Bobo Shanti in Reggae music

This PDF-file was downloaded from http://www.kitlv-journals.nl REVIEW ARTICLES THE HALF STILL UNTOLD: RECENT LITERATURE ON REGGAE AND RASTAFARI Obeah, Christ and Rastaman: Jamaica and its religion. I VOR MORRISH.

Transforming Anthropology, 2022

The Boboshanti mansion, born of a highly specific moment of marginalization and radical displacement in the 1950s and '60s in Kingston, Jamaica, remains among the most pious, militant, and reclusive sects of Rastafari. Through the voices of its key musicianproponents, Bobo philosophy has had a lasting impact on reggae and dancehall music production in Jamaica and internationally. Adopted and adapted in and around Accra since the millennium, this socioreligious practice and now musical tradition has had a similar impact within and beyond the growing local reggaedancehall industry in Ghana. Its largely male, often Muslim and youthful proponents draw on a contentious mix of confrontational "judgment," "fireburning" politics, and ascetic living to speak across religion, ethnicity, and class in an already fervently religious and politically conservative Ghanaian social sphere. Drawn from ethnographic research conducted between 2013 and 2017 in Accra, and through the symbols of the "turban" and the "crown"-forms of adornment and social posture with which Bobos distinguish themselves-this short article will briefly engage the narrative threads of select local Boboinspired dancehall artists and activists, to explore the politics of music making and spiritual community building in Ghana. [diaspora, transnationalism, globalization, race, Africa]

2014

T his special issue on the 'Globalization of Rastafari' has been long in the making. The articles were originally written for a book and then a journal, many years ago. only two of the original articles are excluded from this issue. We have decided to publish this issue because of the path-breaking nature of many of the articles and the importance of Rastafari as a social and political phenomenon. Rastafari cultural practices are now part of global culture. Rastafari ideas have become part of resistance movements the world over and are no longer seen as strange or threatening to many of those who were once unfamiliar or critical of them. in other words, Rastafari, as a social movement or as part of popular expression, is no longer as peripheral as it appeared only a few decades ago. Many aspects of Rastafari philosophy are now part of our everyday lives. for this publication, we have kept the original introduction by Richard salter. although Michael Barnett's piece was not part of the original collection, it adds an important dimension of the Rastafari movement since, as he puts it, he focuses on the "globalization of the Rastafari movement as an outcome of the major migration waves of Jamaicans to england and north america in the fifties and the sixties respectively, as opposed to the more popular perspective that the movement was globalized through reggae music and the emergence of reggae's first international superstar, Bob Marley." Historically, migration has been one of the most powerful tools of cultural transfer for many Caribbean countries. it seems reasonable then for aspects of Rastafari philosophy and practice to accompany waves of Jamaican migration to the americas and europe during the 20 th century. The Globalization of Rastafari is our largest volume yet. We are truly excited about the uniqueness and the breadth and depth of the articles in this collection. We hope that you will share our fascination vi • Editorial and excitement when reading this issue.

Rastafari is often referred to as social, political or religious movement, while at the same time the movement is commodified and incorporated in popular culture through reggae music. Many people are familiar with Bob Marley, yet unfamiliar with the affiliated religious beliefs. This paper examines the paradoxical relationship between the production and consumption of Rastafari and reggae music through the Culturalism concept. The Rastafari and reggae messages are explored by means of encoding and decoding. A move towards spirituality can be identified whereby consumers take aspects of Rastafari and fit these into their individual lives. Reggae, and therefore –partially– Rastafari too, have become religious commodities in the marketplace that are adopted in new locales, show opposition or might be stripped of their original meaning.

European Journal of Literature, Language and Linguistics Studies, 2021

That Caribbean music forms and their sonic influences are steeped in a vibrant culture of social awareness and ethereal consciousness is incontestable. Roots reggae’s protest appeal, rhythmic syncopations, and deeply religious impulses attest to a rich, aware and reactive tradition forged from post-slavery legacies to engage the rotary realities of mid–late 20th century West Indies. Contemporary Caribbean reggae follows in this tradition. With a very deep root in the religious beliefs of the people, Reggae music developed as the medium for the masses to cope with the social, economic and political realities of the day in Jamaica and many other Caribbean communities. Consequently, the Reggae music has proven to be relevant as long as there is suffering and injustices among the masses, this is not to say Reggae music does not reflect some other aspects of life. The emphasis in this paper is to trace the history and development of Reggae, especially its connection to the Rastafari life...

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International Journal of Communication, 2019

Jamaica's capital city, is home to a cohort of creative and music industry workers organizing for creative industrial development and social uplift. This article uses interviews and textual analysis to historicize and contextualize one group, Manifesto Jamaica, and situates its work alongside close readings of new music written by political Jamaican artists organizing alongside Manifesto under the umbrella of the "Reggae Revival." The groups' media are characterized by two themes: (1) a cross-textual referencing practice connected to the Rastafari folk religion's concept of livity, or collectivity; and (2) an intentional troubling of temporal order, which connects the politics and people of the 1970s reggae golden age to today through the use of riddims, or backing tracks. Together, Manifesto Jamaica and the Reggae Revival represent creative industries development and cultural production in a specific neocolonial and Afro-diasporic global context that is worthy of study for its connection to previous histories and its impact today.

Brill, 2021

This book conveys a unique, unrivaled, and moving insight into the life of Monty Howell, the little-know eldest son of Leonard Howell, regarded as the Father of Rastafari. Opening several files, over the pages, the man is revealed behind the son. Being both an actor and storyteller of History, Monty Howell blends anecdotes, reflections, and revelations, avoiding no subject, even the most delicate and scorching. With confidence, he takes you through his childhood memories, his conflicts with Jamaica, and his reconciliations on behalf of his father’s legacy. With bold, mature, incisive, and provocative assertions, he even reframed the Rasta experiences and the development of Rastafari, altering the terms of the knowledge and the subsequent discourse.

New West Indian Guide 87 (1-2): 209-211, 2013

La fusion de la culture hip-hop et du mouvement rastafari. Steve Gadet. Paris: L' Harmattan. 2010. 267 pp. (Paper € 26.00) The relationship between the United States of America and the Caribbean region represents a complex fijield of enquiry, where history, economics, families, migrations, and cultures are intimately entangled over time and space. This is particularly true for issues related to black popular culture, represented here as a fluid and hybrid social construct characterized by interculturality and mediation (p. 27). With a sociological approach enriched by the concepts of "glocal cultures" and "creolization," Steve Gadet's book is an important contribution to the understanding and analysis of the entanglement of two cultural practices: the Rastafari movement from Jamaica and the hip-hop movement from the United States. Both locally rooted and relevant, each one has achieved international fame and signifijicance. They serve simultaneously the identity construct of black youth and of multiethnic youth (pp. 66, 70, and 112), though the latter is an issue not addressed directly in this book. Gadet's work seeks to track the points of convergence, divergence, and exchange between Rastafari and hip-hop cultures.