Bob in the Anglican Church? Yessssss please 🙂‍↕️ 🫡

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The service to commemorate emancipation, held at St Barnabas church, is easily one of the most daring things I have seen in the Anglican church space,

and I am here for it.

Of course I understand the position of the Rastafarian community; the Anglican church as an institution has blessed some of the greatest abuses against black people and been silent on the others. Not least the destruction of Temple Yard in Barbados, and in Jamaica, Bustamante’s 1963 order to “bring in all Rastas, dead or alive” — the Coral Gardens massacre that saw beard men hunted, beaten, and locked away simply for who they were. But this to me represents the new Caribbean Anglican church — the one doing one of the most daring things, proclaiming a God who is also in the image of Caribbean people, a God who stands up for the rights of the sufferah.

I am on this journey too. The same criticisms levelled at this service are the ones that have followed my work on Handel’s Caribbean Messiah — that we are stretching the tradition too far, that we are putting Caribbean bodies and Caribbean God-images where they were never meant to sit.

I wear that criticism the same way this service wears it: as confirmation we are doing something that matters.

May this version of the Anglican church step forward and lead us into a new Caribbean.

I am here for it.

Crop Over 2017 – The Lazarus 5

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The early results from the Soca competitions are in.

This means that Barbadian radio rotation will now be based around the competition songs chosen to go forward

leaving the other 600 to die.

Before these songs go into the afterlife altogether though, let me try to keep five of them alive. Here is my Lazarus 5 of Crop Over 2017. a.k.a 5 songs that didn’t make it into the next round of competition.

  1. Makka Tree – Vybz I Love

I was introduced to this guy earlier this year when my Caribbean Ensemble from the Barbados Community Collge did the National Cultural Foundation’s Cavalcade. I was immediately blown away by his voice. Check this one produced by Quantum Productions.

2. Jafar –  Bang

Like Makka Tree, I met this guy in person on the Cavalcade gig. This Bajan Dub song, although not progressing further, has all the qualities of a really good Bajan Dub song.

3. Aidan – Life Nice

This song, written by the Waterstreet Boyz and produced by super-producer Chris Allman,  is in the tradition of the modern Ragga Soca. With a great hook and super saccharine melody, it should not be thrown on to the rubbish-heap. A good rendition by Aidan as well.

4.  Chenice – Sweet Carnival

Like Life Nice, this is a modern Ragga Soca. Chenice does a good job here as well.

5.  Contone – Come Back Tomor

Contone has been around a long time and has of late been battling his own demons. This year he reconnected with long- time producer, Anderson ‘Blood’ Armstrong to produce this. Like My Car Brek Down and 2 Sir Grantleys, this is Contone at his Bajan Blues best.

These are not all the songs obviously.

And I would be glad to hear more suggestions.

What are your five?

Special mention.

Here is my group’s offering featuring the super talented Jabari Browne.  We didn’t compete with this but keep checking it anyway.