Is Chris Blackwell Reggae's Hero or Worst Villain?

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  • čas přidán 24. 11. 2023
  • Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records is credited with bringing reggae to international prominence but also heavily critiqued and accused of being am embodiment of the dark side of the music industry. #reggae #islandrecords #jamaica

Komentáře • 190

  • @leonramsay21
    @leonramsay21 Před 2 měsíci +6

    It's business. Every producer from Coxone to Chris were always called dishonest inspite of their efforts to help artistes out of poverty.

  • @rvbsoundfactory
    @rvbsoundfactory Před 7 měsíci +11

    Blackwell. A Legend. Best £4,000, he ever invested. Try and look at the bigger picture just imagine a world without Bob Marley's and the Wailers PositiveVibration Album. The guy even got street cred. Getting kicked out of Harrow! (Even though I've never heard of the place). Sweet! He has deep, deep Jamaican roots. I bumped into him once while I was visiting Miami, huge charisma.

  • @iamkingziionproductions100
    @iamkingziionproductions100 Před 4 měsíci +7

    A very balanced view and narration, there’s always two sides to the story and it’s been confirmed that he gave bob Marley’s family the money to by the rights to their fathers music and legacy. When they couldn’t afford to buy it themselves. Nobody is perfect but you have to appreciate the contribution and good that people do. 👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿

  • @clintquintal5885
    @clintquintal5885 Před 4 měsíci +14

    Like it or not he put reggae on the map. He understood how to present The Wailers. He understood that Bob was the guy with the star quality. He was a major factor in putting reggae into a place where it would become a household name. Who has done that since? Which label or music exec has done that since? No one. Love him or hate him, he was the guy that understood the market place and the artists place in it.

    • @teeree2128
      @teeree2128 Před 2 měsíci +1

      Not putting down blackwell ...............even though he is from the dominant people so he can open doors.....................BUT...........the wailers was a force that could no be held down...........they shine in the music world to this day.....

    • @usewisdom2
      @usewisdom2 Před 27 dny

      @@teeree2128 maybe a lesson to learn that the praise given to blackwell is misplaced.

  • @WadjilaCherokeeX
    @WadjilaCherokeeX Před 7 měsíci +15

    We all work for bosses we sometimes hate. We still come back for more to keep our family alive. In 1976 I was driving with a friend in San Diego and this song which was unlike anything I had ever heard came on the radio. The song was roots rock reggae and that started a love affair that continues to this day. The world needed Blackwell

    • @mrsplanetmaster9
      @mrsplanetmaster9 Před 7 měsíci +2

      I hear ya so strong 🌹😁🌿

    • @tiffanybrown368
      @tiffanybrown368 Před 7 měsíci

      😂😂if yuh say so. I notice black ppl refuse to do anything without their white massa then wonder why they don’t have shit to pass down to their kids. Get off ya hands and knees. Learn dignity and humility

    • @rhysconnel8755
      @rhysconnel8755 Před 5 měsíci

      ​@@mrsplanetmaster9✨️🙋🏽‍♂️ hi

    • @majormomo3466
      @majormomo3466 Před 3 měsíci

      Needed???

    • @usewisdom2
      @usewisdom2 Před 27 dny

      REALLY? No "we" don't all work for bosses we sometimes hate. that is the mantra the wicked controllers want you to believe. So no one else could have put Bob Marley or the Wailers into the forefront or on the worldstage? Not even themselves by honestly promoting their own works? Really? couldn't people advance from within? Why do they feel they have to submit to the greed and contemptuousness of others who only use them for control and profiteering? No one except the white controllers? Why is it that black people have to acquiesce to being so dumbed down as to believe that they all have to be managed or controlled by others? Like they have no sovereignty? Why was it possible to beat it out of them? And how come other black societies stood up for themselves and exercised their own inborn rights of sovereignty and resisted the control of those whose intentions were spurious at best? And, btw, what happened to them? those who resisted slavemasters? uhh prey tel!

  • @zn12914
    @zn12914 Před 7 měsíci +14

    I think it is both.. it is undeniable that he did so much to promote the music and give it an international platform, but the way he treated artists and how much he profited off of others will always be sketchy

  • @michaelwilson2340
    @michaelwilson2340 Před 7 měsíci +6

    He was a businessman. Despite his best intentions in the beginning, all that money was too hard for him to resist. Your values take a back seat to the power and cash.

  • @thenowchurch6419
    @thenowchurch6419 Před 7 měsíci +10

    Blackwell was a pioneering promoter and investor in Reggae music but he was never a hero.
    He became something of a villain due to his self enriching and artist neglecting contracts.

    • @dia.6213
      @dia.6213 Před 7 měsíci +2

      @thenowchurch6419 - that is a perfect summation

    • @thenowchurch6419
      @thenowchurch6419 Před 7 měsíci +1

      @@dia.6213 Thanks.
      As a longtime Reggae and Wailers fan, I have been observing and researching that situation for a while now.
      Bless up.

