The political dimensions and economic devastation following
Jamaica’s independence from Great Britain in 1962 were the conditions through
which Reggae was born and thrived. The two political parties warring for power
under the newly independent island nation were the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP)
and the People’s National Party (PNP), the first taking up a more conservative ideology
and the latter had a more socialist lean. The relationship between music and
political, religious and global dimensions speaks to the rise of reggae music
as a music of the people.
Jamaican’s independence
was not all that the people had expected as they were still confined to the
economic infrastructure of the former governing body. Many of Jamaica’s working
class found themselves at the mercy of warring political parties who controlled
many aspects of their lives including their jobs and where they lived. In opposition
and defiance of these conditions the people took to the streets, invading
public spaces and defining social norms of propriety and responsibility. The music filling the streets and the beats and lyrics
spilling out from the booming speakers spoke directly to the people and their
feelings towards their own situation and their perceptions of the nation
itself.
The abolishment of
slavery saw the rise of new political figures such as Jamaican born Marcus
Garvey who advocated solidarity among Africans from all backgrounds and
supported the idea of a mass migration back to Africa. After his fall many of
his followers took this advice to heart and looked to Ethiopia for their new leader
specifically newly crowned emperor Ras Tafari later renamed Haile Selassie. With
this elusive leader at the head Rastafarianism grow in Jamaica and inspired new
musical achievements. Rastas as they came to be known soon found themselves
caught in political strife when aspiring political figure Seaga, a former music
executive, in his desire to establish a JLP platform took violent action
against Back – O – Wall, a ghetto with a heavy population of PNP supporters. He
decimated the neighborhood, burned it to the ground and repopulated it with
hired guns (Chang p. 25 – 26).
While nowhere near
economically sound the island nation did not hit heavy times until they became the
focus of external investigation by the CIA. Before this political figures such
as Michael Manley implemented many useful changes such as “lowering the voting
age to eighteen, making secondary and university level education free and establishing
a minimum wage” (Chang p. 31). It was only when Manley began making plans to establish
relations with Cuba and exhibited a desire to form solidarity with other
African nations that the CIA took an interest. This led to a decrease in aid
from First World Nations and pushed Jamaica further in to debt, with their total
owed doubling to 2 billion in just five years. After being denied loans from
many North American banks, Jamaica was forced to accept loans from the IMF.
The IMF contract called
for a short term repayment plan which didn’t allow for Jamaica to establish
their own stable economy. The stipulations imposed on the loan were all but crippling,
it led to the closing of many schools and hospitals, the devaluing of the
Jamaican dollar and an economy based on tourism which gave back nowhere near
the return in profit compared to the resources it used.
Reggae music was
created to be a voice for the people to cope with and vent about the harsh
conditions of their lives. They took to the streets and congregated in mass
parties to release from the difficulties of the day. They took up public spaces
where other areas where other spaces such as work and living spaces were very much
controlled by the political happenings.
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