much as I'd like to see everyone, I can't so we can all work with snail mail.

Other product lines we work with include Reggae Lane, 876ers and 420ers can be seen below for sale on www.reggaelane.org for purchase. We believe merchandising as the key to generating one’s own capital. We put the work into what we do and the results will be shown as we grow fiscally.

We ask for the support of all you reggae heads out there and to request that you pass it on to others interested in reggae growth Canada.

Most importantly, I'd like to say a HUGE thank you to those who have purchased CRW product and continue to support our growth. Jah blessings to all of you.

0 Comments

Spirituality & Reggae Music

6/11/2016

5 Comments

Spirituality and Reggae

Saw a headline some time ago about the Jamaican police looking into the negative effects of dancehall on the crime rate in the country. These police people, not psychoanalysts or psychiatrists or any kind of head doctor will make a decision on music affecting crime. Not that those have to be the only qualifications to make an informed decision but I think there needs to be some kind of medical / psychological research to what dancehall does to the psyche of the people?

It is long known how spiritual the Japanese culture is with bushido, the samurai and long history with Buddhism and discipline. What is it about the dancehall; a very deep culture in Japan now, sees in this great music as a way to their spiritual path that the colonial paid Jamaican police force is unable to see? A police force seeking to blame the music for their loss of control of the crime and murders in JA may be better served to look at past governmental polices with the IMF and World Banks and current western ‘powers’ deliberately downpressing the people of Jamaica? Japan, a foreign culture finds value to the music, yet the country that it is made in is being stifled by the colonial planted leadership.

Locking up Buju and harassing Queen Ifrica and other roots and or dancehall artist will not stop this expression of spirituality and truth. We have never needed anyone’s permission to chant!

At what point does this ‘cerebral’ police force look at the economic crush put on by that wonderful tourist trade that rakes in millions or even billions yet the JA dollar was, last time I checked, 86 – 1 Canadian and MANY struggle to survive hence the crime rate is out of control? When do the ‘bigger heads’ look at that as the core of the issue? When do they look at the effect of a devalued economy on the moral of the country (some of the country, as there are always some folks still living in privilege) and see THAT as the real issue?

One is aware that said police chief / commissioner was given this task by a ‘bigger head’ who was given the order by some other colonial master. Make millions yet stifle an economy then blame the problem on the music. Yup, that makes NUFF sense!
From time, reggae music has been like news. Roots music or much of the dancehall speak of the trials and tribulations of the people, world politics, colonialism, history (for instance Spear and Joseph Hill glorifying Marcus Garvey yet telling a truth about the pirate / rapist Christopher Columbus) crime, sex, love, hope, RasTafari, gun violence, always shining a light on injustice. That is really what the ‘authority’ figures are trying curtail! The artists speaking a truth of the constant abuses that the people face, is the path for research officers! NOT THE MUSIC! Don’t punish the player, research the game!

Yes, some of the tunes are and can be destructive yet when one lives in a hell, the music will reflect that environment. Look at the cause of the hell! Listen to the music and you will hear what affects the people.

These folks are the gatekeepers for what ‘they’ call the Slave Trade yet is more accurately and truly, an African Genocide, [‘slave trade’ is bad enough yet African Genocide is actually the truth] being continued today as they use our own law enforcers and governments to whip us into shape. Judas is always available to do his / her work.

The root of reggae / dancehall is from, of and about the spirit. It is why the music penetrates all cultures yet gets the biggest fight. It is why ‘they’ fight. It has NOTHING to do with the effects on the crime rate or the murder rate. It is about an attempt to stifle that spirit. That truth.

It is fine for major labels to steal from the dancehall yet change the name of the beat and give the originators no credit or promote anyone not Jamaican who sings reggae music and tell the world how versatile and talented the person is yet never elevate the place where it all originates.

Reggae is of the spirit and the soul. Stopping or curbing this expression only evolves it like the mythical Phoenix coming back more powerful each time for the spirit is eternal.

5 Comments

Overcome Colonialism by Supporting Self

6/5/2016

7 Comments

Such a simple truth.

So I leave a really good paying job with nuff benefits like medical and dental, and credit union to pursue this part of my path. I focus on this racist worldwide policy that I am supposed to conform to and to accept as the forced degradation is commonly acceptable to most every single white Canadian.

Our plight cannot change as black or indigenous people because to the colonialist keeping the ‘inferior’ races in their place /s, is the basis of colonialism. The ‘inferior’ must be kept in its place for the white superiority to feel good about itself. Nothing changes because the racist government supports its racist population.