    • @neblitude
      @neblitude Před 3 měsíci

      How did the contracts neglect the artists?

    • @thenowchurch6419
      @thenowchurch6419 Před 3 měsíci

      @@neblitude The cut the artists got was minimal compared to other labels.
      Ask Jimmy Cliff, Third World, Inner Circle, Black Uhuru, Toots and the Maytals, Aswad, Steel Pulse, Burning Spear, Lee Perry, The Congos, Junior Murvin.......the list goes on.
      They all left Island Records for that reason.

    • @usewisdom2
      @usewisdom2 Před 27 dny

      @@neblitude I guess you didn't understand what you heard; watch again and this time pay attention to what is being said.

  • @gregoryspevack2263
    @gregoryspevack2263 Před 7 měsíci +5

    I remember talking to some of the members of Third World and they had nothing but good things to say about him.

  • @PapaIrie
    @PapaIrie Před 7 měsíci +6

    Two things can be true at the same time

  • @zillogullu33
    @zillogullu33 Před 7 měsíci +5

    He will always be the guy who defused the true potential and purpose of the great wailers...

  • @longjidalu3845
    @longjidalu3845 Před 7 měsíci +10

    For me Blackwell is simply a hero. Nothing good comes easy. Much love from Nigeria 🇳🇬🇳🇬

    • @johngammon963
      @johngammon963 Před 7 měsíci +2

      God bless my african brother :)

    • @majormomo3466
      @majormomo3466 Před 3 měsíci

      Nigerians are the worst smh..of course you would

  • @BillOdyssey
    @BillOdyssey Před 7 měsíci +5

    No excuse for exploitation.

  • @Duane-tl2zc
    @Duane-tl2zc Před 7 měsíci +5

    Blackwell was both good and bad but without him we might not have heard of Reggae, Grace Jones, Sparks, he even promoted DC Go Go music in the 80's

    • @usewisdom2
      @usewisdom2 Před 27 dny

      Without him you would not have heard of reggae; typical thoughts of a slave. Why do you think it only takes an "exploiter" to showcase people's talents? Why would you deny others their own abilities to promote themselves or others, simply out of the enjoyment or love of their own skills or abilities while making an "honest" dollar? There are always others whose forte is not singing or dancing but of using their own desires to share what they believe to be beautiful talents, or to share truth as this guy is doing on this channel? He's sharing what he discovered truth, and did not exploit you to do so.

    • @Duane-tl2zc
      @Duane-tl2zc Před 27 dny

      @@usewisdom2 I'm nobody's slave and all I said was he definitely promoted reggae to the masses throughout the world. I have a huge collection of "Island Records" from the 70's so don't try to tell me he didn't and I never said exclusively " myself" found out about reggae from his label but many did. Chill out with your 'wanna be' telling someone talk 🤨 you picked the wrong hombre to vent your vex to out of all the people "bigging up" Blackwell here.

  • @chegenjonjo1381
    @chegenjonjo1381 Před 7 měsíci +29

    To me he is both the hero and a villain.

    • @solarscience5815
      @solarscience5815 Před 7 měsíci +1

      Absolutely not. You are either one or the other. Him making money from reggae artist was more about him making money for himself than helping the artist. That’s a villain.

    • @tiffanybrown368
      @tiffanybrown368 Před 7 měsíci

      Pick a goddamn side. It’s cowardly to straddle the fence. Just say you don’t know the depths of his evilness and push on

    • @fabriciotonelli5396
      @fabriciotonelli5396 Před 6 měsíci +1

      I agree
      Without Chris, we all would NEVER hear about Bob marley, reggae, or anyother jamaicam artist

    • @solarscience5815
      @solarscience5815 Před 6 měsíci

      @@fabriciotonelli5396 Speak for yourself. Black ppl already knew who Bob was before Chris Whitehell came about. Who’s “we” anyway?

    • @fabriciotonelli5396
      @fabriciotonelli5396 Před 6 měsíci

      @@solarscience5815 OH WELL, black people have heard about Bob before Chris? You gotta be kiding. Even when a superstar in late 70´s, Bob never got the atenttion of black people in USA.

  • @AuthenticSelector64
    @AuthenticSelector64 Před 7 měsíci +15

    Same could be said of….Coxsone Dodd…. Duke Reid….Lesile Kong…Bunny Lee….Joe Gibbs…

    • @MrAlistar99
      @MrAlistar99 Před 7 měsíci +1

      Absolutely. ....am sorry but the fact of the matter is that blackwell will get more hate then the others for the simple fact of him been white.

