‘How Dem Fi Fight Reggae Music’
Breadback, Bounty, Sizzla have their say in Reggae Month
Published:Friday | February 17, 2023 | 12:50 AMYasmine Peru/Senior Gleaner Writer
With Reggae Month being celebrated in February, the conversations around the music are many. One such is How Dem Fi Fight Reggae Music, which is the title of a Bounty/Sizzla collaborative track on Grammy-nominated producer Richard ‘Breadback’ Bramwell’s Brighter Shade riddim. The song deliberately dropped during Reggae Month.
Giving a brief background on the making of the song, Breadback shared that at the outset there was no decision to explore a particular theme or even target Reggae Month, but everything fell neatly into place. He had recorded Sizzla on the riddim and wanted Bounty Killer on it because he had a hit on another version of the same riddim already.
“When mi link Killer, he was in album mode and he said the only way to get him to voice on the riddim was to get him a collab with Sizzla. I told him that Sizzla’s song dun already, and I sent it to him, Rodney listen to it and like the song ... so we just cut out two verse and feature Rodney on it,” Breadback explained.
The lyrics of How Dem Fi Fight Reggae Music definitely resonated with him.
“In Jamaica, more respect is definitely needed for reggae music. It’s Reggae Month, but mi nuh hear nuh whole heap a reggae a play pon radio ... nuh whole heap a reggae concert nah keep. It look like Jamaica more likely fi accept soca music and soca parties,” Breadback said, adding, “A king never get crown inna him own town.”
Quizzed if reggae music gets the respect it deserves from Jamaica, Bounty Killer was very vocal. “Hell no! And everyone is aware of that and has seen it,” Bounty told The Gleaner.
“Reggae does not receive the respect and recognition it deserves in Jamaica and especially with the younger generation, things are only getting worse as they don’t listen to the genre nor practise the craft. Reggae is popular in Europe, America, Asia, and other parts of the world, but because Jamaica is its producer and factory, it has no value here. Jamaica does not really market reggae in their own country; reggae is marketed globally, and Jamaica is merely a farm worker producing the products,” he elaborated.
Sizzla took time to highlight those who have affection for the genre, but noted that more can be done to elevate an appreciation of reggae music.
“Reggae music has gotten its due respect from reggae lovers, such as promoters, partygoers, corporate sponsors, and people using it for whatsoever reason of fun, etc. But there is always more space [for recognition] if the industry should make it their duty to make more connections by hosting new reggae activities to pull that magnitude of people of the world to our music, and opening up more doors of business for small and great. Then it will be much more popular and appreciated on a higher business level,” Sizzla said.
He noted that “the discouraging thing that halts our music is when artistes and musicians are not given their rights. Music is love and if those making it aren’t properly accredited this too can have a hold on our music”.
For Sizzla, wrapped up in the celebration of Reggae Month is the recognition of the importance of the music, lots of hope and a promise of the sustainable future of the genre.
“Yes ... it’s important to have Reggae Month. Reggae music was originally created in Jamaica and it has become a multibillion-dollar industry. Having these things for the citizens of the country to have a say and be active is important ... and for the children to be a part of what belongs to them. It is important to organise stage shows, interviews and lots more to expose new talents and have them properly aligned to get in the business of music,” Sizzla said.
In between blasting the police for “not honouring the genre because they keep showing up and shutting down the music when it should be playing”, Bounty Killer shared his views on Reggae Month.
“To me, reggae is every day, month, and year, so naming a month Reggae Month is nothing extraordinary. The most important thing for reggae in Jamaica is to have a museum where young people can learn about the genre’s history and follow in the footsteps of its forefathers,” Bounty said.