Now hold on, don’t “send you back to Jamaica where you come from! Blackie!” because you are responsible there also! Colonialism is the basis of the complete degradation of Jamaican people and a suppression of our culture which as you have plainly noticed is fairly unstoppable. Rastafari and reggae music grow across the global plain to European, Asian, East Indian, South American, African and all places in between yet gets the greatest fight from the Jamaican ‘government’ created by the head of the colony. JLP or PNP makes no difference. The poverty level, the crime rate, the death rate, the guns per capita, is way too high for such a small, beautiful island. The colonial master’s system is at its peak in African or Jamaican or other West Indian nations so when we migrate to Canada, we are well groomed to accept the abuse that we were ‘born to take’.

White Canadians have varying degrees of education to this racist policy. From the very well educated who had a semester or two of poly-sci who are now CEOs, doctors, lawyers know of it yet maintain the status quo of white superiority because “it is their God given right to be superior! If ‘they’ (black people) were smarter, they would not be in this position!” and tend to go about their lives with some level of comfort with their black friends. Many of the rest have way less education so basically feed off of the system’s lack of empathy and are out and out racist as they are empowered by said system!

I do not need acknowledgement from the colonial ‘master’ to continue to glow and the shine with the light that the Father has placed inside me, to connect with the similar light in all who share life on this planet. We must all shine our respective lights. No matter who sees it or not! If your light isn’t shun, it stunts the growth of the thing, setting, person that it was meant for and without your light, you shut down the chain of positive energy that we need. So shine your light!

I LOVE being Canadian!

Everywhere in the world has its own set of problems in so many ways, shapes and forms. If we could miraculously end racism in Canada, we would find something else to differ on or to fight about unfortunately. It seems like it is our nature as humans.

I am not a fan of colonial rule and no black, brown, red, yellow individual bears the yolk of ‘understanding’ their place with any level of acceptance. Some won’t admit to it based on false pride, yet there was a day, a circumstance, a word, a sentence, a snide comment, an experience that reminded you about the place you are supposed to accept.

I get what ‘they’ are saying but I ain’t down with that ‘place’ shit! “They” need to fuck off with that right quick! Yeah, yeah, I know it is our current system and it has been running for several hundred years now and is so entrenched in society and totally ingrained in our collective psyches, we can’t see any light at the end of any tunnels.

I gotcha! Slavery for generations!

Yet I want to say to all who read my writing / s, you also have a sense of how grateful I am for life, for love, for sunshine, for one of the most beautiful countries in the world with some truly awesome people who are my friends and family. I also do love many things Canadian yet I am never satisfied with what I am expected to accept as my “place”.

I must have heard it from a very wise source once and it stayed with me. It is a concept used in the martial arts as well (maybe where I learned it), if someone is pushing against you, it is your instinct to push back. So for generations said system has black people fighting for things like “civil rights” which is quite an effective distraction. Why effective? NO MAN CAN TAKE YOUR CIVIL RIGHTS! They are God given! They can tell us which washrooms to use, which water fountains to drink from, expect murders from the law enforcement establishment yet your civil rights are yours and only yours. Making rules and laws to degrade a race of people does not eliminate our civil rights. Our responses, in yelling and screaming when victimized, peace rallies and marches, protesting, are common distractions that continue to work because in our minds, it is our way of pushing back.

WE NEED TO STOP PUSHING BACK!

We need to focus creative energy and thought to the elevation of business, self awareness, cooperation, entrepreneurship, investment in self and culture and to be BOLD in our outlook.

Why do you / we fight for a right that no human or law can take from you? In all of the years of hand holding, peaceful sit-ins, speeches, marches, meetings or treaties, nothing has changed!

I have a focus on humanity and in that vein I bring products to the market that is my hope to elevate my current situation as an entrepreneur, as a reggae soldier, encouraging others to shine their light and to elevate humanity by their actions and their deeds. These are my thoughts and creations and even if you aren’t into them, find another designer and support them.

Create an economic base to reinvest in the music so that we aren’t waiting around for granting programs that do not even acknowledge me or reggae music as a Canadian expression. These product lines are reggae related, elevating the earning power of the genre and through reinvestment we intend to grow the positivity in all of our offerings.

The goal is to improve economic growth personally within the genre of reggae with merchandising and encourage other humans to purchase these products and to wear them proudly, knowing why you wear them with pride and encourage others who connect with your light to do the same.

www.reggaelane.org

876 is the Jamaican phone area code

876ers are progressive minded people who recognize the colonial degradation and continued enslavement of a population of people by the colonial system. This current system has Jamaicans murdering Jamaicans.

How does a country that produces BILLIONS in the tourist trade continue to be “broke”?

Simple!

The Colony siphons those resources for decades and centuries with no regard for the people. The land, the once sugar cane industry, the once bauxite industry, Blue Mountain coffee, the hotels, the beaches, the ganja...all make more than enough profit to eradicate the Jamaican deficit owed to the IMF and the World Banks, controlled by the Colony’s systemic rape machine.