    • @AuthenticSelector64
      @AuthenticSelector64 Před 7 měsíci +3

      @@MrAlistar99 … rightly so because the others were local manipulators…. Blackwell is an international manipulator….

    • @MrAlistar99
      @MrAlistar99 Před 7 měsíci +1

      @@AuthenticSelector64 so are you telling me that Chris Blackwell is not a Jamaican?

    • @uk_bigboss1705
      @uk_bigboss1705 Před 7 měsíci +1

      Yep colour don't mean nothing business is business

    • @AuthenticSelector64
      @AuthenticSelector64 Před 7 měsíci +3

      @@MrAlistar99 …. Am saying Blackwell was always in a position of privilege… and a man of his status and upbringing should not indulge in conning and manipulating poor uneducated young people …. Remember Coxsone Dodd … Duke Reid…are Local Area Dons from poor backgrounds who didn’t know any better….Artists like Millie Small…. Black Uhuru…. Jimmy Cliff… Bob Marley…. These were very poor young people trying to get out of the very dangerous ghetto life…

  • @vinylrecordplayer
    @vinylrecordplayer Před 7 měsíci +6

    Very cool history here. Excellent video. Enjoyed very much! 😁

  • @gregoryspevack2263
    @gregoryspevack2263 Před 7 měsíci +6

    Had a chat with Flabba Holt from the Roots Radics, he said he was never paid for the Night Nurse album. That he basically produced

  • @jzkramer
    @jzkramer Před 7 měsíci +6

    You my friend, are a superior documentary maker.

  • @FireSankra7
    @FireSankra7 Před 5 měsíci +2

    If he started as a Good Samaritan & end up a thief , then the latter applies to him.

  • @watsonunlimitedmusic
    @watsonunlimitedmusic Před 7 měsíci +2

    Recently finished his biography - a great read actually. I think Blackwell is both a product of the colonial era in Jamaica and someone who genuinely cared for the music and the people who made it.
    The only thing I might say in response to what you said here is - Island didn't make as much off "My Boy Lollipop" as people think. The song was a cover and was licensed to other labels like Fontana for international release. Blackwell actually simultaneously had his hands in a bunch of publishing arrangements behind the scenes that made him enough money to keep Island afloat. Island also had a fair bit of success putting out English folk records in the mid 1960s.

  • @bobstephen782
    @bobstephen782 Před 3 měsíci +2

    Big up chis

  • @reginalanco7941
    @reginalanco7941 Před 4 měsíci +2

    He is a professional , what you call villain is what would have brought his downfall! ❤ I will definitely watch more on him this kind of people have the best lessons for success in business

  • @stevepolius-nx8ip
    @stevepolius-nx8ip Před 4 měsíci +2

    Sick sick
    As always jumping on owet ship
    Wakr up. Wake up
    Icon. Yes con

  • @dsimpson7862
    @dsimpson7862 Před 2 měsíci +1

    It's sad to hear that som people didn't make any money because there is enough in the business for everyone and some people just want a little piece of the pie.

  • @majormomo3466
    @majormomo3466 Před 3 měsíci +1

    Villian

  • @truebornafrican9213
    @truebornafrican9213 Před 7 měsíci +2

    He remains significant in making the music global . Most artists out there would jump on the opportunity of being on that label for peanuts . The money he gave the wailers then could acquire a property in certain parts of England then . You win some , you lose some at least he gave the world Bob and made him rich before he passed on ..

  • @danikriatura7671
    @danikriatura7671 Před 7 měsíci +8

    Babylon vampire embodied.

  • @positive___soul
    @positive___soul Před 7 měsíci +7

    Very interesting question. I wonder what Peter Tosh would say…

  • @nanamagagula3914
    @nanamagagula3914 Před 2 měsíci +1

    ❤❤❤

  • @a.champagne6238
    @a.champagne6238 Před 7 měsíci +2

    Speaking of 007, Carlos Malcolm claims that he composed the famous theme and that the producers literally stole his written sheet music at a hotel where they met.

  • @FireSankra7
    @FireSankra7 Před 7 měsíci +4

    Their is no such thing as lesser of two evils, he did exploit plenty of the artists who wouldn’t otherwise have to go seeking their royalties in their elder age. P.S. noth of the producers did the same.

  • @nonethelessbysignificantvi197
    @nonethelessbysignificantvi197 Před 6 měsíci +2

    More Villain than hero

  • @HealerTheMaroon
    @HealerTheMaroon Před 7 měsíci +5

    10:28 why did it he just give her a % of her royalties she would never go broke

  • @johngammon963
    @johngammon963 Před 7 měsíci +2

    Very fair conclusion, thanks

  • @majormomo3466
    @majormomo3466 Před 3 měsíci +1

    Pure Evil, every villian has an arc-they never start out as one. He grew into a villian who exploited and choked the talent pool of Reggae

  • @amegwuabel563
    @amegwuabel563 Před 7 měsíci +23

    Most record label owners are greedy and he is one of them

    • @Facts-Over-Feelings
      @Facts-Over-Feelings Před 4 měsíci

      THEY ARE RACIST EUROPEAN EXPLOITERS.. THAT'S THERE CULTURE.

