![]() ![]() The people in England don’t really support their own this is not our country, really, as Black people. It’s sad, and depressing that institutional racism – that’s what it is – has brought about this situation. “A lot of time, if you don’t get played on these stations, it’s harder to tour. “We need to have a fair playing field, so that listeners can judge for themselves, the kind of music they want to hear. “The reason why a lot of artists are broke is because of this lack of support,” he says. ![]() He quotes an old saying: “If you get airplay, you get a lot of say.” Our music is just as good as any other genre…so why isn’t it getting played on the radio?” Even when there was a reggae industry, the mainstream didn’t support us. Evidently, this isn’t what gatekeepers want. “If we got played on these stations, we’d have more money and power. Even “Silly Games” by Janet Kay or “Hopelessly in Love” by Carroll Thompson don’t get played on Smooth or Magic, but you may hear a Bob Marley.” ![]() As Black British artists of my generation, it’s difficult for us because we’re here and our tunes are not being played on the radio stations that pay money. “Racism,” Tippa says, without hesitation. Where many of them should be millionaires and household names, not many people outside of Black communities know who they are. ![]() Many of the great artists of yesteryear, who came up with Tippa, have long been forced to either give up music or perform on evenings and weekends, alongside their 9-5 jobs. Few venues consistently host Black events, and even fewer are Black-owned reggae and dancehall music is marginalised in commercial spaces. In 2023, such an industry does not exist. And, for those who were present to witness Black Britain in the Seventies and Eighties, it seemed that a reggae industry was beginning to thrive through the production of music, formation of labels, launching of record shops, importing of records from Jamaica and staging of events for Black Britons by Britons. ![]()
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