Damian Marley at it again with a collaboration with Skrillex. The new song titled “Make It Bun Dem,” is a dubstep and reggae mash we found at TheOfficialSkrillex. All I have to say is the tune HAAARRDD!!!!
What do you think of the new song?
My three old son recently asked me, what ”color” he was? Taken a back by the question, I told him to get the crayon box and when he did I told him to pick up the color that was closest to his complexion. Naturally he picked up brown, and my answer to him was, “well there you have it.” He moved on, but I became curious.
The reason I responded in that way was because I didnt want him, at this age to be conscious of the race separation in our society. I hoped, that I could have atleast kept h
im away from the black/white issue until about age 7…. call me naive.
He now goes around identfying, the white man and the black man. And now I am concerned. Isn’t it too young for him to even care about the color of ones skin?
Am I wrong for not wanting my son to acknowledge this age old issue, that obviously still plagues our society, at his age?
Is it necessary for us to educate our babies, about race inequality?
Do you feel that educating them that early will help prolong the problem we still face today?
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Tommie Smith is further linked with our island as this 1968 200m record stood until the Jamaican Donald Quarrie took it in 1971. The record is currently held my our Usain Bolt. Smith was the first athlete to run a 200m sub-20 seconds.
Bredrin Kaya, from The Abeng and My Conscious Pen, gives us the historical significance of the act and puts it all into perspective in this post from his blog:
This powerful image first snagged up my attention as a youth when I flipped through a magazine and BRRAAP!- it shat, and has imprinted my imagination for decades. Though I couldn’t overstand all the symbolism and implications when I was younger, I felt the power of rebellion exploding from the expression caught in time. Without knowing the fullness, the Black fists raised in salute pounded an impression in my psyche that I will always identify with, truss mi. And as I grew, I deciphered the symbolism embedded in the image, like narrative scribed in hieroglyphics. When I began seriously writing, it was only then that I fully comprehended the strength packed, loaded and framed in this moment.
For those like me who never even born when this incident tek place, it was at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City during the 200 meter track medal ceremony. In the middle is the winner of the event, Gold Medalist Tommy Smith (USA) and on the right is Bronze Medalist John Carlos (USA). The man on the left is Silver Medalist Peter Norman (Australia).
This action screamed REVOLT for many reasons. The first thing is that political statements are a big NO-NO at the Olympics. Next thing, we talking bout the 60′s, the era of the Civil Rights Movement, world wide Black discontent, protests and riots, from L.A. to Detroit to Sharpeville, South Africa. Remember it was the in the Sixties when His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie declared that “Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited…” AND, don’t forget, the Bredren were wearing the good ole USA akkkross their chests and representing the land of their birth; yet, they still identified with and declared solidarity with The Struggle of The People.
The Brothers stepped on the podium with their black-socked feet , symbolizing the poverty of Black people in America. Tommie, from Texas, draped a black scarf around his neck that stood for Black pride. John Carlos, a Cuban American from Harlem, wore beads that represented “those individuals that were lynched, or killed and that no-one said a prayer for, that were hung and tarred. It was for those thrown off the side of the boats in the middle passage.”
When the Brothers raised their fists in Black Power Salute it was an act of total defiance and a statement of protest against a system that oppressed Black people. (Tommie later declared in his autobiography Silent Gesture that it was a human rights salute)
I must note that Peter Norman, the Australian, stood in protest with Brothers and all three of them wore the badge of the Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR). Norman had been outspoken against Australia’s White Australia Policy so he empathized with Tommie and John, even suggesting that they each wear one of Tommie’s glove after John had forgotten to bring his own pair to the track.
Well yuh done know, the backlash from the statement was tremendous. The Brothers were suspended from the USA Olympic Track Team. Upon returning home, they received death threats from good ole Americans.
Tommie Smith said, “If I win, I am American, not a Black American. But if I did something bad, then they would say I am a Negro. We are black and we are proud of being black. Black America will understand what we did tonight.”
And overstand we did, Bredren. I think Black people the world over felt you. I give thanks.
How many of us would’ve had the dignity and courage to express ourselves on the world stage in such a way that would possibly affect our very livelihood?
Kaya writes the “Lyricist Chat” and other features
on MethodMecca.com abo
Visit Kaya at home at The Abeng and My Conscious Pen
Big up to my bredrin @Eshenshal for always holding these real interesting convos with me about any and everything to do with culture and history- always with a full dose of laughter and realism. The latest things we’ve been chatting about is Nas’ newest tune “The Don” dropped on the 15th this month.
Not new to Jamaican music and musicians, Nas is on a sample of Supercat’s “Dance Inna New York City”. What we hear as “Nas the Don, Nas the Don, Nas the Don…” is the Wild Apache spliced up saying “Dance inna, Dance inna, Dance inna…”
The interview clip in the beginning is Super Cat in some rare footage from a Yo MTV Rap! segment that featured him and the late great Heavy D in 1992. The riddim is produced by Salaam Remi- who’s long been producing Nas tracks, Da Internz- who are producing on this new album and the late Heavy D
I can just imagine the boroughs when Funk Flex premiered this track on Hot97 NYC right as people shed the winter frost for the warm spring weather…. Nas is gearing us up for a summer of Don sh*t and fans are all the more hungry for his upcoming 10th LP “Life is Great.”