    • @MickeyWu7r5
      @MickeyWu7r5 Před 4 měsíci +3

      He was so greedy he gave the Marleys family the money to Buy the publishing rights to Bob Marley and the Wailers music. Which he didn't have to do he sold the label in the 80s.

    • @plasteredbastard
      @plasteredbastard Před 3 měsíci

      all label owners are in it to make money, a good indication of how successful their business endeavor is.

    • @macalloway1
      @macalloway1 Před 2 měsíci

      ​@MickeyWu7r5 some people mean well but don't trust others, so they insist on having the power and / or money always in their hand. What has a man really done if he takes your risidual earnings and gives it back to you when you go broke? That can't be characterized as good because what if he passes away while he has you earnings and the people that inherit it aren't so generous

    • @zurimoore2545
      @zurimoore2545 Před 2 měsíci

      I agree

  • @bobcosmic
    @bobcosmic Před 2 měsíci +2

    Confrontation was released on Tuff Gong records & not Island records

  • @Infinitebrandon
    @Infinitebrandon Před 7 měsíci +4

    Poison bread isn't good for no one even its free and made with some goodingredients. A mon cyant serve 2 masters 😏, ya serve Jah spirit or mammon so sadly, I know he won't enter heaven.

  • @thomasray2261
    @thomasray2261 Před 7 měsíci +4

    It has long been style and fashion for some to dismiss---or worse---Chris Blackwell.This tends to come from those who are more 'politically ideological' than of musical background, or knowlegable of the music business---especially in Jamaica. Consider this: not one of Blackwell's detractors can name a single platinum Rock act that ever took him to court. You can't. Then there are those wishing to say the man 'broke up the Wailers'. Please. As if those 3 quite brilliant, opinionated products/survivors of Kingston's sometimes dog eat dog music industry could be manipulated and controlled by him. Finally---said as someone in the music business 48 years & has visited JA for both business and 'social living' since the early 80s---given the sort of business ethics by many Jamaican producers, this guy is a #$%?!-ing saint. If you think CB is 'the dark side' of the music industry, LOL.

  • @djtricks1
    @djtricks1 Před 7 měsíci +1

    Big Up RAS, as others have mentioned , the record companies seemed to all do it, i.e take advantage, even in today's music.. if you don't read the contract or get a solicitor to help,the same could happen to you or the group, back in the day, people were very poor..especially the West Indies & to get support from a record label must of been seen as an excellent opportunity,however, (never sign your music for a $20 contract ..lol) As for Mr Blackwell, hes just another Man who helped the music but MONEY sometimes can make you greedy.. when it starts to roll in, plus, i wasn't there when those Big Artist now.. signed their music away for whatever without knowing what the REAL truth is in the music "BUSINESS" Industry! Bless!

  • @Beautybizz28
    @Beautybizz28 Před 4 měsíci +2

    He's a hustler and gate keeper.

  • @willieluncheonette5843
    @willieluncheonette5843 Před 5 měsíci +2

    From my article on Bunny Wailer
    " It may surprise some that given his bitter feelings toward Blackwell, Bunny chose Blackwell's Island Records for his first solo album, the monumental Blackheart Man. But Bunny had an ace up his sleeve. He inserted an unusual clause into his contract specifying that in the event of Blackwell dying, he would be free of his contract. "That way," Bunny is reported to have said, " I can get out of the contract at any time." Bunny received an extraordinary $42,000 advance to make the album"

  • @fredericocr1
    @fredericocr1 Před 7 měsíci +3

    He is both. But the larger problem is the lack of strong and smart regulation to protect talent

    • @dia.6213
      @dia.6213 Před 7 měsíci

      @frdericocr1 🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯

    • @Uk_bigboss11
      @Uk_bigboss11 Před 4 měsíci

      The problem is lack of bussiness knowledge especially in the black community

  • @robertmcbride6931
    @robertmcbride6931 Před 7 měsíci +1

    Interesting. Have always heard the name, but never knew the story.

  • @HealerTheMaroon
    @HealerTheMaroon Před 7 měsíci +4

    Millie small single handly built island records and all the millions they made after because his come up was off her music … how much did she get off that 7million sales

    • @MrAlistar99
      @MrAlistar99 Před 7 měsíci

      Probably the same as Susan Cadogan got off Lee Perry😂😂

    • @uk_bigboss1705
      @uk_bigboss1705 Před 7 měsíci

      Did Millie ever do a interview

  • @stuckintha90s
    @stuckintha90s Před 7 měsíci +2

    I never Blackwell grew up in Jamaica. I always thought he was British through and through

  • @MickSupper
    @MickSupper Před 7 měsíci +3

    Those stories about him being saved by Rastafarians and nursed back to health and a psychic telling him to continue in music sound like huge tales. Too funny. BTW, albeit is pronounced all be it.

