Well, here is the thing; I love reggae, you love reggae, we love reggae, everybody seems to love reggae. If you don’t love reggae, then please this might not be your kind of story. But hey, go on and read, you never know, you might like it… But for now, let mi friend dem go HAM on what he believes is his honest opinion.
The first reggae song I remember listening to is Burning Spear’s Columbus. That happened in December of 1993. The person responsible for my love for reggae had visited for Christmas and he came bearing gifts. My gift was a Papa Lefty mixtape on cassette. Papa Lefty, may his soul rest in power, was one of the most popular DJs in Kenya at the time. In the early noughties came DJ Last Born and now almost every Ugandan that collects mixtapes has at least one by Simple Simon. The Missiles. What so many do not know is that King Lions’ Sounds birthed this lot of DJs. This will be topic for a future blog post. Clubs and pubs play his mixtapes. He even had a “show” in this country. Sigh!
Where is this jama going with this you ask, right? Well, I was tasked with writing something about the Ugandan reggae music scene and while I am the worst writer, that someone thinks I am an authority in this country on reggae (what is he high on?) is humbling and scary at the same point. See, being an authority on anything comes with a lot of pressure. Everybody thinks that you know everything on the subject. So here goes.
The 90s were the best in my opinion for those that really LOVE reggae in this country. Tshaka Mayanja, born Winston Mayanja, together with Andrew Rugasira brought some of the best acts down here for concerts. Third World, Aswad, Buju Banton, Lucky Dube (I do not rate him highly but Ugandans do) and so many dancehall artistes including Shabba, the original bedroom bully (the kids think Busy Signal is), Chaka Demus and Pliers, Red Rat (rain pooped on his concert in ’98), Shaggy, Twiggy. Tshaka might not have brought all of them here but he was the reason many of them came down here.
Ugandans embraced dancehall – a genre Wikipedia will tell you is a sub-genre of reggae, something I disagree with – more than they did reggae which explains why after the turn of the century we have had so many dancehall acts come here compared to only two reggae bands. They’re actually three but who is counting Lucky Dube? Those two reggae bands have given the Ugandan crowd the best live concerts in the last 15 years. Ask the average Ugandan what the best concert they have attended is and they will say it is UB40 even those that were not there. Ali Campbell and the band performed so well that Wyclef Jean, R.Kelly, Sean Paul, Billy Ocean and the entire Naija bunch have not given Ugandans what UB40 managed to. In May 2013, Inner Circle held a concert dubbed Reggae on the Nile. For just UGX 20,000, Ugandans could watch a band that played with Jacob Miller in the 70s, a legend in reggae circles. Those who did not attend the concert have an excuse for not attending, “It was not marketed well enough.” I knew about the concert three months before it was held and did my best to use my Facebook page to push it that a friend in South Africa made sure that he made it for the concert. It is Inner Circle for Jah’s sake. What more marketing do you need for that? A popular radio station in this country hosted the band for an interview. I have a feeling the presenter on the day did not even that she was interviewing the famous Lewis Brothers. But hey, Ugandans and reggae do not really mix sooo…
I am meant to be talking reggae in Uganda, right? Before we get there, Maddox is underrated. Jamal has a fantastic reggae song called Malaika. The Blood Brothers are really good. A Pass has some good reggae songs that are not as popular as Tulikubigere and Wuuyo. He sucks on stage and is overrated. Lucky Dube might just be the worst thing that happened to reggae. Gladly, I do not have an album by him in my collection. Missiles should not be what defines your love for reggae. Club DJs and radio stations have had Lift Up Your Head, Sweet Jamaica, Ganja Planter, Reggae Music Again, and Come Over (Miss You) on rotation too much. In 2001, Penthouse Records released the O.M.G riddim that Richy jumped onto. Yep, his True Love jam is what so many in this country listened to off the riddim first and think Busy Signal, Marcia Griffiths and Queen Ifrica (my favourite cut off the riddim), Richie Stephens, Sanchez, Daville, D-Major, Chuck Fenda, Exco Levi, Sherieta, Chevaughn, Torch, Shuga, Coppa Cat and because I planned to save the best for last, Duane Stephenson, get it?. Says a lot about Ugandans. Plus, church people should leave us already. Richy is not even on the official track list.
Well, this is an excerpt from what I wrote 21 days ago. Maybe I should have just copied and pasted.
“See, Uganda is not exactly a country that appreciates reggae a lot. Scratch that. A majority of Ugandans do not appreciate reggae at all. Kenyans do. Zimbabweans do. Ethiopians do. Ghanaians do. Ugandans do not. Most Ugandans only know reggae for Lucky Dube (I think he is overrated), who visited the country thrice, and of course Bob Marley. Who doesn’t know Bob? Go to the furthest regions in the world and Bob Marley is known sooooo. Explains why his offspring are as successful as they are.
Reggae has fans in this country though. The fans fall in different categories.
