Reggae singer Cedric Myton is urging the people of Jamaica to do everything they can to preserve and protect Reggae music.  

“Reggae started out in the 1960s as the music of the downtrodden, the people who society shoved aside, the forgotten ones. It gave a voice to the voiceless not only in Jamaica but also in places like Zimbabwe and South Africa. Due to the hard work of many great Jamaican artistes, musicians, and producers, today reggae is known all over the world,” said the Where He Leads Me singer.

He continued, “However it no longer holds pride of place in Jamaica because nothing is being done by the authorities to make sure reggae is played on the radio stations.”

“There’s a whole generation of youths in Jamaica who don’t know anything about reggae music because they grew up listening to foreign music and dancehall on the radio. This situation needs to be fixed before Reggae disappears from our culture just like Ska. When I was a little boy ska was very popular but nobody in Jamaica even plays it anymore. I hope the same thing will not happen to reggae music.”  

The veteran entertainer, 76, who is a founding member of the pioneering reggae group The Congos, is currently promoting his new solo album, which is titled History of the Rasta Man.  

The 10-track album features songs such as Rasta Wear a Crown, Music Treasure, Things Can Be Real Again and the title track History of the Rastaman.  

“This is an authentic roots reggae album, all the songs on it carry powerful messages of love and inspiration for the people. This album is all about consciousness and unity,” he said.  

Produced by Alphonso Henclewood, History of the Rastaman was released on the Montego Records label on May 12.  

Rapper Ice Cube is the latest high profile figure to speak out against generative Artificial Intelligence (A.I.).

The veteran Compton, California, rapper recently responded to a Tweet challenging his point of view by doubling down on his recent claim that A.I. was demonic.

Samples are approved or denied by the song owners. Totally different than taking a dead artist and making a new song they never approved and saying things they may not agree with. That’s evil and demonic to me. https://t.co/xLKHIOdDdG

— Ice Cube (@icecube) May 24, 2023

After a Twitter user by the name of David Robbins cited an article by Fortune magazine that sought to make a case that Cube was a hypocrite for criticising A.I. during an interview on the Full Send podcast on the basis that Cube has a history of sampling other music, Cube fired back.

Samples are approved or denied by the song owners. Totally different than taking a dead artist and making a new song they never approved and saying things they may not agree with. That’s evil and demonic to me. https://t.co/xLKHIOdDdG

— Ice Cube (@icecube) May 24, 2023

“Samples are approved or denied by the song owners,” he said. “Totally different than taking a dead artist and making a new song they never approved and saying things they may not agree with. That’s evil and demonic to me.”

Previously, during the aforementioned interview, Cube had sparked controversy online when he shared his controversial views on the matter, “I think A.I. is demonic. I think there’s gonna be a backlash because of A.I. I think people are gonna want things organic and not artificial.”

Samples are approved or denied by the song owners. Totally different than taking a dead artist and making a new song they never approved and saying things they may not agree with. That’s evil and demonic to me. https://t.co/xLKHIOdDdG

— Ice Cube (@icecube) May 24, 2023

His tweet drew a range of responses:

“So the dead artists you’ve sampled who don’t own their songs due to slave contracts and may not agree with what you are saying on the record; yet you got the greenlight to sample it,” said @360_karma.

“But the beef is with A.I. music ? Run that back one more time and make it make sense.”

Samples are approved or denied by the song owners. Totally different than taking a dead artist and making a new song they never approved and saying things they may not agree with. That’s evil and demonic to me. https://t.co/xLKHIOdDdG

— Ice Cube (@icecube) May 24, 2023

@visisyd added: “agree to a point,.. depending on the context of lyrics and intent tho. I had the idea years ago before the technology existed,.. wanting something creative for my vocals and it actually work with the concept behind my music.”

@reallythough described A.I. tech as inevitable. “Nothing demonic about simply using new tech to play around with voices you love from artists who put out recordings O.G. Completely inevitable actually. Dead that weird thinking.”

The upcoming Geraldine Roche Drama (GRD) winter festival is the talk of the town, and everyone is eagerly looking forward to it.

The festival is scheduled to take place on the 25th of May and the 3rd and 10th of June, at the Academy of Music in Bulawayo. The top five groups from the recently concluded GRD competition, re-slated to showcase their best performances, and is promising to be a treat for the audience.

GRD is a non-profit organization aiming to uplift the youth in arts and drama by providing them with opportunities to further their careers.

The winter festival is just one of the many initiatives to promote and support the local drama scene.

“We’re expecting a lot of fun and entertaining shows that are equally educative in modern-day society” said the GRD coordinator Khally Sibanda, beaming with excitement. “The youth drama groups have put in a lot of hard work and dedication, and we’re confident that they will put on a spectacular show.”

The youth drama groups had been rehearsing for months, perfecting their acts, and polishing their performances.

They are all eager to showcase their talent and hard work on the big stage. The Geraldine Roche Drama winter festival has truly been a celebration of the talent and creativity of the youth of Bulawayo and has drama enthusiasts looking forward to every new edition of the festival.