    • @stuckintha90s
      @stuckintha90s Před 7 měsíci +1

      It's all in Blackwell's autobiography

    • @usewisdom2
      @usewisdom2 Před 27 dny

      Agreed. Fairytales. pretty much like christopher columbus's. thats what they do exploit and destroy for greed.

  • @United-States-of-Africa
    @United-States-of-Africa Před 7 měsíci +25

    He's not ni hero. He didn't invent anything as it relates to our culture and music.
    He was a exploiter period!

    • @jamesekeke1182
      @jamesekeke1182 Před 3 měsíci

      Take a moment to pause and think. Was he really an exploiter or investor ?

    • @usewisdom2
      @usewisdom2 Před 27 dny

      @@jamesekeke1182 invest in himself and his white homeland owners that sent him to other lands to do same divide and conquer via using the simplicity of the people who are way too trusting. If he was such an honorable person why did he leave those singers by the wayside why was that guy cheated out of his royalties? all the work he did for a measly 5 grand when they make millions? do you think he was the only person? you people need to stop loving your slavemasters because they gave you a few crumbs while enslaving you. Yes he's an investor, one who puts very little money into the pot as bait and then after several manipulations, drag out the gold leaving the lead behind and if and when its not working for them anymore, they are dumped aside or destroyed. yes invest money or people, same thing and to what end? who wins? why do people invest, where does the investment go? for whose betterment? you're always bait for more, and more control until you become useless. Has it ever occurred to you why the jewels of certain countries remain poor while their lord saviors like the Blackwells always seem to prosper on the backs of the poor and downtrodden, e.g. so-called third world countries as in parts of Africa, South America and North America? What do they have in common? Powerful natural resources perhaps? Why are those people who know the true nature of their land kept impoverished along with those who don't know lest they be destroyed? The Aboriginal peoples worldwide, the origins of Africa and the Americas including their lands that have been destroyed along with its peoples who resist? Know your history, those who don't always repeat it. Look around you in these years of the 2000's; pay attention to what's happening around you and in your world in 2024. Are people truly happy? Does true freedom really exist? or are you so betrothed to someone or something else that you are under a false sense of security, a false sense of freedom while you enjoy the "crumbs" thrown to you like the bones to abused dogs.? the "slave mentality" its way past the time for you people to wake the hell up and smell your coffee! AND no its not too late to take back your power, your sovereignty, with which you were born into this land of Gaia. And instead of abusing it, heal it as you heal yourself. (Gaia is our motherland). Find and use your own discernment, starting with basic commonsense, then research with an "open mind" using your discernment and "see" the real truth. Take deep dives into the abyss of your own realities, and then and only then, spread the correct words not the lies of your slave masters. Good luck.

    • @usewisdom2
      @usewisdom2 Před 27 dny

      YES like he rest of them, sent by their slavemasters of the british empire to go to other lands and use, manipulate, exploit the masses.

  • @zillogullu33
    @zillogullu33 Před 7 měsíci +1

    Whitewell...that is it

  • @daddyslaggy8606
    @daddyslaggy8606 Před 7 měsíci +1

    Both I believe he did some good for reggae music but did some really bad for the artists and this is down to the business if he had done it the right way he would never had survived that long , he just followed what other labels where doing and also the producers where also doing dirt to the artists by selling music to overseas publishers and pocketing the money themselves.

  • @a.champagne6238
    @a.champagne6238 Před 7 měsíci

    It is said that Byron Lee was great to work with because artists actually got paid. As a bandleader, his music was more sanitized. If Coxsonne and Duke Reid were the sound of downtown Kingston, Lee was the sound of the resort hotels.

  • @upscalebama9701
    @upscalebama9701 Před 7 měsíci +4

    At the end of it all , everyone ate 🙏🏿

  • @stinga_
    @stinga_ Před 4 měsíci

    He didnt authorised no money. The family won it in court. Family man lost in court

  • @costermasumbuko6653
    @costermasumbuko6653 Před 5 měsíci +1

    Chris Whitewell

  • @riastevens8271
    @riastevens8271 Před 4 měsíci

    He is the same as Michael Jackson U2 Roxy Music and the Royal/Govt war machines.

  • @tyronecorbin9982
    @tyronecorbin9982 Před 7 měsíci +2

    This guy trick Bob blind.

    • @thetamihana2561
      @thetamihana2561 Před 7 měsíci

      Bob paid for Chris's house when Blackwell had nada.

