Like the legions of many, I am a Grace Jones fan. There’s just something about Grace Jones that makes you shake your head & want to say “you go Bitch”, in the most lovingly respectful I’m in awe type of way. Her reckless abandon to live life by her own rules, her unabashed confidence & sense of other worldly you ain’t ready for this strong, black chiseled type of beauty, but I’ll give you a little taste & send you running back to your mama saying I got a little grace in my face – is what this phenomenal woman represents to me and so many who have loved & admired her over many decades. She is that Jamaican “rude girl” like no other, who possess the power of her west African woman ancestry  embodied in the spirit of Yaa Asantewaa, where the matriarch is the one who really runs shit! The one who is feared yet greatly loved because her power is a seductively enticing magnet cut from the extension of her love.

As I see all the young pop stars like Britney Spears , Christina Aguilera , Lady Gaga etc. paying homage to Madonna , I always wonder what the hell is wrong with young Black pop stars like Rihanna who fail to acknowledge a legend like Grace Jones. Clearly her stylist’s inspiration in giving her the now infamous makeover that has taken her career to another level of superstardom, where the world can not get enough of her antics & fashion style came from Grace Jones. I don’t know if it is just a lack of education from her stylists who gave her the Grace Jones inspired island girl, good girl gone bad makeover or the more sinister deep seeded self hatred of many young Black girls whose idea of their blackness has been defined in a way that tells them  that a woman who is as dark as Grace Jones with pronounced African features could not possibly be considered an iconic beauty to emulate like Madonna, even though Lady Gaga shouts out for the world to know that Queen Grace is her personal Jesus!

Many generations of Black/dark skin inferiority teachings accepted & embedded within our own Black communities globally keep many young Black girls from recognizing the beauty & legend of a Black woman like Grace Jones in her global hauteness because they have been brainwashed with made up studies & stats like Satoshi Kanazawa’s & centuries of white supremacy programming that made a young Afro-Latina girl cry on Tyra Bank’s America’s Top Model show because she had to be made over to look like Grace Jones. All I could think when I saw that show was would a young White model cry because she had to be made over to look like Madonna? We have alot of work to do in our community & Grace Jones has more than done her part to break boundaries & to change the face of what is recognized as globally beautiful! Grace is an icon to icons that has crossed global boundaries & color lines with legions of fans who see her as the baddest bitch, the sexiest vixen, an extraordinary specimen of beauty & a global fashion icon who has often been imitated in magazines, pop careers & on television, but can never be duplicated because she is one of a kind -a self made fiercely fabulous woman that was born to be a superstar! She was the triple threat before that idea even became part of the American lexicon for these new era pop tarts. A model turned actress, turned singer & global icon-that is Grace Jones!

“Three bottles of red wine, a platter of sushi and four dozen oysters are lined up waiting for her, but still there is no sign of Grace Jones. We’ve been warned. Jones keeps Jamaica time. She doesn’t appear in daylight. This is Graceland, and in Graceland only one person dictates the terms. Six pm turns into 7pm. We’re in a freezing, underground car park turned exhibition space. Seven pm turns into 8pm, and now the stories are coming thick and fast. There was the time Jones kept David Bailey waiting a whole day, or was it two? Eventually, she calls and her manager Brendan screams down the phone at her: “GET HERE NOW, YOU BITCH!” Eight pm turns into 9pm. As a supermodel, pop star, Bond girl, artistic muse and artwork in herself, Jones is a one-off. Photographers and artists love working with her. Andy Warhol’s Grace Jones – all red lipstick, fierce flat-top and pink backdrop – is one of his last great portraits. Helmut Newton wrapped her in the arms of Dolf Lundgren to recreate Adam and Eve as a modern-day designer muscle couple. Keith Haring body-painted her into a parody Masai warrior. Perhaps most famously of all, Jean-Paul Goude shot her as a rippling racehorse – virtually naked, standing on one leg, bronzed and oiled, microphone in one hand, right leg raised at 90 degrees to meet her right arm – it is an astonishing image, albeit famously faked….” READ MORE

Before Rihanna even could utter the words “come here rude boy“, Queen Grace was waxing poetic about her Jamaican guy, before Lady Gaga could even discover the world of avant garde fashion -Queen Grace had already become its icon. We salute You Queen Grace & Will never get enough Grace in Our Face!

