Mystic Bowie Statement on Reggae Music and Drugs

The following statement by Mystic Bowie was written after he was invited to participate in "The Coalition to Preserve Reggae Music Forum". The highly anticipated forum is scheduled to take at place 6:30pm on Wednesday, February 24th at the historic Boys and Girls High School, 1700 Fulton Street near Utica Avenue in Brooklyn. The season premier comes on the heels of a year of multiple cases of reggae and dancehall artists facing criminal charges, and the forum will address this in the framework of “The Buju Banter: Should communities defend or denounce accused artists before evidence and verdict are known?”

Mystic Bowie Statement on Reggae Music and Drugs

The Maroon Tribe, from the hills of St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, have a core set of values; be respectful and earn respect, make love not war, and the body is a “temple” that should not be polluted with impurities. The phrase “It takes the village to raise a child” is a way of life for these mountain people and they believe in educating the children in their values in the hopes that they are passed on through the generations. As a member of the Maroon Tribe, I live by the standards and teachings of my elders. I will not put anything in my body which it doesn’t need to survive; I don’t use drugs, drink alcohol, or smoke. As a father myself, it makes me proud when my children say to their friends “My dad doesn’t smoke, drink alcohol or do drugs”. The song “(Music is my) Drug of Choice”, was written for the children, to tell them that music can give a natural high without drugs or alcohol.

Rastafarians, with their ties to the Maroons, have similar values; love and be loved, promote peace, live peacefully, and hate should never be an option. Reggae music was originally founded by Rastafarians as a way of expression and sending out their message of love and peace. The culture that surrounds Reggae music expands on these values to teach happiness, oneness, and provide a way to bring people together, and get positive messages out while keeping people dancing. As a Rasta, a reggae musician and a Maroon, I have the moral responsibility to lead our children and followers to a positive path. “Ras” means King. A King is a leader and a role model. So if you claim to be a Rasta, you should be prepared to teach positively and take responsibility for your actions which influence the people we lead.

Our elders have set a high standard to live life. As the current adult generation, we take on the obligation to pass on our values through being good role models for the next generation. Unfortunately, some of these “leaders” or “role models” get arrested for drugs or substance abuse. However, we must not condemn them, and see their mistakes as a positive lesson. We must take away from their situation the knowledge that none of us is above the law, and we hope they learn from their mistakes. They are only human and as we all know, none of us is perfect. For example, Buju Banton was recently arrested on cocaine charges. Let’s not jump to conclusions; remember innocent until proven guilty. I personally hope he is innocent, because if he is proven guilty his actions would go against all the teachings of Rastafarianism, the culture of Reggae music, and put a negative shroud on the pride of Jamaica and Rasta’s Reggae Music.