Amina Blackwood Meeks, ContributorSO, THE coalition for all that's wholesome in the music - no violence, no discrimination, no peeping into people's bedrooms etc - has lifted the ban from those it previously considered to be the chief offenders.
And one a dem, unrepentant to de last drop of his defiant Jamaican blood, and knowing how de story go dat in some quarters money run tings even if in de process tings get ruined, decide sey not only him naw glad fe get back into dem inner sanctum, but him doan even a gwaan like him grateful for him did dun know sey, like how is chu him why dem producks sell, who, wha, it would just be a matter of time before dem bow. A so de newspiapa sey anyway. Awrite, a so Likkle Miss Jing Bang translate what de newspiapa sey.
So while dem is duking out dat, Miss Lady sey it provides yet another opportunity to do likkle talking about anadda part of de Jamaican music, de part dat give inspiration to nuff popular music creations and creators even dem doan know it or doan want to acknowledge it, de ole fashion part, de part dat people mostly call traditional music or folk music, de part dat dem pull out when is a 'cultural' occasion like JCDC Festival time or Emancipation celebrations or Heritage Week or some such.
WELL-DRESSED SPLENDOUR
Well she sey one such was de recent celebration of the 268th anniversary of de first Maroon Treaty. Dere she was in all her regal, well-dressed splendour, into har bonafide authentic clothes from Ghana, ready to indulge into some authentic tings ascarding to de announcement dat did sey dat in 2006 de Maroons was going to go all out to ban de ben-dung plaza syndrome an all kinds of tings passing as 'Maroon Culture' an offer something more in keeping wit how dem tink it would be keeping. An in light she light up fe partake into de performance of what is, without doubt, one of Jamaica's better known and internationally travelled folk groups.
Miss Lady sey as soon as dem start de first song she siddung. For she could not understand what possess dem to start out wit a suite of songs dedicated to how hooman fight over man and how hooman job is to stay home and look after pikney. Yes, de suite included Brown Skin Gal and I'm a Better Woman Dan You Cause a Teef Yu Boyfren From You. She sey not only did she find it inappropriate to de occasion but out of keeping with our arrival in 2006.
Dem kine a song, as far as Miss Lady is concerned, never served de best interest of anybody in de ancient days of dere composition and serve it even less now when we think we recognise dat to create a new Jamaica we have to create people with a different way of tinking bout and relating to nuff tings including dem one anedda. So she start to wonder if just because we create something, like folk songs, it come out of de people, it is forever more to be embraced and held sacred and handed down from generation to generation. She sey she all go a school prizegiving and see de likkle children dem dressed up an possessed of the Spirit of Transition being enthusiastically conducted by a teacher brimming with pride as they rendered lustily such gems as Hooman a Hebby Load an when dem finish dem parents clap an odda likkle children sit down an look forward to fe dem turn fe graduate with similar values.
She sey she a wonder if some a de violence and incitement to bad behaviour, discrimination and peep into bedroom dat Big Shot Coalesce gains nuh rooted into de racial self-hate into some tings dat turn classic like Shine Eye Gal an such dat was also very present in de less dan sweet offerings dat made their way into de celebration of the maroon occasion.
TIE OUT GOAT
Is like we fraid to interrogate weself an dash whey what is not serving us tings dat can digest witout burn we stommuck. Miss Lady sey when she refleck pan how har granny used to get up soon a mamnin go tie out goat an go pan market truck Thursday before day an nuh come back till late Satday night wid couple like coins proudly into har apron pocket, she haffe wonda when inna de time of de creation of certain 'folk' songs hooman did ever siddung a wait fe raid man packit. Or better yet, which set a hooman de song dem was talking bout. As to de song dem what glorify hooman based on dem bedroom performance she sey she can only remember when fe har granny used to talk bout good hooman as de one what work hard, go to Church, help out teacher at school, join hand wid teacher fe meck sure pikney have discipline, study dem book and mannasable to dem elders. Yes, an kip house clean an so was part of it too, till dem start realise certain tings bout how de mount a time spend a kip house, a kip dem from pursue odda uplifting tings.
She sey de whole ting need critical engagement. Maybe is jus anadda case of how we trained fe teck de worse minority per cent of we self fe define weself till we an everybaddi else start to believe sey dat is all dere is to weself.
GALLERY STEREOTYPES
She sey same way like historians a look pan how dem nedda one write bout we maybe we need fe look pan how we write and sing and dance bout weself too. Maybe once upon a time it was sacred to play to de gallery, but we like how we elevate now maybe is time to discard gallery stereotypes an buil some odda foundation fe construct popular tings pan. She sey maybe Coalition cudda give some money and positive energies to some endeavour like dat an den nobaddi neck tie wudden haffe g idem chuuble dem bout who fe ban an who fe liff de ban fram. For dung inna de traditional songs now is all kind a code bout we cultural values and ideology an we need to crack de code as one part of de overall programme about how we set weself right. Selah.
