On a personal front, I feel I got through 2020 pretty good. I got in pretty good physical shape, I’ve done well in my classes, I solidified what I wanted to specialize in grad school and beyond, and I just generally feel good about myself and who I am. 2020 was actually my 10th year in Corvallis. That was crazy to me. It’s been a wild 10 years. I grew A LOT as a person. I have to say, too, that I was really lucky to meet a couple of professors from other institutions (i.e.; institutions I don't attend) who really went out on a limb for me and wrote some letters of recommendation for me for my grad school applications. It was... it was something I really needed, beyond the practical aspect of needing a couple of extra letter writers to meet the minimum requirement for most applications. Aside from maybe my grandfather Leo Filipowicz, and a few teachers/profs at various level of my education...I've never really had anyone(s) stick their neck out for me like that. I was really grateful. If/when I get accepted into a grad programme, I'll thank them by name. For now... I don't want to put them in a position where they have to say "Errr...maybe I don't want my name associated with writing a recommendation for a guy who didn't get into grad school". Anyway...as I near the end of my 40th year on this Earth...it was good for me to be reminded that people can be more than just good; they can be completely selfless and downright amazing. For me, it was just an amazing affirmation of my (oft-tested) faith in humanity.
Anyway…I might add more to this post later, but I kind of feel that’s all I have to say about 2020. The only thing left to do is give a list of my favourite reggae/dancehall (& soca) tracks from 2020. I was going to do a list of favourite movies…but I realized I didn’t even see any new movies this year (lol!). Anyway, enjoy the list. I linked videos for the 25 main songs (click on the title). The rest you’ll just have to find for yourself (try copy/pasting into the Youtube search).
Be warned: a lot of the songs are not safe for work, and might be offensive and/or disturbing to some people. Sorry, not sorry. It’s just music. I don’t feel I have to condone or condemn the lifestyles portrayed to enjoy the music. I just play the songs and enjoy them. In fact, I'll take this moment to stand on a soapbox and preach my truth. Personally, I view a lot of the more "controversial" material (e.g.; sex, drugs, violence) as... part of the real world. All of those things exist, from affluent white society to racially ambiguous middle class (in the positive and negative directions), to impoverished black society as well every possible point in the plane those axes represent. Anyway... a lot of the artistes who talk about these things are really just talking about what goes on in the world. Being that a lot of music that is willing to explicitly discuss/confront these "controversial" or even "scandalous" topics explicitly has it's roots in African and African Diasporic cultures (e.g.; dancehall, soca, hip hop, r&b, even jazz (!?!?)), I view it as sort of a modern version of the griot culture from the Western and Central African regions. To me, griot culture has always represented a sort of combination of story-telling mixed with current events/journalism. And there's some historical journalism, too, obv's. The griot kind of reports the current events (or historical event) through the filter of a character. I see modern artistes as doing the same thing. Some characters glorify the guns and drugs and womanizing and stuff like that, some speak against it.
It's also true that some artistes do actually practice these lifestyles... in that case, I tend to separate the art from the artist, unless I feel the artiste has made a real attempt at turning away from the negative actions they were a part of. Some artistes also practice strictly positive lifestyles. Some (like most people) practice varying degrees of both.
Anyway, rant over. It might sound like I'm trying to justify my enjoyment of music with "controversial/scandalous" themes. Maybe there's some truth to that.
But I do honestly believe there are people who don't understand the culture and who tend to listen to certain subgenres of the music and think "They're really all out there doing these kinds of things every second of every day of their lives!! Hide the kids!!" (emphasis is to highlight the racist generalizations that that thought process usually leads to) , even though that's total BS. A vast majority of the artistes singing/rapping about the guns and drugs and whatever either don't do those things at all or have reformed from that lifestyle. They're just telling you what's going on in the world.
But yeah...here's the lists:
My Top 25 Dancehall Tracks of 2020
So last year I did my 5 favourite tracks. This year, I was stuck inside more…and apparently Jamaican artistes decided to use quarantine as a time to make half a million songs each, plus another half a million features each. There was so much good Caribbean music in general (I’m also doing a “Top 10 Soca Tracks” list), and this list was really hard to write. Needless to say, there will be a lot of “honourable mentions”. I tried to only do one entry per artiste (e.g.; even though technically Jahmiel had 3 of my favourite songs this year, he only gets to be on the list once). If a song has two or more artistes on the track, none of the artistes gets another spot (again, for the most part) The list is in no particular order. I put links for all the songs, but be warned: there’s a lot of NSFW material on this list.