  • @AuthenticSelector64
    @AuthenticSelector64 Před 7 měsíci +1

    Am from the same planet as you!!!! …..you need to start respecting the principles your parents taught you…. Instead of following the crowd…

  • @mrsplanetmaster9
    @mrsplanetmaster9 Před 7 měsíci +1

    Good over evil⁉😁🌿

  • @djpanrasdaversiteoldschool8912

    This has a point as to why he sold the company. Why sell the company?? Think about it!! So you won’t get sued right!! I think it’s more on the side of exploitation than it he artist actually dying making money off of their royalties. Look at how all these artist under him suffered.. yes we love the music produced but it’s sad the artist never got to see the Benifits

  • @user-nz3vi9ss2x
    @user-nz3vi9ss2x Před 5 měsíci

    bunny wailer had big problem with this man. many other to..🥴

  • @majormomo3466
    @majormomo3466 Před 3 měsíci +1

    Y’all sound crazy saying the world wouldn’t know Raggae or Bob Marley without this guy….stop it lol

  • @uk_bigboss1705
    @uk_bigboss1705 Před 7 měsíci

    Bussiness is bussiness

    • @usewisdom2
      @usewisdom2 Před 27 dny

      yes, abusing human beings for profit is the same... right? slave?

  • @user-lk6qj9lq9f
    @user-lk6qj9lq9f Před 6 měsíci +1

    ????😂❤😮😢😢😮 two pirate in ONE

  • @dp13579
    @dp13579 Před 7 měsíci +4

    I think regardless, he did spread reggae worldwide.....
    Would have happened anyway, but maybe his passion for it spread it that bit faster.......

  • @TravisSelassieSimbawafedha
    @TravisSelassieSimbawafedha Před 7 měsíci +10

    Chris Whiteworse for sure.

  • @davidwilliammusic
    @davidwilliammusic Před 2 měsíci

    The reggae scene of the 70s is a complex affair! Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, Jimmy Cliff & Lee Perry all had long-running issues with Blackwell. Bunny Wailer and Lee Perry had issues with each other. Tosh also with Perry. Bob had an on/off relationship with Perry. Lee Perry had a dislike of Jimmy Cliff. None of The Wailers band members seem to agree on anything. Peter Tosh had issues with Bob at times. It's almost impossible to get to the truth of anything in that scene. The only thing all the characters involved seem to agree on is that Blackwell is the devil 🤣

    • @usewisdom2
      @usewisdom2 Před 27 dny

      yeah and that devil did a good job of creating disharmony among them its called divide and conquer. an age old tactic used to isolate those slaves that can be best profited upon, from those who cannot.

  • @mooskamoo
    @mooskamoo Před 7 měsíci +9

    I feel this is a bit harsh on Chris Blackwell. I think a lot of the gripes from former artists come from being unhappy with contracts that they themselves signed and that Island went on to promote skilfully and successfully over subsequent years. You can’t blame Island for that, it was up to those artists to make sure they were well advised about what those contracts really meant.
    My understanding from watching documentaries on him is that he was actually pretty popular with his artists and was seen as quite fair by industry standards at that time. More than that, he promoted lots of new talent (acknowledged in this video) but was also quite influential in developing their sound such as encouraging Bob Marley to use guitar solos in his tunes which he hadn’t really before. Blackwell was also well known to allow artists great freedom to follow their creativity and Island gave musicians much more time in the studio to make the recordings so they could develop their music as they wanted to.
    I’m sure there were bad politics going on as well but overall Blackwell was definitely a positive force for black music during that period in my opinion.

    • @quanitaposton504
      @quanitaposton504 Před 7 měsíci +3

      You have a good point 👍

    • @thetamihana2561
      @thetamihana2561 Před 7 měsíci

      On it being humble and generous will bite your back pocket if your not business savvy.

  • @waltertebele3494
    @waltertebele3494 Před 5 dny

    This one was a racist, is the one who masterminded the splitting of the Wailing Wailers and appointed Bob to be the leader of the group

  • @leonramsay21
    @leonramsay21 Před 2 měsíci

    So Millie Small built Island records.

