Testing Boundaries: Exploring New Frontiers in the Culture of Gospel Music.

Over the last twenty years gospel music in the Caribbean has taken on a whole new outlook. Some might wonder if gospel artistes are applying simple marketing strategies to bring about this change. One of the key factors which influences the product to be marketed is the main target group. The car dealership Nissan has launched an all-new four-wheel drive Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) called the Xterra and the very name speaks to the target group Nissan had in mind when they created this vehicle. The "X" represents Generation x to which the marketing thrust is directed and the. "terra" stands for the earth on which the vehicle will travel This concept can be seen as an answer to the question of what has brought about this change in the Gospel Music Industry. This paper entitled "Testing Boundaries--Exploring New Frontiers in the Culture of Gospel Music" seeks to define, investigate and to determine the origins of these boundaries.

The Literature Review explores what has been written on this subject and examines what the critics and the authorities in this area of study are saying. There is a methodological approach used in gathering the data and this will be shared with the reader. In a paper such as this some limitations exist and these will be explored. A critical analysis of the data and concluding thoughts are cogent to this study

This study grew out of a general interest in the area of Popular Culture and more so in the area of music. It is clear however that not many people have actually written extensively on the subject of contemporary gospel music and this will be dealt with more in-depth in my section on Limitations.

Gospel music still remains 'virgin territory' to some extent as far as critical writing is concerned. However, much of the music continues to be produced and much of it continues to transcend boundaries that were for a long time imposed on the genre. This study will look closely at the music of three artistes and their attempt to revolutionize the gospel music industry. These artistes are Sherwin "The Intellect' Gardner, Steve 'Stichie' Lang and Terel 'Papa San' Thompson. These three men are popular on the gospel music scene and the latter two were well known on the secular stage having performed as Reggae/Dub artiste in their early days in the music industry. I invite you to go on this journey with me into the world of contemporary gospel music.

University lecturer and authority on Popular Culture Doctor Curwen Best in his book, Roots to Popular Culture, allocates an entire section to issues surrounding gospel music. The section entitled "Routes to gospel and popular culture" is summed up in these words of Best:

"The gospel word, popular performance poetry, and new hardcore stylings all represent central sites for the further development of a Barbadian aesthetic. Outside of the calypso forum it is these three areas which have the most potential for projecting a Barbadian culture into the 21st century. To my mind this is the reason for treating them together as I do." (P 172)

In this section of his book Best makes some very pertinent comments that give support to some of the arguments which will be proposed in this paper. Best begins this chapter by saying that:

"For some time I Have been suggesting that "secular" and "gospel" artists are more closely related than Barbadian society permits one to believe." (P 172)

This observation in itself points toward what can be considered a boundary which gospel music faces. It is necessary that this relationship first be seen as being a reality for the new trends to be more widely accepted in the church.

This quote from Best also suggests another boundary.

   "The music of the Anglo-Catholic traditions has had
   a tremendous influence on the music of other
   denominations in Barbados ... The church
   leadership also perpetuated

   the social orderings and hierarchies which
   pervaded

   society within that period ... these established
   church

   institutions had worked with the state, and so
   became symbols and carriers of social status for
   many individuals... "(P 173)

The inseparability of church and state in early society proved to be a boundary for many musicians. The state strongly dictated what was acceptable or not in the established church. Christian author La Mar Boschman in his book The Rebirth of Music saw that boundaries existed and titled one of the chapters in the form of the question "Which music is of God?" He opened this section by saying:

   "There has been much controversy in the past
   decadeabout music in Christian circles and about
   certain instruments in the church ... no electric
   guitars and amplifiers were allowed in the church
   services ... todayin those same churches, you will
   find amplifiers on the platform. Did God change his
   mind? Was it oncewrong to use certain instruments
   in church ... and now its okay? Or did man make up
   those restrictions?" (P53)

Boschman asks a vital question which strongly suggests that the boundaries faced by gospel artistes are imposed by man and are not sanctioned by God.

He takes his argument to another level when he states in his book that:

   "Not only has there been much controversy
   over certain types of instruments ... there has
   also been much discussion over certain styles
   of music. Do certain types of music have a
   place in the body of Christ? (P55)

Not only are people not sure of the types of instruments permissible in worship but there was much controversy over the actual genres too. The music of the traditional church anthems might be allowed but would a reggae version of Amazing Grace be acceptable?