- ”Madhead” by DingDong (ft. Pascalli) : I liked all of the tracks on the “Kwarentine” riddim (produced by Pascalli…talented gal), but this was my favourite. I thought it was just fun, from the lyrics to the riddim. DingDong had a couple other songs I really liked. I thought “Gweh” (and the viral Gweh dance choreographed by Desha) was fun, and “Watch A Style Yah” (on the “Style A Style” riddim) was wild. DingDong, Bravo, and the Ravers are pretty “can’t miss” for me. They always bring positive music, and they have the best dance moves in their videos and live performances. And if Bravo can’t get you hyped up, you have no soul.
- “Return” by Jahmiel. I was torn between choosing this one and “Shepard”. “Shepard” is just so good (I’m a sucker for an inspirational tune), but I just like the energy on “Return”. It has that “Hate Me Now” vibe that gets me so hyped. I also really liked “Dream Chaser” (also on the “Style A Style” riddim). All in all, Jahmiel might have been my top artiste of the year. I’d say it’s between him, DingDong, and the next guy.
- “Wicked People” by Chronic Law. Nobody does “gunman singjay” style better than Chronic Law, except maybe Mavado or Dexta Daps. Chronic Law put out so many good songs this year, it’s kind of hard to choose 2 or 3 more to include here. I will mention that I really liked “War Season” off of Dexta Daps’ album “Vent” (which is a great album, btw).
- “Mango” by Sevana. This song is just so catchy and good and sweet. It has a weird 60’s pop-‘60’s soul-modern Caribbean vibe that just works on so many levels. The video has a fun retro vibe, too. I don’t know how this song isn’t a Billboard hit. It absolutely should have been. I liked “Phone A Friend” and “If You Only Knew” a lot, too. Really, the whole “Be Somebody” EP is perfect.
- “Note to Self” by Jah9 (ft. Chronixx). This was the quarantine anthem for keeping your head above water. It’s got a nice dreamy vibe. I like the video a lot, too.
- “Selassie Pickney” by Beenie Man. This song was (and is) just so wild to me. I love King Beenie’s vocals and lyrics, but this riddim just takes it to the next level. I don’t really know how to classify it. It’s not a typical dancehall riddim, it’s not EDM, it’s not really soca, it’s just…unique. I also really liked “DweetDweetDweet” with Demarco. The Sanitizer riddim was great, but I think this was my favourite song using it. And, of course, I loved every second of Beenie and Bounty Killer’s Versuz “battle”. I watched a few of the Verzuz things, but theirs was the only one where I showed up early and stayed for the whole thing.
- “Misleader” by Bounty Killer. Speaking of the General Himself…. This was a great tune. Very timely, with it being an election year in the U.S. and Jamaica. I like when Bounty goes in on the political system and their treatment of the poor. “Freedom” (with Agent Sasco, Chevaughn, and LC Show) had a similar vibe, and was just as good.
- “Loco” by Agent Sasco. This song reminded me a lot of “Why?” by Jadakiss for some reason, but was more focused in an anti-guns/anti-violence theme. Sasco always has good, conscious tunes. I enjoyed his live performance on Fame Frequency, and I like every song I’ve heard off of the new album (“Sasco VS. Assassin”).
- “Just A Minute” by Masicka. To me, this song is like “Madhead” from above: it’s just fun. Yeah, the lyrics are kind of freaky, but that riddim and the way Masicka rocked it… This was a top tune for me this year. I also really liked “Better Days”. It was a really good, positive track. “I Wish” was good, too.
- “Mankind Badmind” by Gaza Tussan. This is kind of my sleeper pick. I felt like a lot of people overlooked this song, but I really liked it. If Max B was Jamaican, he would write songs like this. It’s just all around smooth. I just feel like it deserved more spins. I liked “Neva Lef It”, too.
- “Where I’m Coming From” by Lila Ike. I’m a sucker for a good “overcomer anthem” tune. This is one of the best. I really liked “Solitude” as well. Seriously, if Protoje ever decides to quit making his own music he should go into the business of finding and developing musical talent. Sevana, Lila Ike, and Jaz Elise are all amazing artistes.
