Rallying to save reggae music

Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

Frustrated with what they say is a distinct media bias toward dancehall music in Jamaica, a group of disgruntled musicians have formed an organisation to push for a level playing field.

Protest Now And Save Reggae (PNASR) is the name of the group which currently has 15 members, including president, Canute Parkes, a singer who also goes by the moniker Livebroadcast.

Drummer/songwriter Oniel 'Blunt' Walters is vice-president of the organisation, which also includes guitarists Andrew Simpson, Mitchum 'Khan' Chin and Lebert 'Gibby' Morrison, bassist Donald 'Axeman' Dennis and keyboardist Carol 'Bowie' McLaughlin.

Parkes said getting 'serious' Jamaican music back on local airwaves is one of the PNASR's primary objectives. That and rescuing reggae music.

"We want to see reggae risen from its fallen state and to do that we've started a movement that is going to get it back to an acceptable level," Parkes told The Gleaner.

The PNASR plan to release a song, Reggae Rescue From Freefall, to help push their point. It will be distributed to all local media and, based on response (airplay, etc), results will be sent to the Broadcasting Commission, the independent body that monitors airwave standards.

"Depending on the level of airplay the song gets, we will be in a position to test the integrity of the system," Parkes said.

McLaughlin, who has recorded with Beres Hammond, Dennis Brown and Ziggy Marley, says the PNASR should be a wake-up call for a dancehall-skewed media.

"We need a monitoring system that will diversify especially radio," said McLaughlin, who produces music for his Rusty Car label. "We're not knocking dancehall but there are people out there who would love to hear substantive sounds on radio," he added.

Stern warning from commission

The electronic media has been heavily scrutinised by the Broadcasting Commission in the past year. In early 2009, it ordered the banning of suggestive songs by dancehall acts like Vybz Kartel and Mavado.

Last month, the commission's chairman, Dr Hopeton Dunn, issued a stern warning to owners of cable, radio and television stations. He said the commission would recommend that payola (the practice of payment for airplay) be seen as a criminal offence.

Rumours of rampant payola have dogged local media for many years. Music-industry insiders claim some disc jockeys, television producers and print journalists have accepted large sums of money to promote artistes.

The PNASR thrust is not the first time Jamaican musicians have taken on media over equal exposure for their productions. It was commonplace in the late 1960s and early 1970s when artistes like Bob Marley challenged Radio Jamaica to play more local music.

Perry Henzell's 1972 movie, The Harder They Come, was based partly on Jamaica's corrupt music scene, in which big business determined what and whose songs got played on radio.

Nearly 40 years later, Parkes says the PNASR is once again attempting to set the record straight.

"At the moment, reggae is not in a healthy position and we owe it to those who made it such a force to get things right," he said.