I believe whilst black Britain showcases much black music talent, there isn’t much of an industry around it. That means careers are not being built or sustained, and little economic power is derived by the quite vast talent pool, which in turn does not help the black British community’s economic growth – selling mix CDs on road, hardly puts food on the table.

A cursory look at the 2007 best-selling Top 100 singles and album, reveals a fair representation of black music. What’s of concern is the British black music component. When one manages to pinpoint the domestic component, it’s pretty clear that it’s white artists that are making most of the running. Why is this? Is it because black British are not as talented, or marketable, as their American or Caribbean cousins? Why should the race of the artist be highlighted, after all isn’t it more about the music? Perhaps if it looked like there was level playing field, race would be irrelevant, as judgment could be confined solely to merit.

Unfortunately the issue of race, does need to be addressed and subsequently the effects it has on this particular section of the Music Industry market in Britain. Many Africans (that is those of African descent covering most black British members of community ) love non-African music like Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse, who are considered to make black music (that is to say reggae and RnB) and I hasten to add ,make it well . It seems to me that the British market needs to take into account, that whilst such artists are indeed highlighting Black music, they are not and cannot highlight the black experience. I guess this is the thinking behind The Black Music Congress’s - 'Thinking Out Of The Box: a conference on the subject I attended last weekend. An attempt to be proactive in raising the profile within The British Black Music Sector' – based a round a series of free talks for those in all departments of the Industry at the City University in London.

It urged self-empowerment, a do-it-for-your-self mindset, strategic networking with people / artistes who share common values. Establishing good networks is essential in order to share skills and acquire market intelligence. Working ineptly in silos is not the way forward in a market that’s facing tough times. For example, a fan should pledge to buy, or request the radio to play, British products. A journalist or DJ should aim to search for and highlight worthwhile British acts; or a promoter of high profile gigs or tours should pledge to add at least one British act on the support slot. DJ/entrepreneur Jazzie B, who is commemorating 20 years since Soul II Soul’s breakthrough, and musician and music publisher Root Jackson, who’s marking 40 years in the business, advocate regular gigging as the way to build a solid fan base. Artist manager Kwame Kwaten advocates by-passing the record companies and getting the fan base to invest in financing recordings in exchange for shares in resultant revenue streams, as a way forward. At this time of year when the pundits make their predictions about who’s going to blow up in 2008, two soul singers have been featured at the top of almost all the polls. Perhaps not surprisingly they’re white.

‘Soul Singers Top New Talent List’ is just one of the headlines in the last few weeks that’s heralded the launch of two much tipped artists to break through in 2008. Both the British and American trade papers, Music Week and Billboard, have also tipped teenage singer Adele, and Duffy, who respectively bagged the no. 1 and no. 2 positions on BBC’s Sound Of 2008 poll “to find promising new talent” – incidentally, Corinne Bailey Rae was voted no.1 in 2006. Their pedigree isn’t in question. Not when you have Adele citing the likes of Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald, and Ava Leigh, who we’ll get to later, citing the likes of Lee Perry, Carroll Thompson, Dawn Penn, Janet Kay and The Skatalites, among their influences.

It would be no surprise to know that the jazzy, bluesy and R&B ‘Back To Black’ (Island-Universal) was the top-selling album of 2007 with sales of over 1.75 million, whilst the deluxe version, which comes with newly recorded reggae tracks, including a rocking version of ‘Cupid’, has shifted more than 250,000 copies. That makes Amy, and Lily Allen whose ‘Alright, Still’ (Regal/EMI) album covers lovers rock, ska, and dancehall, the biggest selling reggae artists. Meanwhile African artists such as Janet Kay and Carroll Thompson remain unsigned.

So it seems the big companies are quite happy for artists to cover reggae, as long as they are not African reggae artists. Actually, Atlantic’s Natty is the only African-British reggae artist we can think of that’s signed to a major label that appears to be seriously trying to break the act.


Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying the world of black music should be inhabited just by Africans. Neither am I suggesting that there aren’t white people who champion black music by Africans. Would Bob Marley have been so successful without Island Records founder Chris Blackwell world domination vision? Would the Urban Music Seminar and the MOBO Awards have had the level of industry support if it wasn’t for the interest by former Music Week editor Ajax Scott? One could, if one wanted, flip some of these issues on the head. Winehouse's has a number of Africans in her camp, including Raye Cosbert (manager), Darcus Beese (A&R), and my man Xan Blaque (live band keyboard player). Iyola Babalola, one half of the Future Cut writer/producer team, wrote and produced Lily Alen’s album, including the chart-topping ‘Smile’. Ava’s A&R boss at Virgin is Lincoln Elias, is African-British, and so is her management team – Aaron Hercules and Raymond Stephenson of 141a Management. That said, the majority of African managers are confined to managing African artists. Some of the problems they face, such as losing artists to white managers once they’ve broken their charge in the market place, are highlighted in Black Managers: Unsung Heroes Of The Music Industry. If you’re still interested in the race issue, then you should check out Desi K. Robinson’s feature ‘Play That Funky Music, White Boy!’, which highlights issues to do with white artists operating within black music. It makes very interesting read, though perhaps it could have done with a couple of quotes from people in Blighty. The author makes the point that the black experience – the pain and strife - is an integral part of black music. Which makes it somewhat paradoxical that people far removed from that experience can have critical and commercial success, while talented African artists who are more connected to the music generally struggle or are ignored. One wonders why. So perhaps a justified answer can be, if the big record companies put faith in their domestic African talent and are prepared to market them as priority artists, perhaps British black music can make more of an impact among the heavy shifters of units. Be Good and Stay Blessed Ms.P… THE ROOTS OF REGGAE