Shameful…We have to rectify the global mind fuck that plagues the recognition of Black as Beautiful!

As Black Music Month approaches in America in June thanks to former president Jimmy Carter who on June 7, 1979, decreed that June would be the month of black music, I have decided to post up the stories of  the roots of Global African or global Black music so we can stop, look, listen & ingest our global roots & culture without the constant debate of what came first or who birth who. Jamaicans say “Out of Many, One People”, but I say “Out of One Africa, Many People…Many Global Fusions”!

From Garvey to Marley to Maroon roots of Jamaica -Africa has always been preached & respected as the foundation of the people & in the people. If we understand & know history and science then why are we surprised or bother to debate about the fact that there is similarity in reggae, salsa, meringue, bomba bachata, blues, jazz, hip-hop etc., not only within themselves but also within African music, chants and use of voice and sound?  We may  adapt  and be socialized into foreign & new cultures, but the roots will always be the foundation that will always be preserved for true growth of mankind globally. There is no denying the roots of music came from  Africa; therefore the descendants of Africa no matter where they land, reside or call home, the roots of their foundation can always be  heard in their sound, seen in their features and felt in their soul!!

Bonus Tracks:

It seems Nina Simone’s words “An artist’s duty is to reflect the times. how can you be an artist & not reflect the times?”,  needs to be heralded more than ever because there are way too many stories that are not being told. The world is in a massive mash up of class wars globally, being turned into racial, religious & regional wars. Our leaders have become unaccountable for their treacherous treasonous actions against we the people, we the everyday citizens of  nations, we who they call their own people, as the people bare the brunt of the suffering from their lies & deeds for greed & power masked in the tainted cloak of freedom & democracy.

We need a generation of artists who speak for the people as their mouth piece to let the world know the global trials & tribulations of the everyday man that you may not see or hear in the propaganda that is fed to the people to pacify them in complacency. Stephen Marley is surely one of those artists who will lead us & the music back to conciousness. How many artists in good times & bad times will stand up & offer up their homes to bailout their felow man? So many have lost the spirit of botherhood , but there are so many more of us who will not let the world  forget our humanity. Bob Marley’s seeds will continue to plant trees of righteousness & humanity.

There is a global need for our artists to become a reflection of the times in enlightening, educating & mobilizing the people to true peaceful revolution. None but ourselves can free our minds! Where are our Bob Marleys, Nina Simones, Marvin Gayes, Peter Toshs, John Lennons & Buju Bantons to take the baton in taking the music to new heights..the world needs them more than ever now to tell those often UNTOLD STORIES…

May the roots soul & power of Buju’s Maroon ancestors guide & protect him through his current tribulation! I hope we all take heed to the the lyrics of the 3 songs below, Destiny, Politics Time Again & Untold Stories- as we go through our global massive tribulations in making sure that the truth about our untold stories see the light of day!

Verse 1:
The rich man’s wealth is in the city
Destruction of the poor is his poverty
Destruction of your soul is vanity
Do you hear
I and I, I wanna rule my destiny
I and I, I wanna rule my destiny

Chorus:
Destiny, mama look from when you call me
Destiny, mama look from when you calling
I wanna rule my destiny
yeah, yeah oh help I please Jah Jah mek mi rule

Verse 2:
I’ve been blessed I’ve been touch
I love Jah so much
They keep fighting me I’m not giving up
May the realms of Zion fill my spiritual cup
Wisdom overstanding can never be too much
Give I protection Day and night

Chorus:
Cast away their cords from us
you have them in the region in the valley of decision
Restraining the heathen with a rod of iron
you know not the destiny of a next man
Why hold him set him free too long

Verse 3:
My destination is homeward bound
Though force try to hold I down
Breaking chains has become the norm
I know I must get through no matter what a gwaan

Why my people suffer so bad ?
Who is it that should really be sad ?
Is it… Is it the misplaced melancholic ?
Whoa…

[Chorus:]
Well is’t politics time again
Are you gonna vote now ?
My people you ah talk
It’s politics time again
Are you gonna vote now ?