Ites, gold and green is manufactured and profited on by Chinese factories and not by Jamaicans or RasTafari people. One of the most popular parts of our culture isn’t even supported by Jamaica’s own government. There was a time that the then Prime Minister, ‘Sir’ Alexander Bustamante murdered HUNDREDS of Jamaican RasTafari people on the behest of the Colony. It’s in your history books. Look it up. And we acknowledge him as a ‘hero’ of Jamaican people. Kinda like we were forced to accept the pirate / rapist Christopher Columbus for “discovering” a place where people were already living? Really?

876ers recognize these types of information and are aware of the economic yolk placed around our still enslaved necks. All of these brands put love and respect back into our own community; elevates our community as well as the worldwide community. A vote for any of these brands is a vote for humanity. Investment in these brands and wearing them proudly sends a great message to our children and children’s children to infuse pride in self. Look for other designers and brands and support those too. 876ers are only one alternative.

www.reggaelane.org to purchase

Reggae For Life
Knapsacks

Reggae for human life. For life on earth. For saving all life. To listen to all of my life. To give life.

The Fyah Lion breathes to elevate so if you are feeling this vibe, please purchase one and wear it proudly, which may encourage another to see your pride (light) and come pick up theirs. The hope is that this product can be worthy to hold up the banner of “reggae support” with its family supporting. I also believe that we should all look to other reggae designs by other companies and support such things worldwide.

One of my goals with RFL is to reinvest into the genre by continuing to bring live shows, DJ culture jams, spoken word, dub to live audiences and using those proceeds to purchase better promotional avenues for the music. A creation of a vibrant infrastructure that feeds itself based on good product as well as good talent. Asking all reggae heads out there to read, pass on the information and invest in the genre because of its positive messages.

To purchase RFL send email to canadianreggaeworld@gmail.com

The first roadway in the world named after reggae music!

Canada has never truly acknowledged reggae music as part of the Canadian psyche yet it most certainly is! A very rich history which includes names like Leroy Sibbles, Jay Douglas, DB Hawkes, David Kingston, Joe Gibbs Records, Jojo Bennett, The Sattalites, Lance Ingleton, Jones & Jones, daddy Karl Mullings, the continued legend of Jackie Mittoo, Messenjah, The Bamboo club on Queen Street, big shows at The El Mocambo and The Opera House...the Canadian reggae contribution to reggae vibes is too numerous to count yet NEVER a thought or a dollar invested to the genre by the ‘government’.

So a young, bright politician, Josh Colle, Councillor on Eglinton West also the current chair for the TTC, saw clearly that the expansion of the subway in what was once called affectionately, Little Jamaica [Marlee to Oakwood , along Eglinton] was about to be gentrified based on ‘progress’ and decided to name the laneway from Oakwood to the little parking lot, Reggae Lane! The first roadway on the planet, officially named from Reggae Music.

EVER!

I see that as a blessing. I see an opportunity to tell a “reggae story” of parts of my own journey through some of those years that I managed IBADAN because we used to rehearse directly on that laneway with Ruffins, as did a bunch of other bands and musicians in the 1990s. This Canadian will fill you in on that part of our collective heritage, shared by thousands of other Canadians.

Reggae Lane product can be purchased on www.reggaelane.org

RasTafari spoke of eating ital food back in the 1930s. In the 1970s as my consciousness grew, I remember them saying how weak RasTafari people were because they did not eat meat. We invented "Ital Food"! We were ostracized and vilified for a custom that is now glorified as Veganism in 2016. RasTafari was correct then in the 1930s and 40s as we were then with the burning of herb as a sacrament to whom we praise. We find that herb smoked as we praise, does increase our sensibilities to the human condition as well as a spiritual and intellectual heightening and wish they for that for any and all humans who seek it.

We see the systems need to stop hemp products and production as “they” maintain industries that poison the planet so that they can receive their profits, even to the detriment of humanity.

RasTafari has also revered and respected the healing qualities of ganja to the spiritual, intellectual and physical growth of humans and consistently preaches those things even today.

420ers ascribe to the forward movement of humanity.

The 420ers product line is about the positivity of marijuana to the people of this world. Wearing this brand not only shows physical support but also puts dollars towards this positive movement.

Proceeds of all sales will aid with the legal fees for those incarcerated by “law officials” in the latest bust in May 2016. It is our hope to generate enough to breakdown useless laws that restrict and constrict humanity for their own evil purposes.

420ers are for positive change.

All brands are here to elevate community, self and humanity. Please purchase and pass it on to others who ovastand the economic rise of the enslaved is a vote for humanity.

www.repcap.ca

7 Comments

Reggae For Life ~ Sold Online

Spirituality & Reggae Music

Overcome Colonialism by Supporting Self

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