Fi Real
14
Euro.
"Fi dem pop style wit fake smiles"
Yes... reggae massive dancehall sessions hitting main stream like a typhoon. Everywhere I turn, I see reggae dancehall climbing the social ladder in almost every country around the Globe. It may seem positive to some but there is a darker side to this picture. If you do a web search on reggae you may find numerous links featuring reggae. The features that dominate the visual of such a search would be an abundant of none Jamaicans promoting and selling reggae then every. "The ancestors of these none enthics introduce the bible while making deeds to ancient lands, now many replaced the white of their sheets by selling the beats from the street... while ignoring the fact that we enthics must also eat. Remember my friends, never you forget it, for it's all about the moneyS? currency, their economy. Some even wearing dreadlocks, shouting Jah and Rasta while jumping up in dancehall to reggae beats. I have witnessed them, these whitetafarians only to laugh & cry at the same time. Some wearing red, green and yellow with no overstand of its meaning. Many are totally ignorant of reggae and the wording we use in expressing the vibrations of their evil on us.
While living in Japan, I was invited to a reggae dancehall session in Tokyo. At this dance the DJ was spinning some wicked selections of Denis Brown, Gregory Isaac, Yami Bolo, Garnet Silk, Puddy Roots, Early B, Super Cat Brigadier Jerry & many other great old dancehall tunes. The DJ was Japanese with long dreadlocks; while mixing the beats he was toasting in Jamaican dialect (slang), "big up to all the people whether you black, white, or Asian: big up to all the reggae lovers. In conversation with this chap, I learn that he took some time in living in Jamaica for over six years, just to get the vibes of the dancehall, reggae and who we are as Jamaicans. It was a pleasant and refreshing feeling for I a Jamaican who was studying martial arts in Japan. Now I am living in Europe, the Netherlands, which has a similar pattern to Southern territory of The United State of America where hostility towards enthics majority still exists openly and latently. A man from Jamaica stated that one should emancipation self and frees the mind, for none but we can free the time, another man from the same crew sings about people fighting for peace and forgetting about Justice. In Babylon the value of justice is in an unbalance state. Justice is not for the little people on the streets of society or the poor man with great ideas. Many know of Bob Marley but remember little of Peter Macintosh. He was a "heartcial" reggae rebels both on & off the stage. Often the lackeys of the wealthy (the polices) would beat and abuse him because of his out-spoken nature of their evil schemes on poor people. The rebel tone back then was on the social inequality of the rich and the poor. His vocal wasn't about gun in hands or explicit bed activities, nor was it about the labeling of our mothers as whores or negative connotations. It's very hard to emancipation self when reggae artists and entertainers releasing negativity from their mouth for financial gain. It's even harder when these same artists and entertainers becomes the token blacks for establishments that care little about the plights we still encountering on a daily base. Even worst is the lost of identity by many of these artists and entertainers, "them sell them souls fi please the crowd".
As a night club photographer I decided to venture out to check the reggae vibe at the Effenaar here in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. It was the 11th of February 2002. In the recent video of No Doubt "Hey Baby", the group gave homage to that profession, as they depicted a photographer going through the club taken photography. At one point in the video the photographer holds out his palm as to get paid before leting go the photograph he just took of one of the patron of the club.
Where I set up backgrounds & photography patrons of reggae for a small fee, but this was not to be. The Effenaar reggae promoter, a European female sporting dreadlocks and rastaisim is in fear. The usual case when black men stand on their own feet for economy mobility. Before the dance, I approach her about the possibility of photographing but was told no. She was upset that I interrupted her meal of pizza and that I approached her forty-five minute before the show. Her imposing protocols went further by stating procedures before I can enter the club; I should call her in advance to discuss arrangements. There were two other vendors that night in the club another black man selling t-shirts of Bob Marley and colors of red green and yellow.
Such protocols If your saw the latest video of No doubt "hey baby" On the billing to perform with a live band were Ward 21 and Vegas. Before and after the show the name of the sound system to play reggae dancehall was Ovadoze with selectors Pepper-seed and Scissors, basically none Jamaicans/none blacks. It was a Dutch crew capitalizing on reggae this is nothing new with all things Enthic. Personally, I have met both selectors and at this moment I can't claim friendship between them and I. The pattern of their goal is food for themselves and none for me. In their fraternity of evil there exist another all Dutch sound system by the name of crucial sound, of which selector Scissors is also a member. His counterpart around the turntable spins Chic Chic man lyric like drinking water. Yet with my two eyes, while spinning some reggae dancehall I witness him pause kissing other man on their lips as greeting. This makes me ponder about the company of reggae. As a Jamaican this is not our norm.
In dialogue with Pepper-seed, he responded to me of a Jamaican artist who questioned his valuation as a none black/Jamaica playing reggae music, because he didn't like this artist tone, he decided to banned that artist music from his selection on the airwaves. Here is a man "Pepper-seed" still living with his parent with only stories on the struggles of us Blacks/Jamaicans but due to the influence of sudo-power you know the rest of their glory my friends. This type of karma has being accepted since the dawn of evil on us blacks. His thoughts were; we as Jamaicans should be happy about someone else playing reggae music. Once as a child, I was told that practice becomes perfect, I disagree with my teacher and replied that's incorrect: perfect practice becomes perfect because one can practice something perfectly incorrectly then what? My teacher was in a dazed as too many of these so-called reggae lovers, with calling out names of Jah and Bob Marley like that's the identity of our struggles in expressing of reggae music.
Now, many demons capitalize on reggae, many none blacks, none Jamaicans standing tall with finance and merryment with ignorance as their overstanding of who we are as Jamaican and black in their evil society. The same many will greet with shaking of hands and fake smile only to take you for a ride. Selector Scissors once spoke to me of how he cried as a little boy when the light shone on his awareness as human. Hi tears were on the past, the institution of slavery on blacks by this own Dutch government. Not surprising to a scholar like myself, his network of evil is still very much alive today. It ease to observe them in action, first you must learn to consume large quantity of alcohol, smoke cigarettes like a chimney and greet in the pagan ritual of handshakes or the modern stupidity of pounding fist together. When you enter their camps you must first make them feel you are not a threat other wise you may not be welcome back. Worst they will band together and crucify you, example of such remember Jesus Christ, Malcolm Marcus Garvey and many more. In my decision to venture to the Effenaar, I sought to do so, as I have done in the past at other reggae event: a photomanS? that's someone who take photography of the patrons of reggae. I have three beautiful back ground that I designed which travel allover with me.
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It's a Shame
> It's a mouse... it's a mouse...
EEK A MOUSE in eindhoven nl
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