The work of Pastor Dale Brathwaite who has undertaken the task of researching this area and is presently writing some books on the topic is invaluable.

One of the limitations presented in writing a paper such as this is access to some of the practitioners in the gospel music field to get their much-needed feedback on the topic. This information would have been ideal as it would have offered a first hand look into the life of musicians and artistes and an idea of how they cope with the existing boundaries. Another limitation is the fact that not many people have written books on contemporary gospel music.

The Random House Webster's College Dictionary defines a boundary as "1. something that indicates bounds or limits, as a line ... " The word boundaries conjures up in ones mind the idea of restrictions. Another term that is important to be defined is gospel music. Pastor Dale Brathwaite verbally defined such as, the gospel being carried in the form of music. When asked to further elaborate on this definition he went on to state that it is the good news of Jesus Christ in song. He used this definition because he wanted to clearly state that gospel music should be defined based on the words and not the type of music that accompanies the lyrics. To better understand the boundaries existing in the area of gospel music, several key interrogative questions would have to be answered. What are the boundaries? Who established these boundaries? When were these boundaries established? How were they established? Let us first examine the question of what are those boundaries.

Boundaries are dependent on time or space and the boundaries which affect gospel music are dependent on time more so than space. They are usually as a result of generation differences. Each generation is exposed to different experiences, which will affect the things they accept. Music as we know it today stated to evolve around the Renaissance period. Music is derived from the Greek word musik, which means to muse. Around the time of the Renaissance there was a rebirth of the Arts, which saw a greater appreciation for art. Musicians were more readily accepted as their music was seen to be soothing in a time of great depression. Music became a therapy for the community. Music became a hope for a better place. People would endure pain in this hope. An excellent example of this is the slave songs. Slaves would sing songs that soothed their minds and souls, caused them to be lost in the joy of the song and forget the pain associated with their bondage.

The church and the state were closely related. In fact, they were one and the same entity. Therefore music and worship were closely related. Music played an active part in the church. There was the use of the organ and many of the liturgical practices were done to singing. Music in the church took on a Euro-centric format. This format was rooted in the music of Gregory the Great and gave rise to what would become to be known as the Gregorian Chant. This type of call and response worship saw the priest making several prayers and other readings and the congregation had set responses at specific intervals. This practice is still seen in many established religions today such as Anglicanism.

The evolution of music from this rigid style came about less than a hundred years ago. Music in the church has been completely revolutionalised. We have seen in church worship the inclusion of many instruments such as drums, keyboards and synthesizers, bass and rhythm guitars, various wind instruments and even the steel pan.

One interesting thing to note about this generational boundary is that songs which we look up today with great reverence as truly 'Christian'-such as Amazing Grace- were seen as revolutionary and were not readily accepted when they were first written. Another point worthy of note is that secular writers under the orders of the kings wrote many of the songs in our hymnals in their time. So the songs were not as 'inspired' as we might want to believe.

Music has many purposes and within these purposes some boundaries might be reflected. Music reflects the culture of the day, questions the culture of the day, interprets the culture of the day, and redefines or proposes a new culture. It creates and records history and plays a pivotal role in early childhood education and education on a whole. Some popular songs, which show some of these purposes, are Gabby's Boots, Jack and Arm De Police. These songs show up some critical concerns that were being faced at the time of their writing. The song "Boots," in particular, struck a bone of contention with the then Prime Minister of Barbados--The Rt. Honourable Tom Adams--and was banned from the airwaves. Government recognized the controlling quality of music. This in itself proves to be another boundary. We came out of a time where we could not openly question authority and this is restrictive in what artiste produced.

Music plays a fundamental role in religious ceremonies in Barbados and in the Caribbean at large. Music follows man from his birth to his death. There is much rejoicing and merriment at the birth of a baby, music is part of the wedding ceremony, which can be seen as an extension of the family, and there is music in the funeral ceremony that denotes the death of a person. Research also shows the readiness of the baby to accept what it heard in the womb with regards to music. The Neonatal Experience suggests that musical appreciation of a baby start from the womb. It also suggests that babies hear and identify their mother's heartbeat from that of other people. However, parents and other agents of socialization like the church, school and media can re-direct the musical appreciation of the child. This is easily done because music operates from one will to a next, from the will of the musician to the will of the listener. Here the effect of musing can be clearly understood. The musician muses the listener. Music bypasses reason and goes directly to the sub-conscious. Music probably had a role to play in religion being described as the "opiate of the people" because it has that effect to leave the listener in a trance like state.