- “Make It” by Sizzla. Sizzla always puts out tons of tracks. This year, this was my favourite by him. In general, I liked the “Hope” riddim, but (IMO) this was the best track using “Hope”. It was just super positive and it really embodied the emotion the riddim was named for. I have too many Sizzla tracks that I like from this year, so I’m not even going to start naming others…ok, maybe one or two others. I also like “Do the Maths” and “Live Life (ft. Yaawdi, Reemus, & Iyah More)”. His set during Taste of Sumfest this year was pure upbeat energy, too. “Sufferation” is a good tune that came out on the very last day of the year.
- “Lighter” by Tarrus Riley (ft. Shenseea). I was so shocked that this song (and/or “Mango”) didn’t cross over to the United States. It’s so catchy and just (to me) has universal appeal. I mean, what more does the American audience need? This was as close to a perfect radio song as you can get. You just mash the replay button when it ends. Anyway, I thought Tarrus’ album “Healing” in general was great, and I really liked “The Fresh Prince of JA” (the video is fun, too). Shenseea had a good year, too. I liked “Rude Gyal” and “Bad Alone” a lot. “Upset”, her track over the “Style A Style” riddim, was amazing, too. I think Shenseea’s really improved her vocal range.
- “Mi Fi Tell Yuh” by Demarco. Jamaicans make the best “watch out for the backstabbers” songs. I still hit replay on this one every time, at least once. Demacro had a really good year for musical output, too. I liked “Life Worth Living” a lot, and “Life Over Gun” was good, too. “Homage” was great, too. It was nice to see an artiste put out a song praising two greats, as opposed to dissing other artistes.
- “Mental Slavery” by Govanna. Govi had tons of great songs this year. I also liked “Strike Force”, “Impossible”, “Undefeated” , and “Yeah Man (ft Aidonia)” a lot.
- “Torpedo” by Skillibeng. Skilli put out an insane amount of music this year. It was hard to choose just one, but I think it’s gotta be this one. He had some good word play, and the Wide Spread riddim was just such a good riddim. I liked the whole “The Prodigy” album he put out (I even listened to all 35 songs in one sitting while I was doing some work). I really loved the “Young Boss Remix” with Blvck H3ro and Wayne J, too. I’d like to see him replace some of the gun songs with more positive/meditative themes, but it is what it is. Honestly, I think he’d have more international success if he switched it up a bit.
- “Bun A Pedophile” by Shawn Storm. (WARNING: this video is pretty graphic in depicting...well.. the burning of a pedophile.. ALSO: the word "pickney" in Jamaican patois is a general term for child...of any race. There's a similar word in American English that has racist connotations. The origin of the word is race-neutral. Leave it to Americans to turn a perfectly fine word into something racist, I guess.) I’m always 100% down to support an anti-pedophilia song. I appreciate the hardline stance. I feel the law (especially in the USA) is way too lenient with pedophiles, tbh. I love the song and video. I also liked “No Stone Unturned” and all of the Halloween Chronicles tunes (the videos were great… I liked that Shawn Storm did the 4 videos with the same theme. It was a fun concept).
- “Bandulu” by Squash. I love the riddim and his flow on this one. It falls under a style I call "darktropical". It's got a distinctly "tropical" sound, but it's not the upbeat "tropical" sound we tend to associate with the lighter, happier songs in genres like calypso and soca. Anyway...In general, it was a good year for the 6ix crew. They’re shaping up to being the Wu-Tang Clan of dancehall: a big group with no members who don’t pull their own weight. Shout out to Squash for bringing it all together.
- “400 Years” by Buju Banton. The whole “Upside Down” album was good (and got nominated for a Grammy!). And he won the Festival Song competition? Buju was all over the place making moves. Anyway, this just happened to be my favourite song from him this year.
- “Got to be Tough” by Toots and the Maytals. Honestly, everything I said about Buju can get applied here: Grammy nomination for a great album, Festival Song competition runner-up, big moves. Unfortunately, we lost Toots. RIP big man. I loved a lot of his older stuff. He was an early ska/reggae/rocksteady figure, and I was really into old-school (First-Wave) ska when ska-punk was a ting, and the Maytals were one of my favourites. Ska was a fad with most of my generation, but the OG Jamaican ska really stuck with me. It’s always sad to see one of your favourites pass on.
