Originally posted 9/21/06 as a comment to the post Rasta/reggae culture taking over.


It is always good to see an interest in Rasta and its most potent vehicle, reggae music. I think though, that we should be skeptical of ALL that which is promulgated by the mass media. It is the agent of babylon.As reggae is on the increase in the media, we will hear more watered down music. Artists will no longer sing as they feel, but rather as they are told. We saw the same with Hip-hop culture. Does the music on BET represent black people? No, it is a modern day minstrel show.
In this same way then, is matisyahoo and gwen stefani representing the soul of reggae music? So we see that when a sub-culture is brought into the limelight of the the media, it imediately becomes watered down. Eventually it loses its soul. We see it with skateboarding culture too. I first started skating about 15 years ago. Then it was unpopular and looked down upon, but now there are video games and x-games and nike skate shoes. It is not like it used to be.I still skate, but its hard now. I really have to make a concerted effort to cut through all the corprate crap polluting the industry.
In the same way, dont give up on reggae, but look out for reggae that hasn't lost its soul. After al it is the spirit in the music which makes it what it is. I'm glad to see some recognition of Rastafari and reggea, but don't let (emp)TV ruin our music.