Reggae Veteran Artiste Anthony B Says Government Yet To Give Reggae Proper Respect

The Original Fireman Anthony B says he remains mystified by successive governments’ seeming reluctance to give Reggae music its recognition as a full-fledged industry and income-earner.

According to the Fire Pon Rome artiste, the State has not pumped adequate resources towards the promulgation and preservation of Jamaican culture, particularly the musical aspect. He made his comments beneath an IG video, which he posted on Monday, of American singer John Legend doing a rendition of Bob Marley’s Redemption Song at the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony back in December 2017, which was won by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).

“This is why The Legend of Bob Marley is so great. His songs are songs with meaningfulness. It will live forever. As the King says, music alone shall live. If our Jamaican government could only see that our most powerful weapon in this world of economics is our Culture. Our Ppl invest in our cultures; our ppl and Jamaican can change the world,” the Trelawny native stated on the Instagram post.

According to Anthony B, the Governments over the years have continued to pander to the whims of the petit bourgeoisie of Upper St Andrew, many of whom are dismissive of Reggae/Dancehall culture.

“Still our governments choose to ignore our cultural contributions to this world and platform by trying to suck up to these uptown’s elects and know Jamaica greatest wealth is the Culture we create and warm loving and kind-hearted ppl in Jamaica despite’s the odds against us,” he said.

Anthony B, whose real name is Keith Blair, recently released his 19-track Album “King in my Castle.” In June, he began a five-month tour that spanned countries such as Malta, the Reunion Islands, Austria, Germany, France, Sweden, China, India, Israel, Canada, the US, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Anthony B has now initiated his King in My Castle 2020-2021 tour and says he is still accepting bookings.

The artiste will next perform on December 24, 28, and 31 in Senegal and will take a break before heading to Jamaica for Rebel Salute on January 17, after which he will head to Italy, Israel the United States, Austria and other countries in Europe.