- “Rolling” by Spice. Just a fun song. And a fun video, too. This is another song where…I just didn’t understand how it didn’t hit bigger in USA.
- “Juvie Slow Down” by Busy Signal Busy Signal can do all lyrical styles, and he does them all perfectly. I think this is one of his best examples of his conscious style tunes. I thought “Jamaica, Jamaica” was fun, too (and should have been a Festival Song finalist).
- “Reebok” by Iwaata. Iwaata is one of my favourites from the young artistes. He’s got a real unique flow.. It's sort of "Red Rat-meets-Beenie Man", but he puts his own spin on it He’s sort of a torch-bearer for my generation’s dancehall style, too. A lot of newer artistes use the “trap-dancehall style”, which I like, but Iwaata is just dancehall-dancehall. I really liked “NTN”, “Lotta Trouble”, “Ratingz”, and “Genuine”, too. “Vent” was a good last-minute addition.
- “Mission” by Rygin King. This is my favourite type of song from Rygin. He does the gyallis tunes and the crime/gun tunes, but I think he’s best when he does the deep meds tunes like “How Mi Grow” (which is an older tune, but one I listened to A LOT this year) and “Things Go Change”. I also liked “Me, Myself, and I” and “No Emotion” a lot. Considering he got shot this year (while attending a funeral no less…which is…jfc), he put out a lot of good songs despite the fact that no one would’ve blamed him if he took a year off to recover.
- “Pull Up” by Konshens. It’s just a good, sweet song. Nice riddim, nice lyrics, excellent delivery. I also liked “Broad Out” (and every other track on the “Rum Bottle” riddim) because I love when dancehall artistes branch out into soca. I wish more artistes from different islands would get together on tracks. Like, I loved hearing Boy Boy and Skillibeng together on a track, and Nailah Blackman and Shenseea have done some tracks together. Team-ups like that.
Honourable mentions (also no particular order): “Chemist” by Tommy Lee Sparta, “Enemy Lines” by Mavado, “Melody Ride” by Queen Ifrica, “Cool As the Breeze/Friday” by Chronixx, “Babylon Falling” by Kabaka Pyramid, “Never Change” by Iya Champs, “Lockdown” by Koffee, “Jamaica, Jamaica” by Prima Star, “Vybz Kartel” by WASP (ft Vybz Kartel), “BapBap” by Chi Ching Ching, “True Champ” by Vybz Kartel (ft. Sikka Rhymes), “Where You At” by G-Go (ft. Blak Ryno) (technically a hiphop song, but it’s got a dancehall flavour & I love when hiphop artistes & dancehall artistes collab), “Bad Guy (Flinch Up)” by Jah Reddis (Reddis is more of a soca artiste, but the Bigman Settings riddim was definitely more dancehall than soca), “Menace” by Shane-O (the video is amazing, too), “Self-Defense” by Protoje, “Monopoly” by Alkaline, “Easy Does It” by Likkle Addi, “Oh Lawd” by Stylo G (another one on the Style A Style riddim), “Yard Link” by Charly Black, “Memories” by Jafrass, All of the Festival Song finalist tunes, “A Whole Mood” by Kash, “Man a Survivour” by Young Gt and Bugle, “Smart Badman” by Realist, “A Million Miles” by Capleton, “Fake Smile” by TeeJay, “Together We Stand” by Richie Spice, “Back To Normal” by Anthony B, “Winning (extended version)” by Jah Vinci, "Between the Lines" by Christoper Martin, "Wicked So" by Romain Virgo…and so many more.
I liked "Friends Like These" by Popcaan, too. It was one of those songs where I could say "I'm glad you said it so I don't have to". Artistes from the West Indies and from Africa...and really anywhere... should stay as far away from Drake as possible. He's a cancer. He uses people to keep himself relevant. I know the immediate pay-off of working with someone as popular as Drake is nice, but long-term? Ask Pressa and youth like that how their relationship with Drake is these days. Drake is just straight up toxic. And I can say these things because I'm not worried about trying to get a Drake feature on my next math paper.