MS. P


The following information comes strictly from stories my grandfather and great- grandfather relayed to me as I was growing up....MS P

The origins ( by origins I mean basics), of reggae music can be traced back to the early 1900’s and MENTO, the earliest and completely distinct style of Jamaican folk music. Which was born out of uniquely blended African and Latin rhythms. Mento music was most popular through the 1930’s to 50’s . Long before ska, rock steady and reggae became the more predominant genres of music to flow out of Jamaica. Although it must be said that if you arrive in Jamaica on a package holiday, you can be sure there will be a Mento band to greet you at the airport. Adorned in flowers and strumming on guitars and banjo’s, whilst reciting tales of “Miss Merkle” and her over sized bosom. Mento bands consist of a guitar, a banjo, a gourd shaker and a "rumba box" (a large, bass-register mbira, or thumb piano ). And the accompanying lyrics of Mento music , much like reggae today, were and still are heavily influenced by everyday living in a somewhat humorous manner. Usually highlighting issues such as poverty, poor housing and other social and political topics sexual innuendo and reference to sexual antics were extremely common themes. Although the treatment of such subjects in Mento is comparatively innocent, their mention has sometimes been seen as a precursor of the 'slackness' found in modern dancehall music today. And so over time the reggae 4/4 back beat began to take over the softer more melodic beats of Mento and we arrived at Ska. Which is based primarily on a mixture of 60’s American Rhythm and Blues with the Mento drums. Be Good Stay Blessed Ms.P Links To Mento Music I Found Interesting : http://homepages.nyu.edu/~dtn9606/mento.html http://www.jamaicans.com/music/folk.htm

Lets’ Rock N Roll

Hey people, I hope I find you all well in both body and spirit. Deep in discussion with my friends the other day I found myself dismayed to find argument arose regarding the African contribution to Rock & Roll . Rock & Roll (a popular black euphemism for sex in the 40’s and 50’s) became an art form that originated in the early 1950’s….. Rock musicians such as Chuck Berry and Little Richard among others borrowed heavily from the Blues, a long-standing dominant music of the day. By speeding up a Blues tempo, Rock & Roll appealed to both black and white audiences alike…. Since the days of the afore mentioned artistes, only a handful of black artists have thrived within the Rock & Roll music scene…. Shelley Nicole is a Brooklyn resident that has her own unique style of music that she dubs “SOLaRoc”, a blend of both Soul and Rock music, mixed with elements of Jazz and even eastern grooves. Nicole’s band, blaKbüshe, delivers high-energy performances in the tradition of Betty Davis and LaBelle, complete with poignant lyrics that tackle the today’s important social issues. “The first thing we need to do is stop calling it Black Rock,” Nicole says. “We’re making music; we just happen to be black. People get confused when you label it.” Shelley Nicole’s self-produced debut album, “Xavier, is a Los Angeles-based artist that embodies the eclectic genius of past music pioneers such as Sly Stone, George Clinton and Prince. “The legacy of rock is essential to the American fiber. It’s all a derivative of the Blues anyway.” An artist that writes, arranges, composes and produces his own music as well as that of other artists, Xavier’s rock band, Blood Sugar, stands on the innovative curve of Rock & Roll. Blood Sugar’s debut CD, “Smack, Crack, Sugar, Shit, Pop” takes aim at today’s homogenous pop Rock scene with its unique blend of punk and Funkadelic-styled Rock & Roll. Thankfully the number of black rock artists is on the rise. From Los Angeles to Atlanta to New York and all places in between, artists and groups like Cody Chestnut, Jill Rock Jones, Three-Five Human, and Apollo Heights are making a splash on the music scene, and winning fans in the process. For some artists, Rock music is the only way to go. “I grew up listening to Rock & Roll,” says Tracey Amos, another LA artist whose debut album, “Who Are We Really?” was produced by Xavier. “When I perform, I don’t feel right singing anything else.” Mixing subtle elements of Folk and Soul with hints of jazz into a rock package, “Who Are We Really?” evokes the days of 70’s Rock & Roll. “I feel like people need to stop putting music in boxes,” Amos says. “It takes away from the artform.” Considering the present situation in music is possibly at its worst ever, the music industry could use an injection of good Rock music, regardless of the color of the artists that’s making it. “Anybody can do any kind of music they want,” Xavier says. “But surely the African-American contribution can’t be denied.”

Stay Blessed

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