"Beneath The Whirlwind": An Examination of The Role of Marcus Garvey in Reggae Music

“Marcus, a Black Man
Prophesied to the Nation
When he asked ‘where is the Black Man government?’ “
Taken from ‘Seven Miles’ featuring Luciano by Naptali

I always do hope and always have hoped that the music that we are so grateful to not only listen to, but have ears for, either reveals or develops into some larger purpose. What I mean is that, in any case, you can only discuss or SING for so long about action before being drawn into actually DOING something and Reggae music, in so many respects, is a grand call to action - The most beautiful in the world, of course. Then I start to think about the history and I’m drawn in so many directions, the most glaring being the direction of growth. The claim can certainly be made (and I am going to make it) that RIGHT NOW, Reggae music is more popular worldwide than it has ever been. It is more popular today than it was yesterday and it will be more popular after you finish reading this than it was when you started. GROWTH is most certainly an action and it is a seemingly never ending one - It is without limit.

So what are our tools of growth? What helps Reggae music grow? Of course there’re things like marketing and things that people like I do and people like you and I read about on a daily basis. Interviews, tours, press conferences, things like these happen almost like clockwork and as much you may tire of reading them (I don’t, you might), you very well know that they have their place and purpose. Then there is the actual music itself which plays, in some way or another, twenty four hours a day, each and every day. This is how the music grows. Another very powerful way is the creation and exaltation of FIGURES. What we have as the most celebrated peace of imagery in Reggae music is, of course, the face of Robert Nesta Marley - Even in death, his remains arguably one of the most recognizable faces in the world. However, I think that in terms of actual ACTION and in terms of DOING something (certainly Marley did far more than his fair share of both and, indirectly, his work continues) (technically, I’m even doing his work), the most prominent figure in Reggae music is The Most Honourable Marcus Mosiah Garvey.

Of course, this has to be taken in the intellectual sense and it is in that sense where Garvey’s MASSIVE indirect contributions to Reggae music become most glowing and it’s almost aided by the fact that (at least to my knowledge) he never recorded a single note of a single song. Marcus Garvey is a historical figure. If you enter any class so broadly dubbed as ‘History’, you wouldn’t at all be surprised to see his name amongst the curricula and the same is not so for ‘Bob Marley’ or even ‘Reggae’, or even ‘Caribbean’ or ‘Jamaica’ for that matter. He is taught to University students and children alike and he is taught worldwide and his contributions are so plentiful, to ‘history’ alone, that for as long as there is teaching done, Garvey will be taught in some respects. During my own University career, I was shocked at how many different classes that I attended (both in and outside of the Caribbean) where Garvey became either a designated or an impromptu subject of discourse - Although he certainly falls most specifically under ‘Afrikan History’ (as did most of University courses), Marcus Garvey is one of a very few short of people whose ACTIONS have become matters of general HUMAN HISTORY.

The leap to be made to music, ostensibly, is quite simple and even simpler in this case, given just how much Reggae music Garvey has DIRECTLY inspired. Besides the visual examples I used in last year’s “Texting Garvey” article, I also mentioned the oft-reoccurring theme of repatriation in Reggae music and of course that is a theme almost directly derived from the lifework of Garvey. But, the step I’ll take beyond that this year is the concept of ‘intellectual pride’. It is one thing to be able to sit in a group of Reggae fans, people who love and respect the music and be able to have discussions about certain aspects of the vibes - Obviously that’s something that I very much enjoy, as you can probably tell - But it is another (almost COMPLETELY) to be able to have these conversations in less familiar, but generally very well educated and well read company and Garvey is someone who transcends the music even more so than Bob Marley (because, again, he never made a song, he wasn’t a musician) (even though, in saying that, Marley also is a figure inspiring MUCH intellectual pride potentially, but of a different and much more familiar type). Garvey’s figure is so domineering and commands so much respect in so many different circles, that even the most convoluted of connections to be made to Reggae music are fitting, however, one need only crack open the TINIEST bit of the catalog of Burning Spear to make links which are very direct and obvious upon the very first listen.

Continuing with the notion of Intellectual Pride, Garvey’s figure is also one which inspires a certain type of pride and ‘destination seeking’ theme in the music itself.

“My Brother, we’ve got to take some action now
Let us stop talk about breaking down the barriers
And don’t forget what Garvey said -
‘Afrika for Afrikans, at home and abroad‘”

This very small stretch of lyrics, taken from ‘Africa For Africans’ by Nereus Joseph [“Real Rebels Don’t Die”], is so poignant here (and I’ll speak on this further in just a minute) because it takes on a much different shape and ‘colour’ than had he done the lyrics sans “and don’t forget what Garvey said”. The next step, a quote, which is probably so well known that it didn’t need the designation of who said it to go along with it in order, is made so much more critical by that one line of words and it should also definitely be said that given the slight dialectical differences between Patois and ‘standard’ English, ‘Garvey’ as a word also becomes somewhat or a lyrical checkpoint to those who aren’t necessarily comprehending so much of what is otherwise being said. Now, most of this concept is inappreciable, to a large degree, by most who don’t listen very intently and, as I say in my reviews, it’s material largely for the ‘mature listener’ and the ‘intellectual listener’ as well. Reggae music, while not thought of as being so, unfortunately, is probably one of the SMARTEST musical genres in the world because a great deal of the concepts are so far outside of the mainstream and have so brilliantly, but quietly, developed outside of that light. Also, so many of them are IMMEDIATELY recognizable as social issues and cultural issues and, again, it is my point that the greatest and most recognizable of these is Marcus Mosiah Garvey. And it should also be noted that his presence casts an even larger shadow than that of His Imperial Majesty because the very large link to be made between the music and H.I.M. is Rastafari and Rastafari culture, which is obviously not followed by everyone on the planet but, everyone (if in no other case than by the very definition of the word) follows HISTORY and lineage which is what links Garvey and Reggae music.

The final point that I’d like to make is linked back to the very first point that I made in this piece and that is the issue of ACTION. No one even remotely associated with Reggae has DONE more than Marcus Garvey and not only that, but no one has done more, which can in turn be conveyed through the music, than Garvey as well. Is there a known portion of the man’s life which has not been covered in our music? For better or for worse, Reggae music is extremely well informed on the life and times of Marcus Garvey and it is reflected in the music. The larger and final point, however, is to be made in the aura of Garvey and how he is regarded. The word is PRIDE and more directly, in this case, I’m going to say ‘SOUL’, or better yet ‘BACKBONE’. When you think of Marcus Garvey very few things come to mind sooner than his pride and how demonstrative he was in showing it. This can definitely be linked to the exact same trait present in Reggae music. Just as his movement started in rather obscure circumstances and blossomed into a worldwide phenomenon and one which we still speak of more than sixty years after his physical death, Reggae music has slowly done the same throughout its still very brief lifetime. I feel the connection is a direct one and drawing comparisons to what Garvey DID, to what he ACCOMPLISHED and the growth of our music can only be a good thing. Music obviously will support music, but music, when it is based on action, particularly action of LEGENDARY proportions begins to take on a whole new meaning. Just ask Fred Locks:

This is a music about DOING what is to be DONE and no one in the bloodlines of Reggae music has done more than The Most Honourable Marcus Mosiah Garvey.

We give big thanks and honour to Marcus Mosiah Garvey on this, the 123rd Anniversary of his birth.

Thank You Marcus Garvey