Like I said, every artiste put out like 1million songs each and there were only a few that weren’t great…this list was hard to make because I felt bad leaving anyone off of it. Really, if it’s a 2020 song on my YouTube playlist, it’s probably a favourite song of the year for me. I especially try to bigup the young artistes just starting out. Anyway, love dancehall because it’s the best. I'm also kind of mad that Christopher Martin and Romain Virgo didn't do a song together this year. They're one of my favourite team-ups, and I was getting used to them putting out at least 1 song together per year...... for shame, guys...for shame...
Top 10 Soca Tunes (no particular order)
- “Pull Up” by Nessa Preppy (ft. Salty)
- “Oh My Gosh” by Problem Child (I really liked “Nasty Up”, too. That’s a song an experienced dj/selecta drops when they recognize the party is at its peak. It’s the 2020 version of “Run Wid It” by Mr. Killa. You must mash it up when the song drops.)
- “Party Round Di Bend” by Ifa
- “Magical” by Lyrikal (ft. Don Iko)
- “Fete Wid Mi Darlin” by Farmer Nappy
- “Black Liberation” by Olatunji (ft. Good Times Ahead) (“Don’t Stop the Carnival” was great, too)
- “Where I’m From” by Jus D
- “Eruption” by Marzville
- “Making Me Own” by Skinny Fabulous
- “Trouble Wine” by Nailah Blackman
Happy Roman Calendar New Year!!
UPDATE 6 Jan: So...ummm...I guess that the whole far-right nutjobs rioting in the Senate building thing kind of emphasizes the point I made earlier in this post that the problems of 2020 (and years prior) are going to bleed into 2021. There's still work to be done. A new year and a new president doesn't give us a clean slate.
Also: Let's stop calling the rioting Trump supporters "anarchists". They are far from anarchists. In fact most of them seem to advocate totalitarianism/fascism ...basically the complete opposite of anarchism. "Insurrectionists", "terrorists", "rioters"...I'll accept those descriptors. But they're not anarchists. Just a nit-pick, but we should be conscious of how we use words and how we might completely change their meaning through extensive misuse.
Maybe I'll write about it more later, but right now I just want to stress-eat, as I just got called the n-word at the Post Office. I guess me picking up my mail from my PO box was too Black for the gaiter-wearing white dude. It must have been a very stressful experience for him to see me looking at coupons from the Safeway flier I picked up from my box. It's been a couple of years since I've had anyone call me the n-word out here, so I guess I was...uhh...due? Whatever. Anyway, he closed the door of his big white truck and drove off before I could tell him to smd. "Big", "tough" dudes like him always seem to call people the n-word while they're already halfway in their big white trucks. (Note: Many perfectly nice, normal people drive big white trucks. I have no beef with big trucks, white or otherwise. In fact, living in Oregon has really given me an appreciation for the importance of a big truck for some people. Imagine trying to drive through mud a foot deep in a Prius with a 4.5 inch ground clearance. Even my old Chevy S-10 couldn''t get through that, and it'd probably be a difficult task in my 4Runner. Now imagine driving through that with a trailer with like 4 horses in it, or a trailer with some some similar load. Yeah, sometimes you just need a giant, super-sized truck with a major lift kit and some giant tires. I totally get it and I respect it.)
Now I get to find the inner fortitude to persevere and study ODE's and such.
For what it's worth, I recognize that people like him are a distinct minority both here in the USA and even here in Oregon (or Corvallis/Philomath, for that matter). I don't hold it against anyone else but him because I'm a benevolent, forgiving type n-word-ass motherfucker like that. Anyway, wish me luck in polishing off this pint of Open Nature Scandal-less Pumpkin flavoured ice cream (hey, it was 50% off, and it's low cal, low fat, AND low sugar...Even my stress eating is health conscious...).(PS- the Pumpkin flavour is ridiculously good. Get some if you can. It's a seasonal flavour, and it's only 230 calories for A WHOLE PINT!! I think Open Nature is a Safeway specific brand.).
I do want to add that being white-passing/one-drop is the worst because you just end up being whatever people want you to be depending on what's convenient for them. The same person who calls you the n-word will turn around and tell you you're not Black when you say "fine, that's what I am". You don't belong to both races, you belong to neither.