  • @MegaFOUNDATION1
    @MegaFOUNDATION1 Před 7 měsíci

    WHAT ARE SOME OF THESE FOLKS REALLY SAYING? THEY REALLY DON'T KNOW THE TRUTH OF WHO HE WAS. I WAS THERE WITH ALL OF MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS ALL THIS TIME, AND HAVE THINGS WHICH WOULD MAKE SOME OF THESE PEOPLE REALLY SIGH AND SAY WHAAAAAt? I REALLY WILL SHOW THEM SOME TRUTH WHICH THEY HAVE NEVER SEEN NOR HEARD WITH FACTUAL EVIDENCE. WHO WOULD DARE TO CHALLENGE US? THEY ARE JUST TALKING FROM WHAT THEY HAVE HEARD AS-"HEARSAY".I/WE HAVE RAW EVIDENCE TO DEBUNK THEIR SPECULATIONS TOTALLY. I RAS CARDO AND CREW WHO ARE STILL HERE FROM THOSE TIMES, AND LIVED THE EXPERIENCES SPEAKS DIFFERENTLY. IT IS CLEAR TO SEE WHY SOME FOLKS ALLOW THEMSELVES TO BE DECEIVED. HIS PLAN WAS DECISIVE, SINISTER, PERFIDIOUS, PERSECUTING, AND MARKEDLY LETHAL. HE CHOSE THE-"WEAKEST LINK"-METHOD OF DELIVERY. SO, LIKE ALL SLAVE MASTERS AND THEIR CHILDREN ON THE MINDS OF BLACK FOLKS, IT WORKED TO HIS GREAT ADVANTAGE. DO YOU REMEMBER THE SONG-"WHO FEELS IT KNOWS IT?" THIS IS WHY IT WAS MADE. HIS -MODUS OPERANDI -SHOWS IT ALL. RICO STATUTES IN THE USA WOULD EXEMPLIFY HIS MOVES.

  • @t.echieecho3480
    @t.echieecho3480 Před 7 měsíci

    Hust geg a bookkeeper en manage yourself... the sweet was great at that

  • @kmcin
    @kmcin Před 7 měsíci +1

    He’s a hero! Without him, reggae would not be what it is today. Of course, he is not perfect but he is an important promoter of Jamaican music.

    • @usewisdom2
      @usewisdom2 Před 27 dny

      Of course, words of a typical modern day slave. Yuh do yuh massa well...

  • @perekemeodon4111
    @perekemeodon4111 Před 7 měsíci +4

    He was a hero ooooo😅😊. They may claim he exploited them, but the artiates failed to usbtgeir fame to make more money for themselves and their bands.

  • @indigohammer5732
    @indigohammer5732 Před 5 měsíci

    Blackwell wasn't Don Arden.

  • @fredvan6043
    @fredvan6043 Před 6 měsíci

    Funny thing is, practically all black Jamaican record producers made a fortune by exploiting artists, but when a white producer enters the scene, he's suddenly seen as THE villain (although he certainly treated his artists way better than the likes of C.S. Dodd, Byron Lee or Lee Perry used to do). And there's no denying that Island records played a pivotal role in the international exposure and acceptance of reggae music (not only with Bob Marley, but also promoting artists like Burning Spear, LKJ, Black Uhuru, Bunny Wailer et al.). Anyway, that "hero or villain" dichotomy is ridiculously simplistic.

  • @linettejenkins8600
    @linettejenkins8600 Před 2 měsíci

    Who owns reggae?

  • @dannelbrash-hs3tg
    @dannelbrash-hs3tg Před 5 měsíci

    HE'S THE WORST VILLAIN 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 !!!!!!!!!!!

  • @Jason-lv4uu
    @Jason-lv4uu Před 7 měsíci +3

    Why didn't he make sure all his artists got their royalties?

    • @Uk_bigboss11
      @Uk_bigboss11 Před 4 měsíci

      Yh but black producers and managers have done the same thing to artist bussiness is bussiness

    • @Jason-lv4uu
      @Jason-lv4uu Před 4 měsíci

      @@Uk_bigboss11 yeah the industry is Wack 👎🏾

  • @jiggamortice3870
    @jiggamortice3870 Před 7 měsíci

    What a man!

  • @andytaylor6781
    @andytaylor6781 Před 7 měsíci

    Man Tosh went to soon.

  • @stevepolius-nx8ip
    @stevepolius-nx8ip Před 4 měsíci

    Wake up. Wake up
    Wr are being pimped

  • @ray1love1
    @ray1love1 Před 2 měsíci

    He was a blood sucker of the poor

  • @anthonyhutchinson77
    @anthonyhutchinson77 Před 7 měsíci +3

    This is really disappointing to hear. I have heard Marcia Griffiths speak of much respect for Chris Blackwell... unfortunate you didn't mention that here. I know Peter and several Ratafari bredrin and others point finger that really illustrates their own lack of knowledge and appreciation of business and how risk taking is paid for... At the same time having heard how Rasta helped build Blackwell I would have hoped Blackwell would seek to change the narrative of our artistes not benefitting hugely from their work... Harder they come tells the story

  • @alansjf33
    @alansjf33 Před 7 měsíci +1

    In other words , he is just a great music executive . Nothing more , nothing less. That is both good and bad. However we must all be honest and admit reggae music may have never really hit the world without him. That is the truth. Island records and Trojan records were the foundational labels for the genera of music. The music stays in Jamaica and likely never goes beyond its borders without him.

