REFLECTION & REASON

Sponsors, dignitaries, recording artists, and members of the Jamaican local media gathered at the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, Jamaica on the evening of December 27, 2018 to launch the concepts and features surrounding the annual Rebel Salute roots reggae festival that takes place each January on the island. What began as a birthday celebration for legendary reggae vocalist Tony Rebel, near to January 15 of each year, has evolved into one of the prime festivals in Jamaica, now preparing to present the 26th year on January 18 and 19, 2019 at the Grizzly's Plantation Cove in Priory, St. Ann. Far from the Pegasus ballroom, we participated in the media launch via live-stream (available via Facebook, Instagram, and online at RebelSaluteJamaica.com ) here in Toronto, Canada, to take in the greetings and introductions from the various sponsors and participants who have helped to support and maintain this festival over the years. The 2019 iteration of Rebel Salute promises to be the be...

In a time when international politics can make your blood boil, your heart sink, and make you question your faith in humanity and democracy, reading the words of Michelle Obama are a welcome and reassuring voice of hope, logic, and dignity. Her book "Becoming," released by Crown Publishing Group (a division of Penguin Random House) last month immediately topped every best-seller list. Naturally. Michelle Obama has become a face--and spirit--of strength, comfort, and progress for many of us watching her career, her movements, and her family over the past decade or more. She represents the grace that is fitting for a First Lady, as well as a relatability required in a trusted friend or mentor. Throughout her years in the White House, and even now her years beyond the intense political spotlight that the highest office in America holds, she is still someone worth emulating and praising. Like most, I knew Michelle Obama as the super-healthy, Ivy League-educated, fun-lovin...

Growing up in a Jamaican household our family always listened to reggae music, but my parents also had a taste that spanned from Bob Marley...to Neil Diamond at times. While reggae, calypso and sounds of the West Indies were honourably celebrated, so was the music of Blondie, Queen, Ashford & Simpson, and Whitney Houston to name a few. A musical family from Toronto straight back to Manchester, Jamaica, we all had an innate appreciation for all good music: period. I can remember the Caribbean compositions of ska, lover's rock, and roots reggae as a late 70's baby; it was a natural soundtrack to outings and special events. The rhythms were soothing, and the lyrics even at times humourour to our young ears. For example, when Lovindeer released his tribute of disdain to Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, my siblings and I laughed at the patois-laden lyrics, singing along to the instant hit about the storm that ravished our island, devastating many. Reggae music is special--albeit...