My god…

[Verse 1:]
Rise up falling suffer
Rise and take your stands again
He who fights and run away
Will live to fight another day

[Chorus]

Make love and not war

[Verse 2:]
It’s the time to duty
Haffi see the chance to vote
Fire bun dem constitution
Long time we need ah choose
Fed up with promises
And hopeless hope
Why the box must be empty
For those clothes
No one harm no one
True the color of the clothes, now
But some just plain greedy
No matter how we teach them
For get easy… yaw

[Chorus]

It’s the rasta them talkin’
New gear, new gear

[Verse 3:]
Bloodshed…
From rema-a-and
Down in the valley
Can them hear ya-a-ah
Crack down…
(it’s) Has become ah gunman compound
Now bless all people who has seen this shit
Lord
Dem cry reliclesly yeah
You keep on moving
Every minute every hour
Gunshot fall like shower
Whoa like new clear power

[Chorus]

[Verse 4:]
And the likkle want, we want
And the likkle preach, we preach
Selcter buzz thier big on the street, lord
Kill people
What dem really seek?
Who is it that I man speaking?
Who is it that is controlin’ the system?
Three parties and I’m not dancing
Who is it then?
Who is she then?
Now who is the Mr. In?
Yeah, it is the pain time
Again now… Whoo

[Chorus]

[Verse 5:]
Everything race
But we won’t live in fret
But the air we breath becomes thick with dead
Then we know Jah ah guide
We will never fret
When ever you ready ready
No more sparge
Whenever you light or heavy
Ah pure respect, lord lord lord lord
Now war, now war

While I’m Living
Thanks I’ll Be Giving
To the Most High You know,

[Chorus: ]
I am living while I am living to the father I will pray
Only he knows how we get through everyday
With all the hike in the price
Arm and leg we have to pay
While our leaders play

[Verse 1:]
All I see people a rip and a rob and a grab
Tief never love fe see tief wid long bag
No love for the people who a suffer real bad
Another toll to the poll may God help we soul
What is to stop the youths from get out of control
Full up of education yet no own no payroll
The clothes on my back have countless eyehole.
I could go on and on the full has never been told

[Repeat Chorus]

[Verse 2:]
Who can afford to run will run
But what about those who can’t…they will have to stay
Opportunity a scarce, scarce commodity
In these times I say… When mama spend her last and send you go class
Never you ever play
It’s a competitive world for low budget people,
Spending a dime while earning a nickel
With no regards to who it may tickle
My cup is full to the brim
I could go on and on the full has never been told

[Repeat Chorus]

[Verse 3:]
All I see people a rip and a rob and a grab
Tief never love fe see tief wid long bag
No love for the people who a suffer real bad
Another toll to the poll may God help we soul
What is to stop the youths from get out of control
Full up of education yet no own no payroll
The clothes on my back have countless eyehole
Could go on and on and the full has never been told
(On and On)
Though this life keep getting me down
Don’t give up now
Got to survive somehow
Could go on and on and the full has never been told

[Repeat Chorus]

[Verse 4:]
Who can afford to run will run
But what about those who can’t…they will have to stay
Opportunity a scarce, scarce commodity
In these times I say… When mama spend her last and send you go class
Never you ever play
It’s a competitive world for low budget people,
Spending a dime while earning a nickel
With no regards to who it may tickle
My cup is full to the brim
I could go on and on the full has never been told
I could go on and on the full has never been told
I could go on and on the full has never been told
I could go on and on the full has never been told
I could go on and on the full has never been told
I could go on and on the full has never been told
I could go on and on….
The full has never….

