by sosoconfused 18 Replies latest social entertainment
Also I noticed when I visited there, the Rastafarians often publicly express fondness and love for the name "JAH" [and/or "Jehovah"] used regularly in their worship and music. Case in point, this popular song by Rastafarian Bob Marley:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY5_Q9azOm0
bjc
Always loved Reggae since the seventies when I discovered Bob Marley!! Good spiritual music!! Too bad I didn't stick with that instead of joining the JW's!! Thankfully the JW chapter of my life is long over and I can always enjoy Reggae!
Peace and Jah Love, Mrs. Thor
I found out that I can get disfellowshipped for listening to and singing said sons... its actually in the SHepherding the flock book.
This song really is eating at my heart!
Lived with reggae since birth! In my blood!
I'm a huge fan of reggae music...it goes deep! I have a collection of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Burning Spear and others...this stuff helps you to relax your mind...I have rastafarian friends and they're quite cool.....very laidback and easy going...cool people to hang around, not all of them smoke marijuana as depicted.
Y'know, I do like a few songs by Bob Marley. Here's a funny thing. I know several JWs who have 'One Love' in their music collection, including an Elder. Apparently they never really listened to all the lyrics, because it is very clearly a religious song. "Give thanks and praise to the Lord and it'll be allright.", or "Let's get together to fight this holy Armageddon (Arm-a-gied-ion)"
Cracks me up.
I think that we have to differentiate between Reggae music and the Rastafari movement , which as described by Wiki includes :
"Rastafari holds to many Jewish and Christian beliefs and accepts the existence of a single god, called Jah, who has sent His Son to Earth in the form of Jesus and Selassie. Rastafari accept much of the Bible, although they believe that its message has possibly been corrupted. (Sometimes on purpose, other times by mis-translations) [2]
The Rastafari way of life encompasses themes such as the spiritual use of cannabis [6] [7] and the rejection of the degenerate society of materialism, oppression, and sensual pleasures, called Babylon. [8] [9] It proclaims Zion, as reference to Ethiopia, the original birthplace of humankind, and from the beginning of the way of life calls for repatriation to Zion, the Promised Land and Heaven on Earth. Literally, moving to Ethiopia physically but mentally and emotionally repatriating before the physical [10] [11] Rastafari also embrace various Afrocentric and Pan-African social and political aspirations. [6] [12]"
There are a lot of Rastas in London and the big U K cities
BluesBrother, the two things are STRONGLY connected. Your statement is like saying we need to differentiate between Gregorian Chant and the Catholic church. Sure, there are some groups that do pop music in Gregorian Chant style, but on the whole the two are linked.
From your same wiki article:
Reggae was born amidst poor blacks in Trenchtown, the main ghetto of Kingston, Jamaica, who listened to radio stations from the United States. Jamaican musicians, many of them Rastas, soon blended traditional Jamaican folk music and drumming with American R&B, and jazz into ska, that later developed into reggae under the influence of soul.
Reggae began to enter international consciousness in the early 1970s, and Rastafari mushroomed in popularity internationally, largely due to the fame of Bob Marley, who actively and devoutly preached Rastafari, incorporating Nyabinghi and Rastafarian chanting into his music, lyrics and album covers. Songs like "Rastaman Chant" led to the movement and reggae music being seen as closely intertwined in the consciousness of audiences across the world. Other famous reggae musicians with strong Rastafarian elements in their music include Peter Tosh, Freddie McGregor, Toots & the Maytals, Burning Spear, Black Uhuru, Prince Lincoln Thompson, Bunny Wailer, Prince Far I, Israel Vibration, The Congos, Adrian Nones, Cornell Campbell, Dennis Brown and hundreds more.Reggae music expressing Rasta doctrine:
The first reggae single that sang about Rastafari and reached Number 1 in the Jamaican charts was Bongo Man by Little Roy in 1969. [58] Early Rasta reggae musicians (besides Marley) whose music expresses Rastafari doctrine well are Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer (in Blackheart Man), Prince Far I, Linval Thompson, Ijahman Levi (especially the first 4 albums), Misty-in-Roots (Live), The Congos (Heart of the Congos), The Rastafarians, The Abyssinians, Culture, Big Youth, and Ras Michael And The Sons Of Negus. The Jamaican jazzpercussionistCount Ossie, who had played on a number of ska and reggae recordings, recorded albums with themes relating to Rasta history, doctrine, and culture.
Rastafari doctrine as developed in the 1980s was further expressed musically by a number of other prominent artists, such as Burning Spear, Steel Pulse, Third World, The Gladiators, Sister Carol, Black Uhuru, Aswad, and Israel Vibration. Rastafari ideas have spread beyond the Jamaican community to other countries including Russia, where artists such as Jah Division write songs about Jah, and South Africa where Lucky Dube first learned reggae music from Peter Tosh recordings. Afro-American punk band Bad Brains are notable followers of the Rastafari movement and have written songs ("I Against I", etc.) that promote the doctrine.
In the 21st century, Rastafari sentiments are spread through roots reggae and dancehall, subgroups of reggae music, with many of their most important proponents promoting the Rastafari religion, such as Capleton, Sizzla, Anthony B, Barrington Levy, Jah Mason, Pressure , Midnite, Natural Black, Luciano, Cocoa Tea , Jah Cure and Richie Spice. Several of these acts have gained mainstream success and frequently appear on the popular music charts. Most recently artists such as Damian Marley (son of Bob Marley), Alborosie and Million Stylez have blended hip-hop with reggae to re-energize classic Rastafari issues such as social injustice, revolution and the honour and responsibility of parenthood using contemporary musical style.
Berlin-based dub techno label "Basic Channel" has subsidiary labels called "Rhythm & Sound" and "Burial Mix" whose lyrics strongly focus on many aspects of Rastafari culture and ideology, including the acceptance of Haile Selassie I. Notable tracks include "Jah Rule", "Mash Down Babylon", "We Be Troddin'", and "See Mi Yah". Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O'Connor released two rastafari/roots reggae CDs – "Throw Down Your Arms" and "Theology".
Yea mon.
Rub a Dub