Florida based dancehall artist Khaos gives us another one, “If You Need My Love”, on the Phoenix Riddim produced by Kimichi Records. Tek a Pree
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Here’s Jimmy Cliff on stage with Bruce Springsteen and his band at the South By Southwest music, film and interactive conference held march 9-18. SXSW brought together roughly 2000 different musical acts, including Dubtonic Kru and Protoje. More reggae at SXSW 2012 here
Written by: Samo ‘Kush-I’ Johnson
As far as I can remember toothpaste with flouride was always advertised as something good. It wasn’t until around 2006 that artiste Kabaka Pyramid told me that it is actually a substance that does great harm to our bodies. Flouride is what you boil and filter out of drinking water. It is banned in many countries of the world. So along with dyes, plastics, sugars and other unnecessary chemicals, what are putting in our mouths and our children’s mouths everyday. For some reason on this side of the world we are mostly part of about 5% who still use flouride on their teeth. Despite dental pressure, 99% of western continental Europe has rejected, banned, or stopped fluoridation due to environmental, health, legal, or ethical concerns Only about 5% of the world population is fluoridated and more than 50% of these people live in North America. Here’s a breakdown of some of the ingredients in regular toothpaste from dherbs.com Sodium fluoride is a toxic chemical used in RAT POISON! This stuff also dumbs you down as it works on the brain, including the part of the brain responsible for resistance. This harmful chemical was even mentioned in Stanley Kubrick’s movie, ‘Dr. Strangelove’, as being used in a negative light on people, i.e. mind control. Allegedly it was first used on the Russian people to help get them under submission (control) to the Russian government. Propylene glycol is an industrial agent. This stuff has no business in your mouth or in your entire body for that matter. It is commonly used as a humectant (an additive used to keep products moist) and is found in car antifreeze solutions and de-icing solutions for cars, airplanes, and boats. You might as well brush your teeth with antifreeze if you’re using propylene glycol.Even though the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) says that propylene glycol is safe! It is not! The FDA is the same agency that told Americans back in the early 1970s that smoking was actually good for them. Enough said! Sodium Laurel Sulfate (SLS) is a detergent and surfactant. Hell, you can’t blame companies that use this crap in their toothpaste considering how stained some people’s teeth are. SLS is a surfactant and detergent that is commonly used in engine degreaser, garage floor cleaners, and car wash soaps. Status of countries that have banned flouride and why I am currently engulfed in the novel “Home to Harlem” by Claude McKay. Mckay is one of the stalwarts of Caribbean poetry that we learned in school; I am now finding out that he is one of the stalwarts of Black literature on a whole. Born in Clarendon, Jamaica he migrated to the US in 1912 and was faced with black life in a white washed world. This is one of the most exciting books I have read in a while. Just as I love blaxploitation films this book has opened up centuries gone by and make them seem tangible to me. So close that last night I dreamt I was right there in Harlem Renaissance “Uptown” with Jake and the gang. The story follows Jake who’s longing to return to Harlem from Europe finally happens and we are with him through his movements around NYC. The language is so vivid the scenes play out before my eyes. Published in 1928 it is seen as one of the classics, cataloging the struggles, hopes and direct reality of the early Harlem Renaissance. Claude McKay This excerpt speaks for this post: A red-brown West Indian among them volunteered to sing a Port-of-Spain song. It immortalized the drowning of a young black sailor. It was made up by the bawdy colored girls of the port, with whom the deceased had been a favorite, and became very popular among the stevedores and sailors of the island. “Ring the bell again, “Empty is you’ room “Ring the bell again, The song was curious, like so many Negro songs of its kin, for the strange strengthening of its wistful melody by a happy rhythm that was suitable for dancing” Strength to his family and friends I’m glad that these two fisherman are getting home from Mexico. For the time that it happened to me, it stood at a stark parallel to Prince Harry’s visit to the islands last week, still three weeks after these youths left Jamaican shores. If you’re in JA you will know of the fanfare and spending that happened when the heir to the the queen was here last week. Then to know that these 2 Jamaican fishermen, started out as 3, lost at sea and found in Mexico for so many weeks. Musta been scary…. and 3 million spent on Prince Harry. This is my sweet underdeveloped Jamaica
What’s in Your Toothpaste?
Consider the following from Shelly R. Kramer: “A study at the University of Georgia Medical College, indicated that SLS penetrated into the eyes as well as brain, heart, liver, etc., and showed long-term retention in the tissues. The study also indicated that SLS penetrated young children’s eyes and prevented them from developing properly and caused cataracts to develop in adults.
Make your own toothpaste
More on commercial vs natural toothpaste, natural brands and toothcare etc Click Here For the Fisherman Who Found His Room in the Sea- Claude McKay
Ring the bell again
Ring the bell again
But the sharks wont puke him up.
Oh, ring the bell again.
Empty is you’ room
Empty is you’ room
But you find one in the sea.
Oh, empty is you’ room
Ring the bell again
Ring the bell again
But we know who feel all the pain
Oh, ring the bell again.”Jamaican Fisherman stuck in Mexico while Prince Harry tours Jamaica
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