white man reggae
May 17th 2006 07:43
Reggae sounds and looks best black. I really think there is quite a large support for this notion and it extends to the image reggae should have and where it began. Of course it isn’t debatable that Jamaican started reggae music. There were Chinese Jamaicans involved in the industries and white musicians (including Australians) in bands during the formulation of Jamaican ska music, but the for me it is a music for indigenous Jamaicans.
The Jamaicans responsible for the development of ska, rocksteady and reggae were tough – ex-bouncers, boxers, policeman were choosing music as a career. They were cool – you just have to look at Jackie Mittoo at his prime or any Jamaican rudeboy of the day to see they looked extremely smart in three button slim fitting suits. Even though Bob Marley’s image doesn’t appeal to me, I can’t deny him a very cool tag. Jamaican voices are strong and soulful and the wealth of talent is amazing
Not really surprising then that white people have tried to copy Jamaicans. You’ve had UB40, The Police, The Clash and Aussie Crawl all go in a reggae direction. They lack authenticity and because of the expectations I have when I hear reggae, it lacks something – mainly a really soulful voice. The reggae by white musicians I do like is usually fronted by a guy or girl mimicking a black singer. Why do I like a band such as the Aggrolites? Cos they sound black.
The 2-tone era may be the exception and I can’t quite figure out why I like bands such as the Specials and Madness who were fronted by white singers, except maybe that they were fronted by people who copied the cool dress styles of the Jamaicans anyway.
That’s two controversial blogs in a row!
The Jamaicans responsible for the development of ska, rocksteady and reggae were tough – ex-bouncers, boxers, policeman were choosing music as a career. They were cool – you just have to look at Jackie Mittoo at his prime or any Jamaican rudeboy of the day to see they looked extremely smart in three button slim fitting suits. Even though Bob Marley’s image doesn’t appeal to me, I can’t deny him a very cool tag. Jamaican voices are strong and soulful and the wealth of talent is amazing
even with black members ub40 had a white sound
The 2-tone era may be the exception and I can’t quite figure out why I like bands such as the Specials and Madness who were fronted by white singers, except maybe that they were fronted by people who copied the cool dress styles of the Jamaicans anyway.
That’s two controversial blogs in a row!
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