bigdrumnation

Reading Time 5 minsWednesday November 25, 2020 Big Dum Nation’s Introduction Author, founder of Dub poetry, former Black Panther and presently [2005] art editor of the journal Race Today, Linton Kwesi Johnson became the first Black poet and the second living poet to be included in Penguin Books’ iconic Modern Classics series with the publication of “Mi Revalueshanary Fren: Selected Poems” in 2002. Born in rural Jamaica and migrating to Britain at age 11, Johnson, now 52, currently resides in South London. In a recent opinion poll he was ranked 22 on a list of the top 100 Black Britons… Read More »Reggae, Art and Politics: The Revolutionary Poetry of Linton Kwesi Johnson–Martin P. Felix

Reading Time 4 minsWednesday November 25, 2020 Big Dum Nation’s Introduction It is Pan-African, Pan-Caribbean, Pan-World. It is Pan-man. It endears Jamaica to the entire world; the essence of the Rastaman Bob Marley’s music and philosophy. It is One Love. The One Love ideal of social relations works well as a cultural and political construct. It is inclusive; a necessary myth for nation building, for positive international relations and for world peace, but it severely limits the goal average of Jamaica’s football team. Let’s get to the point. Jamaicans need to make an important decision on February 6th 2017 about… Read More »Bob Marley 1 : 0 Reggae Boys — Richard Grant*

Reading Time 3 minsWednesday November 25, 2020 Big Dum Nation’s Introduction “Play I some music, (dis ya) reggae music”, so begins Bob Marley’s Roots Rock Reggae. In today’s world, Reggae is universal and Jamaica is synonymous with that Genre. There is not a country that has not adopted Reggae as part of its music. Jamaica, a land built by slave labor, captured by the Spaniards and snatched by the English. The Europeans exterminated the natives and filled the island with Africans, captured and enslaved. They added Indian and Chinese labor to the menu. The Africans brought with them instruments of… Read More »Bob Marley: 75 and Growing – Richard Hoyen*

Reading Time 12 minsNovember 1, 2020 Overture “This is my place, every West Indian place/Regardless to class, creed, or race. Listen, Uncle Sam, we want back we land…We want back Chaguaramas.” Nap Hepburn, “We Want Back Chaguaramas,” 1959 “I’m Trini to the bone and Caribbean to the core.” Sunity Maharaj “Now Grenada being my birthplace/ Trinidad being the land I know My obligation is to Trinidad/But I owe Grenada also.” Valentino, “Namesake” At a time when Donald Trump, the would-be medieval king, is hell-bent on compromising the sovereignty of Caribbean nations, it’s an appropriate time to reflect on how the… Read More »Kaiso vs. The Trumpets! — Winthrop R. Holder

Reading Time 5 mins   Asamblea de los Pueblos del Caribe Assembly of Caribbean People Assemblée du Peuple Caraïbe Assemblee van het Caraibissch Volk Asanble Pep Karayib La An Open Letter to the Caribbean Diaspora in the United States: “Dump Trump” and the Republicans “Down the Ticket” Dear Caribbean Diaspora Residing in the United States, The Assembly of Caribbean People would like to greet you and your families and rearticulate our shared interests as human beings and people with a shared history in the Caribbean. We salute your excellence and determination as representatives of our nations in your adopted homes… Read More »An Open Letter to the Caribbean Diaspora in the United States: “Dump Trump” and the Republicans “Down the Ticket”

Reading Time 5 minsSo farewellSomebody is gonna miss youFarewellSomebody is gonna wish that you were here.Rihanna, Farewell We could have been so good together,We could have lived this dance foreverBut now, who’s gonna dance with me?Please stayGeorge Michael, Careless Whisper “Little England” plans to remove Queen Elizabeth II as head of state by 2021. Thus, Barbados, also known as “Little England”, and independent since 1966, would transform its current status as a Commonwealth Realm to a Republic. Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley stated on ABC News, “We don’t receive any aid or funding that is out of the ordinary [from… Read More »Little England and the Crown — CARLYLE LEACH

Reading Time 21 mins  October 30, 2020   “It is easy to remember the jocular nature of much of Sprangalang’s life on the stage. In fact, he might have wanted it that way. He was prepared to play second fiddle to his brother Anthony (Tony) who preceded by a mere five months, Sprangalang’s flight into the great beyond.” It took just sixty-two seconds of what must have been the finest exposition of extemporaneous witticism that a Skinner Park audience had ever witnessed, for Dennis Hall to etch his name, perhaps forever, upon the tombstone of Caribbean Comedy, in November 1998. One hapless… Read More »“I Wear Not Motley In My Brain”– Llewellyn Mac Intosh

Reading Time 4 minsEvery year somebody dear Give us cause to shed a tearAnd mourn for they are goneNow all that’s left is a faint memoryBased on the theme of a strange melodyStill we must think of themAnd recall their image with prideTelling people from deep insideThis is dedicated to those who died….Simple words cannot defineThe memories that fills the mindOf those who are left behindTo some of us its a kin or a friendOr a great love that was shared to the endSo it is our duty, I mean each and every oneSee that their memories live onEven though they are dead… Read More »Farewell, Halls….-Clyde Weatherhead (October 3, 2020)

Reading Time 1 minsToday we remember Sir Rupert ‘The Mighty Swallow’ Philo through “Wire’s” spontaneous reflections, which he extended and has agreed to share. We release these musings as they reflect an up-close-grassroots view of King Swallow, who felt particularly at home among and was warmly embraced by, that generation of Trinbagonians of the “earlies”–the latter part of the 1960s–who led the way carving a path, a cultural space, for calypso and then soca in New York. “Wire”–a talented cultural worker in his own right– comes out of, and belongs to, that generation of legendary cultural warriors, our unsung heroes,… Read More »Roger Toussaint, “In Conversation With ‘Wire’ On King Swallow”!

Reading Time 3 minsSwallow is the all-time KING OF LABOR DAY! There will never be another artist to capture the North American carnival seasons as he did with hit, after hit, after hit. There was always a hype among DJs to get a copy of his special party remix 12inches produced by Rawlston Charles from Charlie’s Records at 1271-1273 Fulton St, Brooklyn, New York.  Of Dr. Philo’s many positive traits, including his humility and kindness, the most important one was his total loyalty. He never forgot where he came from; Charlie’s Calypso City, where he first recorded when he came to the USA… Read More »Remembering Our “Soca Warrior”, Sir Rupert ‘The Mighty Swallow’ Philo! — John “Wire” Evelyn