Hoping for the Best

I am a proud Black Diamond generation, a descendant of Christiana Freeman from Belle Vue, Tortola. I also have Johnson, Cills, Blyden and Samuels blood in me with roots that reach to St. Croix. I am a proud Virgin Islander in every way.

I love my people and my heritage. I am a melting pot of talents, personalities and cultures with deeper roots in Africa. My life journey so far has been eventful and interesting. I say a lot of "been there, done that" even though I am not a thrill seeker but I love my life.

I have no reason to be depressed or hateful. I still wouldn't change a thing. God charted this destiny for me and I look forward to whatever else he has to bring for me. Good and bad come and these all help to mold us. I'm not wanting the bad but in life things happen that we don't like and don't want. God is in control. I will cry and will feel hurt in some instances but I can't change time or circumstances.

Mr. Merrit Herbert would always announce every morning on ZBVI, "Hope for the best, get ready for the worst and accept what God sends."

Ribbon

POEM: You Have Done It All - for those with love on their minds

Farmers' Week 2014 - February 7-14, 2014 in the BVI

Steel Pulse's Smash Hits is Classic Reggae Music

Steel Pulse is a reggae band that was formed in 1975. Their Smash Hits album features hit songs like "Your House," "Bodyguard" and "Tightrope."

Steel Pulse (http://steelpulse.com/) is a reggae band started by musicians of West Indian heritage who were living in the United Kingdom. They have released over fifteen reggae albums, one of which won a Grammy award. Steel Pulse's Smash Hits album was released in 1993 and at the time presented a compilation of their hits of the early 1980s. Songs like "Chant a Psalm," "Roller Skates" and "Not King James Version" are featured on this album.

Who is Steel Pulse

The founding members of Steel Pulse were David Hinds, Basil Gabbidon, Ronnie "Stepper" McQueen, Steve "Grizzly" Nisbett, Selwyn "Bumbo" Brown, Alphonso "Fonso" Martin and Michael Riley. Steel Pulse's official website shares that McQueen "suggested the group name, after a racehorse." As time passed, old members departed and new members joined. The most recent list of the band members are the original Hinds, Nisbett, and Brown with the backing band featuring Alvin Ewen, Clifford "Moonie" Pusey, Sidney Mills, Kevin Batchelor, Jerry Johnson and Clark Gayton.

Steel Pulse Released Many Albums
Steel Pulse first album was Handsworth Revolution in 1978. The songs included the song "Handsworth Revolution" and "Soldiers." The next album was in 1979, Tribute to the Martyrs and then in 1980, Reggae Fever (Caught You) was released. Songs from the albums released in 1982, 1984 and 1985 form the Smash Hits album, respectively True Democracy, Earth Crisis and Babylon The Bandit. Their 1991 release Victims features the song "Taxi Driver". A live album Rastafari Centennial was released in 1992, Vex in 1994 and Rage and Fury in 1997. 2004 brought reggae fans African Holocaust with the song "No More Weapons" featuring Damian "Jr Gong" Marley. In addition to Smash Hits, Steel Pulse has released other compilations of their reggae music including 2000's Ultimate Collection and 2006's Rastanthology II: The Sequel.

The Songs of Steel Pulse'sSmash Hits

Smash Hits compiles sixteen of Steel Pulse's reggae hits. Including two dubs or instrumentals, this album includes songs from Babylon The Bandit, the winner of 1985 Grammy's Best Reggae Album. David  Hinds, the lead singer, wrote all of the songs on this album except for "Your House" which was written by Alphonso Martin.

