Shaggy in a new light
I read that Shaggy is holding a concert on Jan 3rd 2009 to raise money for Jamaica’s Bustamante Children’s Hospital. I always considered Shaggy as abit of a useless artist, so hearing this news certainly increases my estimation of him.
There seems to be quite a lot of charity events in the reggae and dancehall world – usually some gala or other going on.
Like Richie Stephens who did this thing with BET to raise money for potential athletes in Jamaica.
Also as i said in my last post, Buju Banton has a charity supporting people with HIV.
I had a quick look arouns to see what Vybz Kartel was doing and found an article from 2007 which says he donated funds to Tredegar All-Age School. I’m sure he probably does a bit more than that. I wish they would publish a list like Forbes rich list which detail how much they give away as a percentage of their overall wealth and to which causes.
Of course the question probably worth asking is, what’s the point? If the government can’t fund education, equip hospitals, maintain law and order, what can Shaggy do about it?
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Sadly, the importance of charity is not embedded in the national psyche. The idea of volunteering and giving to others has never been a part of the Jamaican/Caribbean narrative. Why do these Caribbean associations flounder and die? Because no one wants to give. Perhaps these celebs will begin to inspire the idea of “giving” as a norm and the audience they cater to might begin to question their own selfishness…(me, me , me) I wont hold my breath, though
let’s hope for the best in terms of encouraging greater participation to charitable giving by the artists – i am more hopeful than you though i think – whether there is a history of giving or not i don’t think is too important as i think that a lot of people in Jamaica recognise the importance of community and giving. we can but hope !