UPDATE 10 Jan: Taking a break from studying to flesh out my feelings on the terrorist attack on our Capitol on the 6th of January, 2021. First, I'm glad that the police (local and state) nationwide, and the feds, are cracking down on the terrorists and making arrests. I'm glad steps are being taken to remove the acting President, even if his time is short. I just want the assurance that he won't even be able to run again We can't afford to ever have a repeat of the last 4 years.
A couple of other related thoughts:
1) While I'm definitely disturbed by the terrorist attack (in fact, I'd say it makes me downright sad/depressed to think this is where we are...that we've really made so little progress in the last few hundred years), I feel this had to happen, and it was important for to America to see this happen. It's important for America to see that law enforcement can track down and arrest offenders without killing them on the spot. If you can do that with violent domestic terrorists who violently stormed the highest halls of American government, you can do that with...a guy who sold some illegal cd's in a parking lot...or a woman who was sleeping in her bed after a day working her nursing job...or a guy who may (or may not) have used a counterfeit bill... It's important for America to see the maximum magnitude of the disparity in the treatment of the races by law enforcement. We'll see if we get a lesson in the realm of the courts... It's also worth noting that, unlike sleeping or selling CD's, treason (which is what the terrorist assault on the capitol was) is actually punishable by execution. And I'm pretty sure beating a cop to death with a fire extinguisher isn't the proper way to express the sentiment that "Blue Lives Matter". You know, just to throw those things out there...
Anyway, it hurts to watch, but it's important for the nation to see this disparity in its fullest form.
2) I kind hope that the upcoming inaugurations of Biden and Harris is either held virtually, or that Biden and Harris are not in the same spot for the inauguration. I'm sure the Secret Service and FBI (amongst others) are making all kinds of precautions and preparations, but I just feel like the best precaution against an...(ugh, I can't believe this is even a legitimate threat)..assassination attempt is to keep the President Elect and Vice-President Elect in different places. I just feel like it's ok to break all traditions this year, given what went down on the 6th AND the whole COVID pandemic. We do NOT need to start off 2021 with the kind of pit-of-despair level chaos that would come with both Biden and Harris being victims of extremist violence before even taking office. Losing one would be bad enough, but both? No...just suck it up, do a total break with tradition, and be as close to 100% safe as anyone can possibly be. It's in the best interest of the country to be light years beyond overly-cautious.
UPDATE 24 Jan: I'm honestly pretty please with the first few days of the Biden administration. Job #1 for him is to repair international relations. Getting back into the Paris Accord and the World Health Organization are solid first steps. Obviously, we have to work on the domestic situation...like, A LOT... but it's only been a few days. As far as dead-basic moves-in-the-right-direction, it's been a solid first few days from the Biden administration.
Sub-UPDATE 18 Jan: I'm not really going to comment on the 1st month of the Biden/Harris regime. I feel like commenting after only a month, especially considering the mess they inherited, would be reactionary and not analytical. I'd be happy if their sole success story for their 1st year is stabilizing things on a dead-basic level. From the get-go, I've been very upfront about the fact that I don't see this administration being any kind of vehicle for large-scale social change. It's a moderate ticket with one job this term: get back to normal service. I don't expect (or even want, tbh) major policy shifts. I just want the government to get back to pre-Trump levels of civility and stability. Once that's accomplished, THEN we can worry about tweaking the system into being a more perfect machine. Biden isn't a great public speaker, and he's going to make gaffes. He's also sort of out-of-touch, which will really punctuate a lot of his gaffes with a string of exclamation points (see: his town hall gaffes with some seriously out-of-touch wordings regarding race). I'm not expecting words of comfort and wisdom from Biden. Frankly, I'd prefer he not talk and just do his job. Harris would be a better PR person anyway. But, regardless... I'm just not jumping to any conclusions, and I'm not going to be mad about Biden not doing things I didn't expect him to do in the 1st place. If you wanted a left-wing radical, you should have voted one in as Dem nominee in the primary. Most of you voted for Biden in the primaries because he was an M.O.R. candidate that could beat Trump. That's what you got. Not more, not less. You got exactly what you voted for. If you expected more.... I don't know what more to tell you, other than what I already wrote in this blog before, during, and after the primaries.
UPDATE 7 Feb. : I've decided that my anthem for 2021 is the song "Karma" by Jahmiel.