Been…..
Toooooold.
SOURCE :Lyrics on Demand

“The opening shot of the film will feature a tour of Cape Coast Castle, a fortification in Ghana that contains the infamous “Door of No Return” through which many Africans passed before being shipped into slavery. I want to suggest the idea that his ancestors passed through this door and that his music is trying to come home again spiritually, psychologically, politically…He’s universally revered and looked up to as an inspiration. But we’ve never seen anything that gets to the root of who he is as a man..The aim of making any film about the artist is to get people to go back to the music” READ MORE

Jamaica & Ghana have a special bond in history that still prevails in modern day Jamaica through the kept cultural heritage of Jamaican Maroons, so I am not at all surprised, but I am overjoyed & enthusiastically awaiting not only the opening scene of the life story of global musical legend Bob Marley that will start with the opening scene in my homeland of Ghana, but also waiting to learn more about the beautiful mystery that was & is Bob Marley. Bob Marley made his love for Africa & his determination to do more in & for Africa very clear after his Zimbabwe concert tour.

Bob Marley’s wife, Rita Marley has kept that promise of his legacy alive  as a humanitarian & resident of Ghana, West Africa for the past decade & has even gone as far as to build a modern day Ghanaian solar powered version of the legendary Studio One, the Kingston,Jamaica recording studio that was responsible for Jamaica’s musical legends like Bob Marley. Not only has Rita Marley kept Bob Marley’s link & fire burning in Africa, but she has clearly passed the torch onto the Marley children who keep Africa in their hearts & lyrics. Not only did the Marley family come together in Ethiopia to celebrate Bob Marley with the Africa Unite concert, but Damian “Junior Gong” Marley got together with Nas on the critically acclaimed “Distant Relatives” project to specifically take it back to Africa, to unite & pay homage to the roots of not only the Black Diaspora but humankind.  A film on Bob Marley’s life has been long awaited by his legions of global fans spanning multiple generations & what better way to look into the life, the man, the father, the husband,the artist & the prophet than by starting off from the roots! Yes Iyah- We Await Your Return!

STUDIO ONE IN THE AKAUPIM MOUNTAINS OF GHANA

“Making a movie about Bob Marley hasn’t been easy. A Martin Scorsese attempt failed. So did one from Jonathan Demme. Now producers of a new documentary about the Jamaican reggae pioneer confirm that Kevin Macdonald is directing the film, a point that had been rumored online since the fall. The director has secured permission of the Marley family and will be free to include material from the archives of the spiritual-minded singer-songwriter…”READ MORE

update
“Magnolia Pictures has acquired U.S. rights to Marley, the first documentary about iconic musician Bob Marley made with the support of the Marley family. The film will open in theaters and on VOD and digital platforms April 20, after its world premiere at the Berlin film festival. VH1 also has partnered to license the first TV window of the film as part of its Rock Doc franchise.” READ MORE

The is dedicated to Global Fusionists World Wide because all around the word same song! This song speaks to the state of our world today. You can’t keep people hungary for too long & keep blaming the minum wage because “The whole world’s about to errupt.. I tell you revolution is a must…you no see sey people hungary & though some living in fear them still hungary.. ”

“Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is in an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.” —Frederick Douglass

As President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil said “We either speak frankly about the situation we are facing or we continue creating these emergency policies like it did in Haiti“.

“The Mayor of Freetown City Council Herbert Williams at a press briefing held at the British Council hall on Monday 25th told a battery of journalists that the proceeds from the Morgan Heritage concert scheduled for December 28-29 will be used to purchase school buses in order to bring a durable solution to the problem of transportation for school going children in the municipality. In his concept overview, the city father said he was contacted by a group of people to partner with the Freetown City Council to host the sensational reggae ace band the Morgan Heritage Family….“After serious consideration by the council, the council consented to take the venture due to the findings about the Morgan Heritage”, Mayor charged and disclosed that “research fostered by the Freetown City Council revealed that the Morgan family traced their roots to Sierra Leone and because their songs are morally correct and upright, this is the more reason for the Council’s choice...” READ MORE

“I may not be familiar with ur language, but I sure would like to cross over ur bridge.. Said I may not dress in a style as the men in your town do, but I sure do know how to say I love you..I want to love in the morning.. love u in the evening too.. even when ur lonley.. I’ll make u happy when ur feeling feeling blue..I am just a stranger in your town once in awhile I’ll pop around..” Until we meet again we will be friends that never end awaiting for you to pop around!

