Inner Circle\u2019s bassist Ian Lewis left tongues wagging on social media following his recent Television Jamaica interview in which he called for the \u201creturn of drum and bass\u201d to Reggae music, and the unification of the nation\u2019s music stakeholders.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, November 19th<\/sup>, Inner Circle shared the interview with Lewis on its official Instagram page, with the guitarist, among other things, describing Jamaican music as \u201ca gold mine\u201d.<\/p>\n The interview was titled \u201cInner Circle bassist Ian Lewis\u00a0sounding the alarm as overseas reggae bands continue to eclipse their Jamaican counterparts on the international stage.\u201d<\/p>\n In the news item narrated by veteran entertainment journalist Anthony Miller, it was noted that \u201conly a handful of homegrown acts are still bringing star status to the big shows where they are increasingly outnumbered by makers of so-called \u2018Modern Reggae\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n The term \u2018Modern Reggae\u2019\u00a0is used to define what is described in some quarters as a \u201cgenre of music which combines traditional Reggae with elements of other genres, such as hip-hop, R&B, and pop.\u201d<\/p>\n Miller had also said that \u201cthere were hundreds of Reggae bands in the United States putting their spin on the seemingly everlasting appeal of\u00a0Bob Marley<\/a>\u00a0who continues to relay a message of peace and love,\u201d with bands such as\u00a0SOJA<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Stick Figure<\/a>\u00a0bringing along their crowd, but also with an eye on the commercial prize.<\/p>\n But Lewis, who along with his brother Roger, co-founded Inner Circle in 1968, urged the now-outnumbered Jamaicans, the originators of Reggae, to unify in order to regain their status, just as the American Reggae bands have been doing over the years, through for example, touring together, which has gained them much ground and enlarged their fan base.<\/p>\n \u201cThree to 400 modern Reggae white bands are in America.\u00a0 They have moved their commas now from a hundred or thousand to 300 (thousand); they are doing eight to 10 to 15 thousand combined when they go together.\u00a0 They pound the road; they do 200 shows every year \u2013 40 dollar tickets, not 200 and 300 dollar tickets,\u201d Lewis explained.<\/p>\n \u201cSo they are going for the demographic that will come out to listen to what they are playing.\u00a0 They call it Reggae; we might not feel it like how they feel it, but it\u2019s appealing to their demographic,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Stated Lewis: \u201cThirty, forty acts, it maybe five or six (Jamaicans) Damian Marley, Stephen Marley, Shaggy \u2013 maybe a Beres Hammond.\u00a0 You don\u2019t see Beres a lot because Beres is really a diaspora superstar that can cross over; he is the master of that\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Lewis also took issue with how much of Reggae music is being produced in recent times, as opposed to the genre and its offspring, Dancehall\u2019s glory days of the 1990s.\u00a0 \u201cYou have to be innovative in those days to survive.\u00a0 You couldn\u2019t just draw some computer crap and think seh it woulda work; no, it wouldn\u2019t get through.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked if times have changed \u201cin a big way\u201d to Jamaica\u2019s disadvantage in some respects, Lewis agreed.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it has caused us to lose international respect. \u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s not rocket science my brother; wi need to work togedda, in commerce, in music, in management, in videos, in content to show what we really have. This is a gold mine, but wi not united,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the new school and the old school can meet and compromise on certain things and bring it \u2013 jerk it to the centre,\u201d he mused.<\/p>\n When asked if it\u2019s achievable, Lewis affirmed that the drum and bass from the foundation of Reggae music which establishes its tempo, melody, and beat, will have to be returned to as a matter of course.<\/p>\n \u201cWi have to try enuh. \u00a0Reggae without the baseline is like yuh beating out of time, to me.\u00a0\u00a0 Suh wi have to get back to the bass and di drum.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to lose dat; whatever time God have me here, I don\u2019t wanna lose dat. I\u2019m going to fight hard fi can hold it up enuh,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Several music industry experts, including Peter Tosh\u2019s former manager Copeland Forbes, and entertainment lawyer Lloyd Stanbury, gave Lewis their full backing.<\/p>\n \u201cIn my opinion Ian\u00a0is 100% accurate in his assessment, and he is also fully qualified to make his statement,\u201d Stanberry stated in a social media post.<\/p>\n \u201cTrue facts and words of wisdom from one of the most traveled Reggae group (Inner Circle) in the world\u2026 Yes what he\u2019s saying is sooo true as this is a topic we both have been talking about as recent as when the 5.4 earthquake hit JA while I was in JA and he had just returned to Florida from JA after he and his band colleagues had paid respect at the events to commemorative the works and life of the late Michael \u201d Ibo\u201d Cooper (former bandmate).\u00a0 True words my brother Ian Lewis,\u201d Forbes declared.<\/p>\n Over on Inner Circle\u2019s IG page where the video was shared, there was support for Lewis\u2019 statements, as well as various sentiments alleging bias towards the Americans.<\/p>\n