Introduction
There are different genres of music that are in society. Individuals love the different style based on the various attachments that they have with the songs or even the memory that they get from the songs. An exciting music genre to note is the reggae genre. It emerged in the year 1960s, and it came as a cultural bombshell. The style took a vast wave not only in Jamaica but also across the world. Reggae has influenced different societies and contributed to the development of new counterculture movements. The counterculture movements have been improved in countries such as Europe, Africa, and the United States of America. Hence, by the end of the year 1960s, reggae was a genre that participated in the development of skinhead movements in the United Kingdom. Furthermore, reggae impacted on the development of pop cultures and inspired developments if rappers in the United States of America. Many artists have participated in the development of reggae songs, and the selected artist for this discussion is the Morgan Heritage family. For a while, they have been releasing reggae songs as a group, but they are composed of brothers and sisters to form one band.
Morgan Heritage is an exciting family band who sing songs based on societal challenges and inspiration to the citizens across the globe. The reason why I selected the artist is that they compose songs that address the issues affecting the plight of the vulnerable people in society. Further, the majority of the themes in their songs promote peace, harmony, and challenges the government to work hard and do best in protecting the citizens ( Savishinsky, 1994., 277) . Their songs are educative, and they have messages attached to them despite the soothing beats behind the composing lyrics. An example of the songs accredited to the Morgan Heritage family includes, Nothing to Smile About , Tell me How Come , A Man is Still A Man . These songs are instrumental in society as they express the neglected issues and main points that should be of concern by the government. The Jamaican reggae music has had a positive impact on both the Jamaicans and citizens across the globe.
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The selected artist, Morgan Heritage, relates to the broader context in the society by prioritizing the social issues and finding a platform to communicate on the issues. For example, in the community today, the main challenge is that the political leaders or the government are doing little to support the growth and development of society. There are issues such as unemployment, crime, and social injustices that are not being addressed. Interestingly, poor people are not represented in the community, as their views are neglected or sidelined in terms of priority ( Jaffe, 2019., p. 387) . The artist, therefore, relates to the broader context by feeling the pain of an ordinary citizen and using music as a platform to air the issues and compel the relevant authorities to work towards improving on the citizen’s lifestyles. Further, the artists enjoy a large following across the globe because of the articulation of issues affecting society members ( Nicely and Ghazali, 2019) . Therefore, in this research assignment, the aspects of the artist that will be focused on include the composition of their songs, including the themes attached to their songs ( Wilson, 2019., p.141) . Further, the aim behind their songs and how it relates to the current environment will be assessed.
Overview of Morgan Heritage
Morgan Heritage is a reggae band that has been nominated under the Grammy nominations. It is a band that was formed in the year 1994, and it is composed of the children to a reggae musician by the name Denroy Morgan ( Kärjä, 2020., p. 3) . The group made their first appearances when there was a Reggae Sunsplash that was hosted in Jamaica. Later, they were signed by the MCA, and after the signing, the group made tremendous steps and made a debut album dubbed as Miracles , which occurred in the same year that they were signed. In their first album, the songs were more of pop culture than the reggae culture ( Haynes, 2019., p.1007) . As first time nominees for the Grammy awards, the artist, Morgan Heritage, was announced as a Grammy winner in 2015. The award was because the group had the best reggae album ( Doyle, 2019., p. 127) . The awards were during the 58th Grammy Awards. The name of the album is A strictly Roots. The group managed to win their Grammy award, which was after two decades. It explains the patient and persistence that the group had with desires to succeed and also meet the needs of the consumers in their songs.
Contemporary reggae has been the main direction that Morgan Heritage has taken in singing their songs. Modern means that the group has been focusing on the real issues that are affecting the society as well as occupants in the community. For example, poverty, governmental laxity, social injustices, and the need for transformation are among the themes that Morgan Heritage sings in their songs. Consider the song Nothing to Smile About . The central theme is the neglect that the government has done to the community members despite electing elders to represent the vulnerable communities in society. The issues relate to the society members who feel oppressed and also are determined to gain changes in the world. Therefore, the audience loves the artist because they are not self-centred, but they are brave to speak on societal issues ( Gansinger, 2020., p. 443) . Consequently, in the music arena, there are usually threats from the government to the artists when they expose negativities about a government. However, the Morgan Heritage group is active as they have no fear or favor when speaking against injustices. Despite the themes in their songs, the real reggae culture, soothing beats, and the use of instrumentals in the songs is another aspect that relates well to the audience. It brings about the entertainment capabilities which entice the audience and makes them relax after tiring work and busy schedules.