As was mentioned earlier the relationship between church and state suggests a relationship between culture and worship. The cultural acceptance of Barbadians has been changing over the years. Before, people were not accepting the synergy between Europe--defined by slow, meditative music--and Africa--defined by infectious beats--to produce a Caribbean identity. Early Barbadian children were discouraged from listening to Banja--a mixture of tuk band rhythms which is a uniquely Barbadian.

In Barbados some of the pioneers in this new trend of "boundary-breaking music" are the grandparents of gospel themselves--Joseph Niles and Margarita Marshall. This couple has brought a new flavour to gospel music in Barbados. They have taken something old and done something new with it. That is they have taken some of the traditional songs of the church and have infused indigenous rhythms such a spouge, reggae and calypso. These two artistes have also shown how the generation gap does not necessarily have to be a boundary in the music world. Both have an ongoing working relationship with the popular, award-winning, Barbadian gospel band Promise. Promise has backed them both at international concerts and has worked in the studio with them as well. Marshall has also recognized the importance of keeping music ahead of the market and has embraced several popular genres in her latest album. She embraced jazz and ballads on the new work. When these two perform they capture a varied audience of both young and old alike. Their stage performance fused with the very lively music and their sheer charisma make a complete package.

What this proves is that as real as these boundaries are, they are not insurmountable. A lot of the boundaries faced in the industry was set up by past generations and was accepted by following generations. They are not the law and can be easily changed.

Another boundary that is faced in the industry is musicians' lack of financial independence which is necessary to make gospel music their career. This problem is not unique to the gospel arena but is common to the music industry in Barbados as a whole. Musicians and artistes have to often have a "day job" to supplement the mere salaries they make in the music industry. Very few of them are able to make it a full time job thus devoting their full energies to it. This problem is magnified in the gospel arena. Some churches have recognized the importance of their musicians and where it is affordable have sought to employ their musicians full time and pay them a fix salary. However these are a few visionary churches but many still think that gospel musicians should be content with what blessings God gives and not expect remuneration from the church.

Closely tied to the last boundary mentioned is yet another one. Gospel musicians in Barbados and by extension, in the Caribbean, do not have the one important thing musicians in Europe and the USA have: a large market their product. Very few artistes ever have platinum albums, as is always the case with many North American artistes When you look at the European and North American markets a gospel artiste does not have to try hard to make it "big". An artiste can make millions from just one album or even one song. Even if only Christians buy their albums those are still a reasonably large number of people to be targeted. If only one percent of Christians in those areas buy an album, that figure could very well be in the millions. Whereas, one percent in the Caribbean and in Barbados is very insignificant as compared to those heavily populated areas. So from the last two boundaries listed it is clear that finances play an important role in the culture of gospel music.

Three Caribbean artistes who have recognised the existence of these boundaries are Stichie, Papa San and the Intellect. These three have not only recognised them but have transcended them as well. These men are pioneers in the new sound of gospel music in the Caribbean. They have taken gospel music to another level What has been traditionally accepted has been abandoned and their music continues to reach many people, especially those in the younger generation. They have set new boundaries in their music in terms of content, genre and presentation, Their music has been accepted and they are being signed unto internationally recognised record labels. Their performances are characteristic of the freedom they have to worship. Their testimonies are almost always a driving force in the urgency of their message. These three have done nothing that Niles or Marshall of Barbados have not already done. That is, their albums more often or not include some of the traditional hymns re-engineered to create a new song altogether. Stitchie for example produced a soft reggae version of the traditional invitational song "Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling". These three artistes are the embodiment of Kirk Franklin's interlude to the song "Revolution" on his album "The Nu Nation Project". He says

"For those of you who think that gospel music has gone to far ... you ain't (sic) seen nothing yet ... "

Papa San was raised by his grandmother in Spanish Town, Jamaica. He experienced a truly "hard" life, knowing the rigors of poverty and the fears of street violence. Amidst this he was also exposed to reggae music from an early age and was destined for great things as at age twelve he performed with others twice his age and older. He enjoyed his first breakthrough hit in the 'mid eighties', which was the beginning of his international success. He created his own unique style of Jamaican music known as 'Dancehall', which put a "highly rhythmic and rapped spin on the traditional melodic reggae. Papa San began his spiritual search in 1997. Www.chrhristianmusic.com gave him the following review:

"Trusting in the Lord, Papa San's music added another element to his unique style, and created another form of Gospel music: a unique Gospel/Reggae/Dancehall blend that has brought many to know and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour."

