Sadeke Brooks, Gleaner Writer

Rita Marley addresses a press conference during the launch of February as 'Reggae Month' at Jamaica House yesterday. At left is Prime Minister Bruce Golding. - Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer

The Music Industry got a boost when Prime Minister Bruce Golding launched the observation of Reggae Month yesterday at the Office of the Prime Minister during a press briefing.

He said he has instructed the Governor-General, Professor Kenneth Hall, to issue a proclamation to declare February as Reggae Month.

He lauded the briefing as one of the most pleasant tasks he has had to perform since taking office. He says reggae has been a medium of economic advancement and Reggae Month can be used to draw world attention to our music. Golding added that Jamaica Trade and Invest will be promoting Brand Jamaica and central to this campaign is our music.

"Reggae is so powerful; people across the world embrace it. It is the medium we have used to declare our position against oppression and suffering. It is a consistent declaration of love," he continued to the delight of industry players in attendance, including Rita Marley, Dean Frazer, Lloyd Stanbury, Isaiah Laing, Clifton Dillon and Barbara Blake-Hanna.

As part of the celebrations, a Global Reggae Conference will be hosted at the University of the West Indies under the guidance of the Reggae Studies Unit head, Professor Carolyn Cooper. There will also be the annual Bob Marley lecture on his birthday, February 6. Cooper says through this effort the unit hopes to be able to start a fund so that students at the university can bridge the gap between academics and our music.

Activities

Rita Marley will also be heavily involved in the activities for the month, as she will put on 'Africa Unite-Smile Jamaica Youth Symposium'. She will also give Jamaica a taste of 'Africa Unite-Smile Jamaica Concert'.

Other activities for the month include: Bob Marley Creative Expressions Day, One Love football match, Reggae Film Festival, African Film Festival and the Reggae Academy Awards, which will be hosted by the Recording Industry Association of Jamaica. Chairman of the Reggae Academy, Lloyd Stanbury, says the awards will be determined by musical excellence and not record sales.

Golding says he believes Reggae Month will be a formative month because it will help to make February 2009 a grand experience when the country will celebrate the 50th year since the birth of reggae.

He says the music can be a means of advancement but it can also be a destructive force if not used properly. Nonetheless, he said there should be no ambiguity about the roots of our music.

His effort was praised by Rita Marley, who said those who started reggae toiled for it to be accepted and she believes they have partially achieved their mission.

"It is a privilege and an honour for the Government to recognise February as Reggae Month. If Bob was here he would say 'One Love!'," commented Rita Marley.