“Gregory Isaacs — one of the most popular and versatile reggae singers of the late-Seventies, and the smooth-voiced dancehall crooner behind the genre’s landmark 1982 LP Night Nurse — passed away this morning at his London home following a year-long battle with lung cancer, the BBC reports. Isaacs was 59. “Gregory was well loved by everyone, his fans and his family, and he worked really hard to make sure he delivered the music they loved and enjoyed,” Isaacs’ wife Linda said. “He will be greatly missed by his family and friends.”..Over the course of his prolific career — in which he release an estimated 500 albums within Jamaica, the UK and the U.S. — Isaacs collaborated with reggae, dub and dancehall icons like Lee “Scratch” Perry, King Tubby, Sugar Minott, Freddie McGregor, Dennis Brown and Errol Holt. After spending the Seventies building a reputation as both a top-notch roots reggae singer and a soulful “lovers rock”-style crooner, Isaacs recorded his masterpiece Night Nurse at Bob Marley’s Tuff Gong Studios in 1982, the year after Marley’s death….” READ MORE

“Nicknamed “The Cool Ruler”, Isaacs was a dapper-dressed performer who almost always sported a distinctive fedora and three-piece suit on stage. He co-founded his own African Museum label, on which he released much of his prodigious output. His commercial peak coincided with an addiction to crack cocaine and a spell in prison after being found guilty on a firearms charge, after which both his health and career faltered. Despite eventually losing many of his teeth, which affected the quality of his voice, he continued to tour until the last year of his life. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph in 2007 he declared: “Drugs are a debasing weapon. It was the greatest college ever, but the most expensive school fee ever paid – the Cocaine High School. I learnt everything, and now I’ve put it on the side…..”READ MORE

“what more can I say..sad 2 know that ur leaving but Jah will guide u out & coming in..after u made my day..hurts to know that ur going away..”RIP Gregory Isaacs (15 July 1951 – 25 October 2010)

‎”If u want 2 B my # 1..Let me know Ur future plans!” -Praises to 2 Legends!

Being a Ghanaian, you are raised from birth to honor your elders & to seek their wisdom. Somewhere  down the line of generations & forced & desired travels many of us have lost our way in seeking the wisdom of our elders & in honoring the fact that in order for us to know where we are going we have to know where we came from. Our elders hold that history & knowledge that we need to understand where we are , how we got here &  where we are going.

There has been so much talk and new reenactments of the historical March on Washington, but I learned more by listening to the words of the elders who were there in the flesh in speaking on what that moment was like & how far we  have come as a people from that moment by being able to step away from the new era fear mongering  & new voices saying they know best on how to move us forward as a people & as a nation when the answers in the mistakes made & how to proceed forward rests right with those who started the revolution, those whose opinions & wisdom we have somehow forgotten to seek in our brand newness of thinking that we are living in a time & space that has never been replicated before, as we try to replicate  moments in time like the March on Washington, life, human existence, hip-hop & other genres of music. Our human history is globally fused & intertwined from East to West, North to South. Honoring the teachings of our elders, holding our elders accountable to that history & telling our own stories by keeping this history alive to formulate the future is up to us as individuals & concerned global citizens, not solely for us to leave to the discretions & digressions of institutionalized education systems because there can never be enough textbooks to tell the behind the story stories that our elders are available to pass down & share with us for free, while they are still alive. These are the stories that must be told in order to represent as much of the totality of our global history as possible without too many breaks & lost generations in between.

As Bob Marley says “Every man thinks that his burden is the heaviest.. who feels it knows it  not..but you can’t run away from yourself” . Our elders are part of ourselves that we can never run away from because they hold the history to our future! Honor , Respect & Seek the Wisdom of Your Elders!

“The masses had lost faith in civilian democratic government.. the masses had lost faith in the military Government generals..they were also becoming as corrupt as whatever it is ..& now the situation was ready for the possibility of an explosion..it is not the medium of education, the medium of respect, of merit that is used to govern people, but they use the medium of fear to terrorize the people into a state of subjugation.. when you use fear it degenerates into hatred & HATRED CAN BLOW UP!“…HMMMMMM- is he saying that Ghanaians didn’t have the power & capacity  to be strong enough, to be defiant enough to be able to protect freedom & justice? Hindsight is 20/20 when will we ever learn that all around the world -same song!

