REFLECTION & REASON

Jamaica remains one of the top tourist destinations internationally for many reasons: beautiful weather, delicious cuisine, groovy music, breathtaking views, and charming, warm citizens. Year-round, the island is filled with tourists from around the globe who want to listen to reggae music while eating jerk chicken on one of the island's remarkable beaches. According to the Jamaica Tourist Board, approximately 4.3 million travellers visited the island in the year 2017, which was a great increase from the usual expectation of 1 million annually. The boost in travellers over the years is also bringing a shift in habits as well.  Earlier this year, the Jamaican Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett noted that visitors are increasingly seeking "authentic experiences" and opting to "immerse themselves in local culture: the food, music, people and communities" beyond the resorts of the north coast. From Montego Bay to Ocho Rios, and Negril to Kingston, at a...

The first album from Nasir Bin Olu Dara Jones--"Illmatic"-- was released on my 16th birthday, in 1994, and it remains my favourite hip hop album of all times. In fact, Nas remains my favourite rapper of all times. As far as I'm concerned, he'll always reign in that genre of music because of who he was to me growing up, and who he continues to be in the industry. An intellectual, yet humble, yet powerful musical soul. Yesterday the hip hop community lost two of its young contributors: Miami's XXXTentacion and Pittsburgh's Jimmy Wapo. My dedication to keeping up with hip hop has waned over the years so I'm unfamiliar with the music of the 20 and 21 year olds, respectively. Regardless, I hate to see the words "rapper killed" or "rapper shot" and know that it automatically casts negativity and doubt throughout the industry. Paranoia. Social unrest. Internal evaluation. Hardly an expert in the genre and barely a seasoned purveyor of hi...