Hallman 1

Shawn Hallman Communication & Culture Martinez 2 May, 2012 Subculture of Reggae Music Musicians have a culture of their own. With every different culture come its own stereotypes. It is a commonly held belief that musicians are nothing more than pleasure seeking and generally lazy people. Living in the city that dubs itself the Live Music Capital of the World, I found otherwise. Austin is known for its live music which is available everyday at bars, restaurants, and coffee shops all across town. While musicians have a vast culture, I decided to narrow my scope and focus mainly on musicians who try to make a living playing reggae music. While artists should never try to limit their creative scope by limiting themselves to a certain genre, reggae music seems to have enough unique traditions, beliefs, and values to be considered a subculture. Reggae music has its own set of stereotypes as well. In my experience, the first two words that pop into a persons mind when they hear the word reggae are marijuana and Rastafarianism. While these are generally popular song topics for the genre, there is much more to the culture. Reggae, a genre of music that has its geographical roots in Jamaica and musical roots in the United States and Africa, found mainstream appeal through the likes of Dennis Brown and Bob Marley (Scaruffi). It has since spawned and influenced a number of different sub-genres and still finds mainstream success in its pure form. The reggae scene has its own form of discourse, full of its own lingo and values. The reggae music scene is a co-culture of the current music scene. The active members within this culture are the musicians, the fans, and the media. As a fan, I feel as though I should cover the fans perspective first. The main reason why I, as a fan, like reggae music is because of its natural rebellious roots. Reggae music often contains social and political commentary. Many fans of reggae are interested in making a positive change or impact in their world. While lyrical topics may intrigue some listeners, there are also the musical characteristics of reggae that many enjoy. With its most distinctive quality of chordal emphasis focused on the upbeats, to the melodic and repetitious basslines, all the way down to its high-hat heavy, snare hit on beat three drum pattern, reggae musics influence has found its way to the hearts of fans and musicians all across the world. The worldwide appeal of reggae seems to connect those who hold similar world views and world knowledge. Humanity is a key value held within the reggae culture. Since it could be said that reggae was used as a form of gospel music, having its roots in Rastafarian culture, the message of bettering ourselves and the world around us has continued to be a part of the genre beyond religiously-affiliated bands. Many songs also touch on environmental issues and living as one with the earth and its nature. These beliefs help those who are not a part of the culture further stereotype fans of the genre as hippies.

Hallman 2

Another perspective to consider is the band(s). These are the main communicators and representatives of the culture. Whatever image bands in the scene give off is what outsiders view the culture as. Artists such as Bob Marley, SOJA, Six60, and Groundation come from different regions of the globe, but all encourage individuals to fight for and protect their rights and the rights of their fellow man in multiple songs. While there are also bands within the culture that touch mainly on partying and abusing drugs, that seems to be more of a subculture within the reggae culture (2012). While power plays a large rule in communication in general and within cultures, reggae culture tends to object to the concept of power. Equality and humility are two more values of the culture. While political ideologies differ all the way from the radical left to the libertarian right throughout reggae culture, these are still the fundamental values and beliefs of the genre. While political power is often preached against, there still seems to be some form of a hierarchy in the culture. The bands and artists would be at the top of this hierarchy. They are the ones preaching the values of the culture and they are the ones who fans pay to see. Simply the act of paying to see a band is deferring power to the band by giving money they have worked for to watch the band perform and hear their message. Another form of power a band hold, if they are well-known enough, would be having the crowd sing along to their song. This shows a sharing of the power the performing band holds. By pointing the microphone toward the crowd, the band is allows the fans to become a part of the song. This event is also a common communication pattern of live music. A band will sing part of a chorus and then point the microphone toward the crowd nonverbally signifying it is the crowds turn in the conversation that is the song. Once a band is off-stage, they forfeit a bit of power. I have found that many bands will switch to a solidarity face system when it comes to one-on-one interactions with their fans. Many artists in this culture are humbled and down to earth and are open to personal conversation. The mutual and equal respect of each individual is a pleasant surprise in contrast to the increasingly ego-centric route popular music has been on. It is also important to consider how media influences the culture of reggae. Media has the power of influencing public opinion. Good reviews from reputable sources are likely to draw attention to certain bands. In this way media holds some power over the bands. Often times, media and bands will work together. There are several blogs dedicated to the genre, two of which being ThePier.org and MusicBailout.net. There are also general authoritative music media outlets such as Rolling Stone and the All Music Guide. Having the chance to contribute to MusicBailout.net, I have learned that the site and the bands must work together to create a positive image of one another. It is important to maintain a good relationship between media and artists that can be mutually beneficial. While artists are seen as the ambassadors of the genre to the rest of the music scene, different artists share different views and different levels of power. National bands and headliners hold more power than supporting or local acts. National bands also have the pressure of relying solely on their music and the money they make through it to make a living. With more money comes more power. Popularity changes within the genre, but in my experience the bands who focus on reggae cultures values tend to have more success than bands who target certain demographics.

