I feel like a few more folks are ovastanding the merit in the "building our own table" concept
It is prudent to protect and to elevate one's self in this jungle of life
I will continue to share these thoughts of independence even within the belly of the beast. We do need to survive but what are you / we willing to concede to achieve these goals?
The talent is unquestionable for some
How do we export our music to other provinces?
How do we connect to Torontonians who wish to hear and to purchase our music?
Where is our pipeline to selling our music internationally?
As we have established on several occasions, reggae music has been in Canada for 60 years now and its lack of support range into several excuses by old, white racist men and women, giving us lines like,
1. "Reggae is too mainstream for us to give funding"
"If it were so mainstream, why aren't we hearing it on the radio?" I says, and there is an awkward silence
2. "Reggae is indigenous to Jamaica, its not Canadian, so we cannot fund it". Another racist ass, side step, to avoid investing in Canadians. Us!
3. "Reggae is Jamaican, so we can't play it on our radio stations"
4. "Reggae does not suit our formatting". My favorite, vague, bullshit excuse of the most racist kind
I'm sure I've forgotten the myriad of reasons and excuses that I have received over the years
The bullshit is 60 years and going
But I was built to listen to all of that fuckery and still choose to create my own space and I encourage others to see these things as they present themselves and to respond accordingly and seek fiscal upliftmet today as well as for future generations
I give props to Toronto Reggae's, Jason McLean, working on something "reggae" for over a decade now. I knew that this dude Jason was a reggae nerd like me, mindlessly working on our culture every single day
Again I send big love to Mally Bless and Tonya P whose efforts in the last couple of years of the Starliners Entertainment company have truly elevated the culture
There are more good folks out there doing the good works and we should be connecting those dots and growing this even more
Big up Emile Reed of The Boxing Loft, as venues for live reggae music are not easily accessible in these times and the BL has been a refuge for the culture
Props to Music Ontario for seeking inclusion to this reggae culture and supporting this event. Blessings Emy and Matt
It was awesome to speak with DillanPonders, an independent artist, successfully moving though the music industry, giving us insights on mindset, determination, work ethic and a willingness to stand alone and let your own personality / brand be the only focus
All of these pitfalls are real but they do not need to be our focus
My thoughts are on creating a path that fiscally benefits and rewards the time and effort that we invest in our culture
Our next Feel Reggae event will be Saturday, 29th October, details to come
It is prudent to protect and to elevate one's self in this jungle of life
I will continue to share these thoughts of independence even within the belly of the beast. We do need to survive but what are you / we willing to concede to achieve these goals?
The talent is unquestionable for some
How do we export our music to other provinces?
How do we connect to Torontonians who wish to hear and to purchase our music?
Where is our pipeline to selling our music internationally?
As we have established on several occasions, reggae music has been in Canada for 60 years now and its lack of support range into several excuses by old, white racist men and women, giving us lines like,
1. "Reggae is too mainstream for us to give funding"
"If it were so mainstream, why aren't we hearing it on the radio?" I says, and there is an awkward silence
2. "Reggae is indigenous to Jamaica, its not Canadian, so we cannot fund it". Another racist ass, side step, to avoid investing in Canadians. Us!
3. "Reggae is Jamaican, so we can't play it on our radio stations"
4. "Reggae does not suit our formatting". My favorite, vague, bullshit excuse of the most racist kind
I'm sure I've forgotten the myriad of reasons and excuses that I have received over the years
The bullshit is 60 years and going
But I was built to listen to all of that fuckery and still choose to create my own space and I encourage others to see these things as they present themselves and to respond accordingly and seek fiscal upliftmet today as well as for future generations
I give props to Toronto Reggae's, Jason McLean, working on something "reggae" for over a decade now. I knew that this dude Jason was a reggae nerd like me, mindlessly working on our culture every single day
Again I send big love to Mally Bless and Tonya P whose efforts in the last couple of years of the Starliners Entertainment company have truly elevated the culture
There are more good folks out there doing the good works and we should be connecting those dots and growing this even more
Big up Emile Reed of The Boxing Loft, as venues for live reggae music are not easily accessible in these times and the BL has been a refuge for the culture
Props to Music Ontario for seeking inclusion to this reggae culture and supporting this event. Blessings Emy and Matt
It was awesome to speak with DillanPonders, an independent artist, successfully moving though the music industry, giving us insights on mindset, determination, work ethic and a willingness to stand alone and let your own personality / brand be the only focus
All of these pitfalls are real but they do not need to be our focus
My thoughts are on creating a path that fiscally benefits and rewards the time and effort that we invest in our culture
Our next Feel Reggae event will be Saturday, 29th October, details to come
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