The category that most lie in is what I like to call the DJ mixes fans. This kind will not listen to reggae unless a certain DJ took time to compile some stuff. This lot usually does not listen to the music. They are actually listening to the DJ. I have nothing against the DJs. Well, maybe I do. Playing just one verse from a song and quickly diving into the next jam and playing just a chorus before you move to the next jam is crap. But hey, what do I know about DJing? I actually was introduced to reggae by DJ mixes in 1993. Anyone remember Papa Lefty (R.I.P) of King Lions Sounds? Task many of them to name the songs and they are clueless. You cannot blame them though, can you? Shazam does not help them at all. Reggae and Shazam have never really mixed.
Then there are the Throwback reggae fans. The kind that is nostalgic. The kind went to university in the nineties. See, that was when there was an influx of Kenyan students into Ugandan unis. The Kenyans brought over the music. Their Ugandan classmates fell in love. This lot is huge on Richie Spice, Anthony B, Luciano, Bushman, Jah Cure, Turbulence, Morgan Heritage and all the artistes that were huge in the noughties. Seasons riddim, Superior riddim, Drop Leaf riddim et al. Don Corleone was the king producer at the time. They will only jam to the music that was released during that period thanks to their Kenyan friends. Play them any new stuff and they’re bored. It really was a phase for them.
Then there are the urban reggae fans. The kind that started listening to reggae in about 2010. This bunch is huge on the reggae revival movement. Ask them who their favourite reggae artiste of all time is and chances are that it is one of the artistes that have been referred to as those that are going to revive reggae. Chronixx, Kabaka Pyramid, Dre Island, Jah9, Protoje and Iba Mahr to mention but a few. They will collect every riddim soon as it has been released. They will follow the latest trends on the reggae music scene. I have got a lot of help from this kind. I am an old man so I need this lot a lot. This lot know so little about the roots of the music. This lot will not collect music from the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. They will not really enjoy a song by Israel Vibration, Culture or Burning Spear. They cannot sustain a conversation that involves the 70s reggae for more than a minute even when it is one that involves Bob Marley. Most of them are actually dancehall fans. Most loved dancehall before they did reggae. They also believe that dancehall is a sub-genre of reggae. Forget what the internet tells you. The only relationship dancehall and reggae have is their place of origin. If you have more music from 2010 to now than you do from the 70s, this is where you lie.
I have been told that it is an insult to call the next bunch reggae fans but I will. Those that go for a reggae themed night somewhere in this town. That night is dubbed Jamrock. Here’s why I call them reggae fans. That they are at a reggae night is just one of the reasons. That they will sing along to 2 or 3 songs is another reason I will call them reggae fans. That they will consistently come through is why I think they are. They just do not know it yet. They will pretend that they come to meet friends and network but hey, there are a gazillion places in this town that you can do that, no? This lot has “enough” disposable income so I gotta please them and put them in here. I could need them one day. You cannot have a real reggae conversation with this lot. That some have asked me what I am high on when I am jamming to the reggae set pisses me off. The same question is not asked to rock fans. I really do not know how people dance to rock music cuz they never really do. We are still pretending that head banging is a dance?
Then there’s the bunch that can only access reggae at bars or on radio stations. These genuinely love reggae. Their only problem is they do not have much internet access. They are ghetto youths. These are found in the ghettos in this town. Anyone who has listened to Touch FM’s Reggae Session knows who I am talking about. Reggae is ghetto people music and reggae resonates with this ilk. They live the music. Shunned by society and the system, *cue Tarrus Riley’s System Set*, this lot can be very rowdy sometimes but mostly it is because they have been frustrated most of their lives. Find this lot at Reggae Bar. Again, they genuinely love reggae but because they do not have access to information and the internet, they’d struggle to mention any other reggae musicians outside of Bob Marley, Lucky Dube and Buju Banton.
Then there’s the jamas (Swahili for guys) who listen to reggae after they have used the herb. See, the herb and reggae are inextricably linked. That is a topic for another blog though. I really hope Ugandans will be ready for it. Only after they’ve smoked is when they enjoy reggae and appreciate it. Before they do, they do not even get it. Says a lot about this bunch.
Then there are the collectors. They do not really listen to the music they collect but they have a reggae folder with a lot of music. They do not know that they have a lot of treasure.
There’s the older reggae fans who feel that after the mid 90s, reggae died. They feel that reggae is no longer being played as it ought to be played. They love reggae the way Burning Spear, Israel Vibration, Brinsley Forde, Midnite and most bands play it. I want to introduce this lot to a new band called Raging Fyah. Part of the reggae revival but not into riddims.
Lastly is the bunch that is a combination of all the above. This bunch loves reggae. They HATE dancehall. Will jam only when reggae is playing. Love nothing else but reggae. They know that dub is drums and bass – the heart and backbone of reggae – and not what happens when a boy and girl are dancing to dancehall. They do night pop reggae. They ask for reggae to be played as it ought to be played. They are bigger on reggae before the riddim era. They still listen to riddims though but not as much as they do the classics. They are the kind who while they may appreciate what Chris Blackwell did for reggae, they can see through most of his lies and will call him Chris Whitehorse. The Wailers should never have broken up. They talk and live reggae. Will play it 24/7. It is the only music they have in their music collection.”
