I went to a party one Saturday night with my girls and while grooving to some Mary J, Usher and other citizens of that genre I was surveying the crowd at the same time. I noticed that although majority of the partygoers were black there was a sprinkle of other ethnicities also. There were even a few Asian kids hanging out next to the DJ booth... well I didn’t go to the club to stare at strangers so I went back to doing my groove thing. Then the reggae came on and the DJ said "I want give a shout out to all my West Indian Massive, nuff respect." Well I thought that was the end of that. now on with the music.....but then he continued to say.....what about Brooklyn, raise your hands, England, Belgium....and last but not least JAPAN....I was born in Japan but I tour the world playing my music and everywhere I go I get respect. It was crazy the crowd was loving him and how could they not, he knew his business and he didn’t just play, he mastered it, his mixes were crazy. He knew all the classics, he handled the legendary riddims with skills that suggested he was a born and raised West Indian rudeboy. It was amazing to watch reggae strip everyone in the party of their differences, to see them alternating from dubbing in a dark corner, pressed up against the walls to displaying the latest dance styles in the center of the floor, to raising their hands and chanting together...united by the sweet sweet sounds of reggae. That night we danced to tunes that encouraged us to live life, love freely, think consciously and give praise. The party winded down to "One love, one heart, lets get together and feel alright. Give thanks and praise to the lord and I will feel alright." Bob Marley is definite a legend because he was on to something when he sang those words I thought when I saw the flushed faces and the mellow mood of the crowd. I was definitely feeling alright and everyone looked as if they caught contact from the music the deejay from Japan spun. As soon as those thoughts ran thru my head I had an Epiphany.

     Reggae naturally spread to the other Caribbean islands after its birth in the ghettos of Kingston, Jamaica, its roots influenced by ancient traditional music originating in Africa, kept alive by the Rastafarians and took a more evolved form. With mellow beats and conscious lyrics, preaching words of hope and freedom, it was also used as a weapon against civil disorder and political corruption, its beginnings was humble but it quickly became part of the West Indian Culture it was inevitable because although separated by bodies of water West Indians sometimes see themselves as one. When natives from these countries migrated to places like New York, Montreal, England, and some other large cities in search of securing better lives they took the reggae culture with them and it was passed down to new generations. I am one of these generations and some of us always saw reggae as belonging to us, a birthright handed down to us by our parents. One of the possessions they brought from the West Indies intertwined in their passports, dreams and longings that settled where they settled. Not realizing that reggae didn’t disappear when West Indians left or waited on us to cross into new territories. The ember that first started glowing in Jamaica is now a raging fire that burns internationally and attracts lovers to it like moths to flame.

     In the 60’s it stretched all the way to the battlefields of Vietnam, the song "WAR" by Bob Marley & the Wailers became an anthem for protesters during that era. It is said that Hip-hop was born out of the of dancehall culture, it was behind Garage and Jungle music in the UK. Today record labels are signing reggae artist who were instrumental in the foundation of reggae from the 1990’s My epiphany; reggae wasn’t just ours anymore, it had become world culture. A youth man from Japan can become a reggae world clash title holder, a dance hall queen from Switzerland whose roots have nothing to do with West Indians is practicing the dutty whine right now. Matisyahu, the world's first Hasidic Jewish reggae star is working on his second album and still recovering from the fame of his 1st while reggaeton is tearing up the airwaves.

     Whether it’s down in a sweaty cramped basement in Brooklyn, a posh nightclub in London, a swanky bar in Montreal or on the stretch of Miami Beach it’s happening. In the shantytowns of Barbados, Trinidad, Antigua and Jamaica it keeps on happening. Turntables, sound systems, dancehall and night club speakers proclaim that it keeps growing and the Reggaeloution cant stop.