    • @zillogullu33
      @zillogullu33 Před 7 měsíci +1

      That's a lie ...UT would have reach the heights of where it was supposed to go...in the hearts of our people...he made it about stardom and fame...our struggle suffers because of foreing investors trying to make a profit.....he used Bob.

    • @usewisdom2
      @usewisdom2 Před 27 dny

      @@zillogullu33 ABSOLUTELY

    • @usewisdom2
      @usewisdom2 Před 27 dny

      you need to ditch that Slave mentality

  • @OjanMusic
    @OjanMusic Před 4 měsíci +1

    Read Bob Marley’s mother’s biography about her son and what she says about Chris Blackwell in that book ❤️‍🔥☺️

  • @phynessea247
    @phynessea247 Před 7 měsíci +1

    Chris is/was an ally. He had much love and respect for the genre. But at the end of the day he was a business man at heart and much of the animosity between him and other artists was due to his preference for commercially viable artists and music such as Bob Marley. He had the money and connections to open doors for many artists and promote reggae music on a global scale. Although Peter Tosh would refer to him as Chris Whiteworst. I see him as more an ally than villain.

  • @thetamihana2561
    @thetamihana2561 Před 7 měsíci +1

    Praise the lord and bless Chris Blackwell for bringing us the music of our lives and opportunities for many. Don't begrudge him working hard to achieve success.

    • @usewisdom2
      @usewisdom2 Před 27 dny

      awwwh and let those who were exploited and ended up penniless fall by the wayside, yeah praise "your" lord, typical words of a slave, totally dumbed down and brainwashed.

  • @teeree2128
    @teeree2128 Před 4 měsíci

    Who invented the music..............?????????... ..anything black people create , people try to put other races up front....

  • @SufferersKeepOnJammin
    @SufferersKeepOnJammin Před 7 měsíci +1

    ​ @HealerTheMaroon really bro? We've been trodding on the musical winepress for so long, and getting exploited. They exploited Louis Armstrong 100 years ago, Bob. Peter and Bunny 50 years ago and Michael Jackson and Prince 40 years ago. There comes a time when it's not exploitation, it's just easy money. Look at the Buju case, I love him. But a righteous artist, has so many children (presumably with multiple women) to keep in a "my daddy is Buju order". He is tempted and set up and loses his freedom and earnings. Many artists live the life they want to live, can probably tell tall tales about women and ganja quality. Then when they're old and broke, somebody exploited them. And don't forget the parade of homegrown producer exploiters.

  • @brienfarmer6846
    @brienfarmer6846 Před 5 měsíci

    culture vulture

  • @dongaza6878
    @dongaza6878 Před 7 měsíci

    Who JAH bless no man curse

  • @Oldschoolways168
    @Oldschoolways168 Před 4 měsíci +1

    He's the villain. They all are!

    • @josephnuttn3600
      @josephnuttn3600 Před měsícem

      They all are😂 and the others all have a victim complex?😂😂🎉

  • @DJIMMI-G
    @DJIMMI-G Před 7 měsíci

    I've watched teach dem interview so many artists who got ripped off by countless producers in Jamaica. So maybe you going to highlight them aswel. It's just the music business.

  • @SufferersKeepOnJammin
    @SufferersKeepOnJammin Před 7 měsíci +7

    Why do we do this? Blackwell is a businessman. Businessmen, black or white, live by the rule of profit only. Black people love money but don't understand profit. Apart from that, where would blues AND reggae be without the Rolling Stones, Clapton and Blackwell? So ease off Blackwell, he's just a producer. We can ignore him, promote the musicians. They're the real heroes.

    • @KC-gy5xw
      @KC-gy5xw Před 7 měsíci +2

      Blackwell was pivotal to the development of Ska to Reggae and all other genres that came out of it.. He did what everyone did white or black or mixed....I totally agree with you.

    • @HealerTheMaroon
      @HealerTheMaroon Před 7 měsíci

      That slave mentality, just because black producer are exploiting their own doesn’t make it ok for someone else to come in exploit the situation and become a billionaire while the Artist are still broke… think like thisnis why ngas can’t get anywhere

    • @HealerTheMaroon
      @HealerTheMaroon Před 7 měsíci +4

      Where would The Rolling Stones Clapton be with out the Afro an invention of drums and guitars……where would black week be if Millie small never made that song… island record wouldn’t exist all the artist and billions wouldn’t either

  • @plasteredbastard
    @plasteredbastard Před 3 měsíci

    done more good for a nations well-being than detriment. if millie doesn't break with lollipop (which he produced, marketed and canvassed) where it needed to in 1964 uk, can't say much would have followed it on a global scale.

    • @usewisdom2
      @usewisdom2 Před 27 dny

      where is she now? how much was she paid for her talent?

  • @zeusapollo8688
    @zeusapollo8688 Před 7 měsíci

    Two things can be true at once