Most Jamaicans reacted with anger and disdain at news that SOJA, a predominantly all-white reggae band, had won this year’s Reggae Grammy with their album, ‘Beauty in the Silence’. However, one industry expert, Dr Dennis Howard, an ethno-musicologist, believes that the anger of Jamaicans is unjustified.
According to Howard, the backlash is a knee-jerk reaction and has little bearing on the harsh realities that dictate the economics of world music: Jamaica no longer has a monopoly on reggae.
“It is no surprise that SOJA won the Best Grammy album. While the other artistes in the category had some relatively good projects, SOJA’s album is more in keeping with the US reggae scene, labelled modern reggae.
It was their third nomination, and the album was a critical success. They also pay tribute to Jamaican culture in the song Press Rewind,” Howard noted.
Howard said that the Virginia-based band SOJA , though relatively unknown in Jamaica, is a big deal in the international music space.
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