When Bob Marley sang “I’m a soul rebel”, he literally meant it in the fact that his early recordings with the Wailers leaned toward the sound of Soul, Jazz,Blues & Ska more reminiscent of the heyday of Motown or better yet the 1960’s heyday of UK’s Skinhead culture of music & style, more than the classic reggae sound & style that he popularized globally. From is low cut pre-dreadlocks hair to the staple black suit & tie uniform reminiscent of The Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight & the Pips & Little Stevie Wonder, Bob Marley & the original Wailers band was Jamaica’s classic soul group.

Most people have no idea about Bob Marley’s early recordings which brought out the bluesy Al Green type of hot like fire gritty soul in his angelically powerful voice. Yes yall, Bob Marley was a blues & soul singer who introduced the world to Reggae music much like Fela Kuti was a Hi-Life musician who introduced the world to Afro-beat. If you don’t already know, get to know Bob Marley & The Wailers early soul recordings at Studio 1 because you will find yourself falling in love with the man named Robert Nester Marley in a whole new way. Bless Up!

“Skinhead is a member of a subculture that originated among working class youths in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, and then spread to other parts of the world. Named for their close-cropped or shaven heads, the first skinheads were greatly influenced by West Indian (specifically Jamaican) rude boys and British mods, in terms of fashion, music andlifestyle. Originally, the skinhead subculture was primarily based on those elements, not politics or race. Since then, however, attitudes toward race and politics have become factors by which some skinheads align themselves…” READ MORE

“I don’t have prejudice against meself. My father was a white and my mother was black. Them call me half-caste or whatever. Me don’t dip on nobody’s side. Me don’t dip on the black man’s side nor the white man’s side. Me dip on God’s side, the one who create me and cause me to come from black and white.…” READ MORE

It’s been awhile since we heard a new album released from Carlton Errington Grant AKA Spragga Benz. Well it has been well worth the wait because after the death of his son in 2008 at the hands of the Kingston police, along with all the recent uproar & blood shed experienced in Spragga Benz’s hometown over the extradition to the United States of Christopher “Dudus” Coke & the “Don culture” that has taken over the Garrison communities of Kingston, Jamaica, you better believe that Kingston’s native son from the JamRock of Franklin Town has a lot to get off his chest! With his first single  ”Livitication”  - a special dedication in celebration of his beloved son Carlise- Spragga bears his soul as a father & comes out heavy  in his classic “Rude Boi/Fresh Boi/ Shot Caller” stylings with “Shotta Culture“, a reference not only to the cult classic movie which both he & his deceased son Carlise starred in, but also an education on the Jamaican culture that he grew up in, part of which made headline news around the world last May! Spragga Benz is back better than ever bringing a new celebratory balanced conscious vibe of real news with hard hitting gritty dancehall beats empowered by ancient calls of African drums with classic hip-hop fusion, creating a perfect trilogy  in balance of some fresh new music that we have all been waiting for!

Stay Tuned for  Episodes of Global Fusion TV’s  ”Back Story” “ Featuring Spragga Benz

“Since that Event everything been so different…Leave all vengeance”..Bless up Carlise-Rest In Power! A Father celebrating the memory of his beloved son!

I have always understood that Jamaicans are descendants of enslaved Africans from West Africa & Ghana in particular, but I never realized just how similar our roots run hundreds of years after slavery. As Brazilians in Salvador de Bahia keep the Yoruba roots of tradition & language alive in modern day Brazil, Jamaican Maroons keep the Akan traditions & language alive in modern day Jamaica.

When Jamaica’s native son Marcus Garvey shouted for Global Africans to return to Africa, many chanted Haile Selassie I & found home  & Rastafari roots in Ethiopia while many others celebrated Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah & found freedom in Ghana. Today’s Ghana boast a significant Jamaican community brought & empowered by Rita Marley & the memory & foundation of Bob Marley & Marcus Garvey. Jamaicans & native Ghanaian Rastas have created their own governing & financial empowerment council that boasts a credit union called the black star line catering to the financial empowerment needs of Rastafarians in Ghana.

