Roots Archives Forum

(Leviticus 20:10)
"If a man commits adultery with another man's wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death."

I say, don't take the bible too literally. If we all should follow Levitus, we'd all be dead by now.


btw, i stopped buying Sizzla's albums years ago, cause he was becoming too much of a rascist !

the new testament is loosely based on the old testament which was a song like the odessy or mahabarata (i hope i spelled that properly) AND in another language. also back in those days people spoke of things in much more metaphoric ways, so take everything with a grain of salt. however all the bible says is that a man shouldnt waste his seed which that if the sperm doesnt meet up with the egg its a waste, so dont jerk off.

Roots music is not ongle about peace and love, it is about revolution and fighting as well. After all, Bob marley sung about burning and looting decades before capleton said Fya Bun.

It is a bible ting, same as the dislike of batty men. Try an find one Rastafarian or christian Jamaican out deh that likes batty men.

Uno must not forget that reggae, wether roots or dancehall, is ghetto music and ghetto life is violent(especially in Jamican with its political gang wars) so all reggae artist come from a violent an poor background. The only white people they encounter in life are either rich jamaican upperclas or tourists! and both of these tend to drive fast in big cars and never stop in the ghetto. So to see whiteys as babylonian downpressers is not so strange.

live and learn!

Its not an excuse, they are badmen, thats all.

Pisces makes valid points. Strict following scripture would mean a much more extreme law applied to those who transgress the original laws of God, regardless of which scripture you follow.

But as Ron and Soundboy point out, we would all have great trouble following those rules and would all have to line up and be stoned. But remembering the words of Jesus, I have to wonder who would be qualified to cast a stone?

Facing facts we have to admit that the world is bad and few of us, if any, have much real purity left in us. And I have met bredren and sistren from all walks of life, Rasta, Islam, Judae, Abashanti, Budhist, Hindu, Christian, and always there has been signs of corruption, or at the very least self interest. Real purity is extrememly rare and is usually crucified pretty quickly by the evil Babylonian.

But I still don't think boasting about your material or physical stature is a particularly interesting subject matter for a song!

with 5 or 6 billion people in the world today I don't think we are headed for extinction due to homosexuality!!!!!!!

It is funny how people use ancient laws and policies and excuses like Jamaica is a "3RD world" country to justify calling for the murder of(adult)people who are having consentual sex!!!!!

AIDS in Africa is being spread well enough without gays !!!!

I'd like to quote someone here:

On the question of racial discrimination, the Addis Ababa Conference taught, to those who will learn, this further lesson: That until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned: That until there are no longer first-class and second class citizens of any nation; That until the color of a man's skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes; That until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to race; That until that day, the dream of lasting peace and world citizenship and the rule of international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion, to be pursued but never attained; And until the ignoble and unhappy regimes that hold our brothers in Angola, in Mozambique and in South Africa in subhuman bondage have been toppled and destroyed; Until bigotry and prejudice and malicious and inhuman self-interest have been replaced by understanding and tolerance and good-will; Until all Africans stand and speak as free beings, equal in the eyes of all men, as they are in the eyes of Heaven; Until that day, the African continent will not know peace. We Africans will fight, if necessary, and we know that we shall win, as we are confident in the victory of good over evil. – Haile Selassie I

I think the sentence:

Until bigotry and prejudice and malicious and inhuman self-interest have been replaced by understanding and tolerance and good-will;

is particularly relevant here...

As far as peeople using the Bible as an excuse to "burn out batty man" and the like, it also says though shall not kill, not commit adultery and that a man must marry his brothers's wife if his brother dies. Yet I have never heard one song "burning out" adulterers. Hell, adultery seems a way of life to many entertainers judging by their lyrics. And how many DJs big up badman & gunmen.
That being said I don't think its right to say that Jamaicans should change what they produce to suit anybody but themselves. That's what makes Reggae so unique. The reason the music changed at the end of the 70's and early 80's has to do with the situation in Jamaica. Dissappointment in the failures of Manley's PNP governments and the opening up of Jamaica by Seaga. The influx of guns in the 76 and 80 elections and finally the coming of Cocaine. The idealism of the classic Roots era began to seem like "pie in the sky" idealism to many in Jamaica who didn't relate to the Roots that was being produced with the export market in mind. When Bob hit it big, even before, many adopted locks and "Rasta" messages to sell records. The music of Burning Spear,Culture, Peter Tosh and others spoke less and less to the realities of life for ordinary Jamaicans.
The dancehalls and Sound Systems stepped in to fill this void. Producing music aimed directly at Jamaicans and receiving immediate feedback in the Dancehalls. People didn't want to hear about Zion, but a better life right now, or at the least an escape from the miseries of everyday life. Even then it was an all or nothing proposal. Producers like Junjo & Linval were producing Yellowman & Gen Echo as well as Wailing Souls and Barrington Levy. It was not until the second half of the 80's that "materialistic" material predominated. And it went through to the mid-90's when a backlash began against the proliferation of Gun Tunes and the like. Buju's "Murderer" in reaction to Panheads murder stands as a turning point. Since the conscious or modern Roots has been resurgent. Many traditional Roots fans don't see it because just like in the late 70's & early 80's the "Roots" and "Ragga" artists use the same riddims and aren't so cut & dry.
I myself prefer older Reggae-Roots, Dub & Rub-a-Dub. That's what I seek out. However I will listen to new Dancehall if I like it. And while I share the concerns of others about some of the messages today I don't think expecting artists to go back to the style I like best is a realistic proposition. Neither did I think it fair. In my opinion it hearkens to cultural imperialism to expect people to produce what I or anyone else thinks is "proper". The majority of people on this board, myself included, are not the people modern Dancehall artists are making their music for. Most likely if they did make a stab at Roots style we'd be saying its not as good as the classic stuff anyway.
I also think it is detrimental to Reggae music when artists start producing music for an international market. Reggae artists should produce what Jamaicans want to hear. But this is just me imposing views on things. Reggae will survive wether I or anyone else agree with its course. Even if international markets stop buying it, it will always have the dancehalls in Jamaica just like in the early 80's.

Just my humle opinions on the matter,
Papa D

Sufferers Hi Fi is right to opine that 'sanitising' or 'westernising' reggae music tends to dumb it down and rob it of roots feeling.

Although Bob Marley did manage to make his music appeal to the (mainly white) western audience without the music becoming to bland or pop-like.

I think one of the reasons that his formula worked was that he stuck to the roots theme, and that it seemed like he meant what he was singing.

Perhaps he had us all fooled and really all he was doing was making lots of money and fame and didn't really care about the message of his music. But I choose not to believe that, and when I hear or see him in interviews he recorded, it tends to reinforce my belief in Bob as true Rastaman.

Bob Marley must be rolling on his grave right now with the kind of stuff thats out there, i must admit i listen to very little SKA, alot of Roots Rockers Vibration in the seventies, Channel and studion one riddims, early Dancehall; when the roots radics owned the sessions.

I CANNOT STAND all this elephantman and all this dancehall queen competitions they are just annoying to me.