Hallman 3

Since some artists have to make money in order to survive, the values and beliefs of the culture can become a little skewed. It is never a good idea to only take care of others and not yourself, but money brings in another temptation for those who are seeking a form of enlightenment. I have found that many bands who write materialistic and shallow songs also have many meaningful and heartfelt songs. While these artists chose to stray away from traditional values of the genre, they do so in order to capture a larger fan base. Fans may see this not staying true to the culture, but when youre doing something for a living, it is important to keep revenue coming in, however you can get it. The Holdup, a band from San Jose known for their cocky and poppy songs, address this issue in a few of their songs including One More Day(2011). In this song frontman Mike Garmany discusses his problems with the hypocrisy within the scene. While The Holdup branches out from traditional reggae by using rock and hiphop, Mike is still seeking acceptance as a person and as an equal individual. Respect and acceptance are two key terms that could also be used to describe the culture of reggae music. At shows I have been to the crowd tends to be diverse. People of all ages and ethnicities make it out. High school kids and 50 year-olds alike can enjoy music they like to listen to in what feels like a judgment free setting. Reggae culture is not a judgmental or exclusive culture. It is meant to speak to anyone who is willing to listen and who wishes to bring good to the world. Since the textbook does say that culture can be used as a tool for thinking, I decided to look at reggae music culture as a counterculture (Scollon). The music and the message vary significantly from the current mainstream cultures. The music reverses the bass and the guitars roles, having bass play melodic riffs while the guitar acts as the rhythm instrument. The lyrical and cultural content attempts to take the selfishness and greed out of people. I believe reggae is now becoming what punk rock was to Great Britian in the 70s-90s. I had the pleasure of interviewing Jacob Hemphill, the frontman of the band SOJA (Hemphill). SOJA is a very conscious and political band who recently performed on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and whose latest album Strength to Survive (2012) reached the number one spot on the iTunes reggae charts and was in the top 5 overall on iTunes the week of its release. Jacob Hemphill was a nice guy who I thought best expressed the worldview of the culture. He provided me with the perfect closing quote to sum up the ideology of this wonderful culture: When you take a stand to say were going to have an environmental society built around
education, health, and the environment, that would never happen because our country is ruled by corporations who bribe congressman and dont have to report it. Thats why were in the wars and thats why pharmaceutical companies have more money than god. If a president comes along and says that, sure the people would elect him, but the corporations that are in charge of this country will not lose. It sounds radical what Im saying, but it will never change. Theres nothing anyone can do to stop congress. We saw the greatest guy ever come in and get completely deflated. This black democrat, he probably doesnt even want to run again. Ask Bill Gates if he wants to be president and hell say no because he wouldnt have any power. Theres way more power in the private sector and America proved that. This whole game we play, it all gets taken out on the rest of the world. They look at us and they hate us and in order to compete with us they have to burn gasoline and burn them in outdated engines. These third world countries have to compete. I think whats going on right now is really gross. I dont care if people think Im crazy, because I know Im not. I know Im right and I know their wrong. Its just whether we realize it now while there is a world left to save or we wait until it looks like a Terminator movie outside. -Jacob Hemphill, April 28th, 2012

Hallman 4

Works Cited "2012 Most Anticipated Albums." Web log post. ThePier.org. 5 Jan. 2012. Web. Hemphill, Jacob. "SOJA Interview." Interview by Shawn Hallman. MusicBailout.net. 3 May 2012. Web. 2 May 2012. Scaruffi, Piero. "A History of Reggae Music." Piero Scaruffi's Knowledge Base. Web. 02 May 2012. <http://www.scaruffi.com/history/reggae.html>. Scollon, Ronald, and Suzanne B. K. Scollon. Intercultural Communication: A Discourse Approach. Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 1995. Print. The Holdup - One More Day. Perf. The Holdup. YouTube, 2011. Online.