In the media, the artists have received colossal representation. Their songs are found in different media platforms showing that they are authentic and valued in society. YouTube is an example of the media representation where the artist has songs stored in audio and visual formats. The illustration has had a sign on their appearance and functionality in the music genre ( Bousquet, 2019., p.24) . For example, since the artist has a positive inspiration to the society members, they are positively represented, meaning that they have to work hard and release quality content in their songs to continue inspiring the audience towards positive directions. The artist has been positively represented in the media with their songs and interview sessions, which discusses bout their music journey. The interviews include an explanation of both the success and failures in their musical careers.
The artist relates to the issues discussed in the course material and class readings. An example is the Fandom lectures where the artist focuses on the problems of race and ethnicity. In the course readings, fandom is an aspect that is connected to issues of race and ethnicity. In the various decades, music genres, which include rhythm and blues as well as reggae music, have had a relationship with the African American identity. Morgan Heritage, through their songs, has been focusing on the ethnic minorities in society ( Bonsaver, Reza and Carlucci, 2019., p. 1) . The blacks were the ethnicity mainly focused on in the songs. The issues facing the minorities in race and ethnicity background were raised by using songs to attract the attention of the relevant authorities and ensure that they react to these issues ( Lewis, 2019., p. 83) . Often when the problems were not addressed, violent representations were applied, which resulted in detrimental effects in the society such as property destruction and death.
The concept of liveliness is evident in the artist’s songs. The reason why liveliness comes to play is that the songs bring about cultural significance as well as social impacts. Therefore, through music, one can identify cultural highlights, and it brings about social interactions among the audiences ( Bannister, 2019., p. 93) . In social aspects, the artist has influenced the popular reggae culture. The artists have influenced citizens in their fashion, with some having to put dreadlocks similar to what the artists have in their lives. Moreover, the themes in the songs have been an influence on the society members who start practicing these cultures to improve their well-being and interactions in society.
The music and the artist, Morgan Heritage, have had a personal influence and change in my life. First is the aspect of leadership and respect for the society members. I have learned that individuals are all equal regardless of their ethnic background or even gender ( Spence, 2019., p49) . Racism is detrimental s it eliminates on peace or harmony and causes high levels of distress among the society members, I have learned from the artist that there is a need to live in harmony in the community as it is a process that helps in promoting development and growth among the citizens ( Boothby, 2020., p. 223) . Furthermore, when I get to a leadership position, then I will strive to ensure that all the members are represented equally, and there is no biasness. The plight of poor people in the society relates to my daily life in the environment. I encounter the less fortunate frequently, and they are continually raising concerns that the government has neglected them when it comes to adequate allocation of resources. These concerns indicate that there is a gap in the leadership environment, and I am challenged to bridge the gap and ensure equal representation.
Conclusions
The selected artist, Morgan Heritage, has had significant influences in society. The themes highlighted by the artist are among the leading pillars towards developing changes and promoting control in the cultural environment. For example, the artist highlights the challenges that vulnerable people in society face. It is a strong theme that brings about attention and problems the government to work hard and promote equal representation across all boards in society. The artist has ideas about fandom, which is to promote equality and justice against the negative issues that have taken place in the community.
Listening to the songs brings about entertainment as well as the educative perspectives of the songs to the audience. These are the main reasons why the artist has significant following by the audience as well as influencing the audience positively. In the contemporary environment, the audience needs songs that they can relate with and also songs that highlight the different issues that have been affecting the entire society. Political leaders in the present community have neglected their roles in protecting the citizens, and they are greedy on getting wealth and forgetting the people who gave them an opportunity to represent them in leadership. Hence, using popular music culture and platforms like reggae helps the audience to connect with the artist. It is therefore valid and even appropriate for other songwriters to focus on the contemporary issues that the society is facing and strive to highlight these issue through the use of songs.
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