• "Blues Dance Raid": "Music a bubble/not looking for trouble" start "Blues Dance Raid" from the True Democracy album. This song is about the authorities who infiltrated a jam session. "Tipped off by informer, them a watch who come out and come in" tells the listener that there would have been an informant. Steel Pulse was emphatic about the raid and sang "Them a run come kill I vibes/ interfere with I." Morgan Heritage remade the song in 2008 with the title "Raid Rootz Dance."
• The Struggling Man's Song is "Tightrope": Steel Pulse in "Tightrope" expresses that sometimes life is difficult but there is hope. The chorus is "They got me walking/ walking on a tightrope/ can't afford to bump my toe/ as long as Babylon/ Babylon is my foe/ I will have hope in my soul." Babylon refers to the 'system' - the politics and red tape that keeps people from progressing. "Tightrope" comes from the Earth Crisis album.
• "Not King James Version": Steel Pulse encourages listeners to learn about their history in "Not King James Version". "This ya version a no King James Version/ cause out of Africa came the God not heathen" is the chorus. The band repeats "African Heritage - I don't wanna lose you" throughout the song. The reference to 'King James Version' is to the King James Version of the Bible. Their claim in this song from the Babylon The Bandit album is that the bible and the history books omit the true value of Africans to ancient history.
• "Roller Skates" Tells a Story: Steel Pulse tells a story in "Roller Skates" about a fun date in the evening where the singer is jamming his boombox while on roller skates. "The guy jumped on me/ messed up my clothes/ smashed and cracked my radio/ calling all detectives/ there's a criminal at large" are some of the lyrics. In "Roller Skates," Steel Pulse continuously repeats "Life without music/ I can't go" and "Give me back my radio." The song could also be a deeper metaphor for the music industry where the big executives probably were taking advantage of the artists.

Steel Pulse's Smash Hits is a reggae album featuring the band's earlier hits like ""Worth His Weight in Gold" and "Leggo Beast." This album compiles the top songs from Steel Pulse's 1982, 1984 and 1985 albums of socially conscious yet enjoyable reggae music.

My Journey - Music by My Side

I went to a workshop today that encouraged me to continue doing some of the things that I do. It encouraged me to keep a journal and as you know a blog is a web journal. I love this blog because I can free my mind with just my crazy thoughts, my creative juices and my unique inspiration.

I came home today wanting to cover some math with my son as well as enjoy some music. I went from reggae to R&B and spanned some years going back to some Marvin Gaye, Hi-5, Lloyd, Avant, Tony Toni Tone as well as some Niyorah, Pressure, Omari, Rizon and others. I just felt mellow like I need to let loose. I danced a bit which is something that I love to do.

Some grade 4 parents including myself are having troubles with elapsed time so I needed to change the tempo. My son is getting it slowly and it makes no sense for me to further frustrate him and myself. Instead I threw on some music and he made some strides. We'll attack again tomorrow with or without the music.

Music has been my best friend as a child. I have lots of brothers and sisters but we never lived together when I was a child so I had to talk to my radio. Music has been my company and my inspiration and I think it will forever be a part of me.

Through primary, secondary and tertiary education and even on my way to work, I've always had music by my side. You may think it's a sad existence but it's my life and I love it.

Ribbon

The Oddities of Life

Dr. Lettsome has a poem called "A Cooking Oddity" about sugarapples. That word just popped to me. An oddity is a strange or peculiar person, thing, or trait. I have lots of odd things about me. I don't like other people's hands in my hair. I am inexplicably selfish with my time. I like being considered the underdog. But that's me.

In life, there are many things that cannot be explained. We have some 'ticklish' situations and no one can understand what the cause or the solution is. Every day will not be the same. Life is not perfect like math. What worked today may not work tomorrow.

Our life is a series of oddities and that's just how it is. You can't sit and worry yourself to death over things that you can not control. Sometimes you don't even have a choice in what's happening to you. However, you can choose what your reaction can be. In the space of a few days, parents lost their son, a mother can't locate her daughter and a father drowned.

We have to keep praying for each other. With the oddities happening around us, we have to bear each other up and hope for the best at all times. When the bad comes, we have to take time to mourn and regroup. Let's us keep a positive mindset and keep each other in prayer.

Ribbon

Use Your Skills Well

At one time I was all into crossword puzzles, then into games on my phone, then into poetry every day. I have been shifting and making a mix of it all. I still game and write poetry and blog posts and other stuff too. I think we should always be flexible and available for change.

We should never back down from a new challenge. I've recently been experimenting with crafts and up-cycling. I love a thrift store so that works perfectly for me. I love the idea of taking something old and reshaping it into something new. 

My job allows me to promote this with food and with animal and plant products. Agriculture shows us the need to make full use of the food that is available to us. We need to reduce our food-print by finding ways to use all fruits, vegetables and animal protein. 

I am advocate for using time wisely. What skill can you further? What do you like to do? Try something new today. It may be profitable for you in the future. I know some guys who love video games and they made a business out of it!

What can you do?

Ribbon