Even in the midst of the Carnival season 2006, local reggae artistes were making their mark in T&T. Brendan 'Isasha' Young performed his reggae love song 'Don?t You Know' at Soca Broadway for its grand opening on January 1. Prophet Benjamin collaborated with 2005 Soca Monarch champ Bunji Garlin on the radio hit 'Fire Fe Dem'.
By Aretha WelchIn a nutshell, the reggae men are getting their names out there, getting their music heard.
And Trinis are loving each minute of it.
But why now? Where did these performers come from? Who inspires them? Is Trini reggae here to stay or is it a fad? Is it marketable internationally? Can it co-exist with soca? And how is local reggae really different from Jamaican reggae, if at all?
Georgia Popplewell, music editor at Caribbean Beat magazine, who has been reviewing music for the past seven years, gave some reasons why this music is now on the upsurge.
"The producers and practitioners of the new Trini reggae sound have been brought up on Jamaican music and are much more oriented towards reggae and dancehall than towards soca, which has also not been entirely successful in escaping from the strictures of seasonality," she said in an interview via e-mail.
"Young artists probably also see reggae as a more appropriate vehicle for the expression of the anger and frustration they're clearly feeling."
She added, "A similar thing has occurred in Cuba with hip hop, which many young Cuban artists see as better suited to the ideas they wish to express than salsa." Those ideas include "some frustration with the turn the Cuban revolution has taken."
But Isasha, a reggae writer and performer from La Horquetta, does not think that conscious reggae is a new creation at all.
He said that many Trinis have been doing it for some time now. Instead of expressing frustration, he said, it's a way to spread positive vibes.
"For a very long time Trinis have been producing conscious music but I believe the increased crime surge has a lot to do with why the masses are finally embracing it. We need positivity and that's what reggae provides."
His brother Kevin "Million Voice" Young, writer and performer of the roots reggae song One Family, agreed. "It is now hard to focus only on (Jamaican artiste) Junior Gong and (his hit) Welcome to JamRock while ignoring Mr King's Laventille."
aventille is a song that calls upon residents of Laventille to put down their guns.
Million Voice continued, "Both countries are going through the same crisis and reggae provides a good format to express your feelings as a struggling person who feels like your every move is being checkmated."
A similar standpoint is shared by Marvin "Mr King" Lewis, writer and performer of the grassroots hit, Laventille. "Music speaks to people and I believe that entertainers have the power to make a difference and now more than ever that difference is needed, so we are simply rising to the occasion."
"It's the positivity," echoed Vishal Singh, a young local producer who has worked with many well-known reggae and ragga-soca artistes such as Sizzla (a Jamaican), Jah Melody, Bunji Garlin, Maximus Dan, Mr Slaughter and Scarface.
Singh, who is soon to release tracks with Jamaicans Turbulence and the well known Bounty Killer, added that, in contrast to some other music forms, "In conscious reggae there is no talk of shooting, whores, or devil worship."
Studio 53 is a trio of young producers from La Horquetta who are responsible for the beats behind the hits from Isasha and Million Voice. As a mini-record label stepping out of obscurity late last year, the three? Jabari Charles, Kwesi Robinson and Roberito Angelo Pantin?have signed nine up-and-coming reggae artistes whom they said would take T&T by storm come Ash Wednesday.
Pantin said, "Like everywhere else in the world, we think our music goes through a bit of evolution also. As a nation, we had calypso and kaiso that turned into soca, then to ragga-soca and now reggae, which may morph into blues or jazz in a few years and then that may be popular here?who knows? Music, like fashion and many other art forms, is not stagnant."
Pantin grew up on roots reggae, like Bob Marley's music.
Popplewell can hear the influence in the music he?s made.
"The new reggae is definitely leaning more towards roots reggae and 70s dub, with the occasional nod to lovers' rock. I'd suspect they're influenced by roots reggae more via the younger 'conscious' artists though, like Capleton, Sizzla and Luciano than directly by the older heads, but that's just my guess.?
Popplewell said the music has a fair shot at international success.
"To me this phenomenon looks like it has some longevity. The generation producing and performing this new strain of Trinidadian reggae has been listening to Jamaican music practically from the time they were born, and I think that what we're hearing is a culmination of years of internalisation, not only of the rhythms but also the values of Jamaican music.
And for the most part the music is also very well-produced, which points to a certain level of reassuring commitment on the part of both the producers and performers.?