When you walk around Ghana you see Jamaica, from reggae music, to dreadlocks & the culture of Rastafari. I had heard about the Kromanti/Kramanti language in Jamaica which was supposed to sound similar to the Akan languages of Ghana, but I became a true believer when I heard it spoken & found many similar words in Ghanaian Akan languages. Jamaicans like Brazilians have never denied their African roots, but have rather embraced it & used it as a sense of power in knowing who they are & where they came from beyond Jamaica’s sugar cane plantations. With more & more talk amongst African nations about offering our Diasporan brothers & sisters free visas & dual citizenships to come back home to their ancestral roots, perhaps we will all get to learn more about our distant relatives.

Many Africans & Diasporans did not know of Haiti‘s history of successful slave rebellion which led them to independence in 1804  even before slavery was abolished in 1807 until the earthquake that brought Haiti new found global press & historical interest, just as many do not know that Jamaican Maroons had their own successful slave rebellion to freedom 50 years before slavery was abolished & long before Toussaint L’Ouverture brought Saint-Domingue out of the the shackles of the French & renamed the new land of freed slaves,Haiti. The Maroons of Jamaica have been able to keep their identity & autonomy not only from their former slave masters, but also within Jamaica even til today.  The Maroons’ largest town Accompong even has a similar name to Ghana’s Akropong-which is home to one of Ghana’s oldest tribes, the Akuapims & both are ironically located in the hills/mountains of their individual nations. We can not wait nor allow others to tell us our history & to give it to us in small increments as they see fit when knowledge is power & information is available if we truly seek to be empowered by knowledge .

“I raved about how much African aesthetic is infused into Jamaican life. You’d think I was visiting the island for the first time, even though I was born here and have barely set foot anywhere else since that sun-hot Wenesday in 1972…The thing is this; African retentions in our culture sometimes get compartmentalized and thought of in ways that seem distant. Yes, over 90% of Jamaicans are black and are direct desendants of the people who came from West Africa, so when we look at each other we see our ancestry…” READ MORE

I remember the first time I went to Jamaica right out of college & met up with two Rasta men who befriended me & took care of me & my friend as community elders do in Ghana. The moment they heard I was from Ghana , I automatically became family & was blessed with eating the best jerk chicken I have ever tasted in my entire life even until today. I have eaten a lot of jerk chicken in Jamaica & other places in the world, but this was hands down the best because from the smell, to the serving of it, to the taste, you could see & feel that it came from the love of family in the way that a home cooked meal outshines even the best highly trained chef.

I did not understand back then why these two grown men were so fascinated with asking me every question possible about Ghana & why their desire to go there was so strong until many years later when I witnessed the Jamaican community & influence in Ghana & saw the love that Ghanaians, particularly the youth gave to Jamaican artists who visited & Jamaican citizens who returned back to Ghana to stay because these Ghanaian youth were just as enamored by them & wanted to know everything possible about them & our mutual ancestral global connection. It was truly as Nas & Damian “Junior Gong” Marley put it, distant relatives reuniting on two sides of the Atlantic & getting to know one another again. From Marley, to Tosh, to Sizzla, to Junior Reid, to Buju,  to the new generation Marley, Africa & Ghana in particular has always been in the forefront of their life never to take a backseat in heritage or unity! Akwaaba as we continue to keep it strictly Roots!

Nanny of the Maroons (circa 1700 – 1750), freedom fighter and hero.. READ MORE

We need to stop allowing Voodoo (Voudum) to be interpreted as some sort of “boogie man spirit” any more or less worthy of recognition & respected in its perpetration by humanity in good and evil as the gods and spirits sold in superiority of western worlds and faith. The White man’s reaction to a simplified explanation of voodoo and the laughter of the historian says it all…At some point we must take responsibility for history and the reaction of those who are responsible from spreading it in continuing cycles...