Also a product of Spanish Town, Stitchie was recording reggae music since 1983. Four years later he gave up his teaching profession to pursue music full time. The following year he became the first dancehall reggae artist to be signed with a major label--Atlantic Records. The death of his mother and being involved in a serious car accident caused him to think seriously about his spirituality and lead to his accepting Jesus. Since being converted he has attended Bible College and has been writing and performing only Christian material.

   Unlike the other two artistes Sherwin Gardner was
   born and raised in Arima, Trinidad. Like them
   however, he began singing at an early age. What
   he did was to link the songs he would have learnt in
   church to the unique songs of his homeland. He
   never performed on the 'secular' stage but his
   musical styling is quite similar to Papa San's and
   Stichie's.

Www.Gospelflava.com says of him.

"Sherwin is by far the most proficient and versatile deejay/vocalist in the Caribbean gospel arena. Stylistically diverse, he covers soca roots reggae, hardcore dancehall, hip hop, jamoo and techno with smooth transitions and amazing fluency."

A brief look into the history of these three artistes provides good examples of artistes who have transcended the barriers in contemporary gospel music. Their style of music is a break away from anything traditional. Indeed, the only thing 'traditional' about their style is the lyrics. Their songs bring the same message which was being sung centuries ago but in a different form. Their music now is like a marriage between church and state as was discussed earlier. The lyrics of the church have been meshed with the music of 'the state'.

These men have set new frontiers in even the performance of their music at live concerts. All three have visited Barbados at some time or another to take part in their own private tours and/or international concerts. They encourage audience participation in their concerts. What is more is that to prove the importance of their message over the medium through which they deliver it, they always break the language barrier with their accents by slowing the music down to ensure that the message is well received. The message they send is always the same. As gospel music was defined in the introduction, their message is always about Jesus Christ, His love and salvation through Him.

In concluding this paper, we have discovered that the Gospel industry does have a set of boundaries to contend with. What is noticeable is that in some cases the boundaries can be removed once they are addressed. However, one sees that as one boundary is broken another is set up. This relationship is inevitable. Boundaries will always exist as we will always be dealing with people who are very different from those with whom we dealt with in the past. It is therefore necessary to recognise that such exist and to determine how we will let the boundary affect us.

For musicians to be able to survive financially on their music only governments and churches in the Caribbean will have to show greater interest in their music culture. It was mentioned that the church and the state were once the same entity. Today what they need to do is to work together, as a team, for one common goal

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Best, Curwen. Roots to Popular Culture. London: Macmillan Education Ltd., 2001.

Boschman, LaMar. The Rebirth of Music. Arkansas, USA: Manasseh Books, 1984.

Caines, Earle E. Christianity through the Centuries: A History of the Christian Church.

USA: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981.

Lunde, Alfred E. Christian Education thru Music. Illinois, USA: Evangelical

Teacher Training Association, 1978.

Sorge, Bob. Exploring Worship. Buffalo, New York: Trinity Media Press, 1982

Thompson, J.A. Handbook of Life in Bible Times. New York: Intervarsity Press, 1986.

Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 1st Ed. New York, USA: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1986.

Random House Webster's College Dictionary, New York, USA: Random House Publishers, 1992.

www.christianmusic.com/review28.htm

www.christafari.com/en/news/detail.ursy

www.gospelflava.com/reviews/sherwingardner.html

News about Members

Dr. George Elliott Clarke was nominated for the Black Theatre Workshop's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award, for his outstanding literary achievement and his contribution to the understanding of Black Literature in Canada and internationally. The Award was presented at a Gala held on Saturday, January 31, 2004 at the Omni Hotel. The function was attended by politicians from the three levels of government--Federal, Provincial, and Municipal--and by dignitaries from the public, Para public institutions and local businesses. Clarke won the hearts of the over two-hundred person audience with an unscripted oratical discourse on the nature of freedom within Canada.

A highlight of the evening was a performance from his recently acclaimed libretto: Quebecite.