Respect to all.i dont know what eak a mouse said but i can tell you that the organizers of this event is no friend of jamaican , just look at the line up. reggae music is jamaican music we dont need foreigners to get into our culture and exclude us.
i hope our jamaican brothers and sisters not to support this event.
Special respect to the woodhall , browns hall and macca tree st, catherine

This rat needs help..

good move D'Niscio,
run him ass yes ..for him to even mention Bob Marley name after Bob son Junior Gong pick him up and.....
I will be there giving my support

he told da truth....he spoke for many inna di muzik industry...dat iz da light inna di reggae world now...wat it iz...iz wat it iz...ooonu fraid fi speak oonu mind bout di white man demma run reggae...bout dnt kno deh ass from deh elbow bout our culture or whence it stem from...dem nuh hve noooooooooo roots....dem nuh hve di slightest idea bout struggle....but i can put summa di blame pon all di aritst dem who di feud wit one adnada....wi haffi stik 2gada...cause while oonu deh dey..di chat bout one adnada muzik& life style& who da fashion dread& renta dread& who set trend& who di juk who...oonu need fi all unite& come down pon babylon& bun da wickest fiyah pon dem rass.....lets stand firm...as black ppl.....and keep our rootical reggae muzik singin from our african lionkings& queens...whence it originated...suh i haffi foward i opinion...who feels it knoz it...yes i am ah upcomin artist who haffi dem pon trial& deal wit di case pon di daily grind...

it is dangerous to speak the truth

what eek sey is the truth in terms of inequality but yet still racial is a lie, anything racial must and will fall..god sey so...how the man point to bob so??? man must be mad!...its not good fi give artists who dont hail him a space fi point fingers inside reggae industry...respect midnite everytime respect groundation respect all uno but the matisyahu ting dat nuh work..never will i pay fi see that guy play, never..

..and anyway it mostly "white" people buy eek a mouse cds nowdays and for a while already..wake up..eek u nuh have no problems play fi "white" poeple in california or europe so..wah a gwan wit dat star?..if u guh use dem fi make money then u will have fi pay dem too so it guh..leggo the racial ting..f*kry

wah wrong wid u breddren how u fi say reggae music belong to this and that.. I'm really tired of hearing this selfish attitude Jamaican people seem to have when it come to musical culture,..... On the one hand reggae music is for the upliftment of people everywhere we are all children of Africa..then same breath they'll turn around and say something ignorant like...If the artist isn't from jamaica then its not reggae music..(somebody actually said that ).. my question is this..dem say Ford invent the first car right?.. so all di people dem who drive Japanese, German models etc.. all Benz , X5... I guess dem ting anna car then..because it ain American..lamborghini is not a car then either..dat italian... personally as an aspiring artist I take offense to that..and for that ignorant son of a bitch to say we need to boycott an AIDS benefit ..AIDS me say...for little children with AIDS everywhere who cannot get to tell u for themselves.. me say fire burn u...and go s*ck unno MOOMA

That line up sounds like they're trying to put too many people that doesn't know the struggle with reggae music. reggae music is not just an overnight music you can just sing to. People like real music from the people who created.

the man is right this event is to big up white reggae and then say its for aids epidemic in Africa 'right" fool we one time not two

as a 'white' youth who first saw eek-a-mouse for the first time over ten years ago in austin texas, it behooves me to say that i will still love this man's music.

and though the response from my brothers and sisters of color has mostly been a moving display of fraternity, rejecting the rhetoric of ignorance spilled from the lips of this icon, i nevertheless can understand both this artiste's frustration and the truth of his words.

full disclosure: my family has always worked on behalf of access, educational and economic, for all people and especially for women and minorities. therefore there is not even a modicum of the so-called white man's guilt in my words when i speak.

it is my opinion that brother eek-a-mouse was addressing the industry and not the individuals he mentioned -- he may even know this himself. and it is true that the market will choose to invest resources in those palatable to the white consumer.

this man should not have been removed from the circut. his views should have been tolerated, even embraced as a valid expression of a generation that knew not the experience of a youth that has benefitted from the incipience of the long procession toward unity among us. he has, like many of our mothers and fathers, been rejected, neglected, abused as a black man.

still, the fact that the prophet bob marley is a man of mixed race and singular genius merely indicates that we truly are from many one, E PLURIBUS UNUM.

finally, i have heard not a shred of outrage at the lyrics of great talent such as my man turbulence, who despite his talent and truth may himself rant now and then.

so, everybody just chill, and reinstate eek-a-mouse.

P.S. eek-a-mouse, tell your booker to come to austin ... or new york ... you will be welcomed.

timothy

If Jamaicans want only Jamaica to enjoy reggae music, stay broke and mayhisahrebel. Y'all are fu***rs hating on Matisyahu and "whitey". Lost respect for Eek a mouse and anyone hating on anyone!! Thought reggae was about 'one love', the f**k is wrong with y'all??? If people like Matisyahu they like reggae, if they want more reggae where they gonna go? Who benefits?? Some of you blasted idiots.

Thank you Slim. I also do not understand the racial outburst by some of the people commenting. It seems that to these people racism is only bad when it white vs black and not vice versa? Reggae is for all and it is already international thanks to artists like Bob Marley. And Eek-a-Mouse was really out of order commenting what he did. Respect is due to all reggae artists although of course Jamaica has the most (and in many cases some of the best). One love.

how can one of the brillant and respected root artists in jamaican's history make that unfurtunate
comment, he should come out and apologise to the world wisdom of reggae music, reggae music preaches against patiality, descrimination,creed,class, colour, envy and many more, the origin of reggae is from jamaica but now is for the whole world.
from Nana Frimpong, Reggae Presenter,Ghana Broadcasting Coporation, Ghana in West Africa.

whateva truth you think him seh. You cannot come in public and seh tings like dat like you are on the top of evrything. Whateva you a say, racist is not right, and cant be. You cannot come on stage like a big celebrity and present statement like dat. Let the white try to do reggae like dem let the black try fi sing like celine dion.......
STRAIGHT

If you listen carefully to what Eek has to say, he is not preaching racism. Mouse is merely stating the fact that because of the color of one skin, the records labels choose to promote one artist over another without truly looking at their talent. Reggae has gone commercial people, wake up and look at who the big acts really are. These groups nowadays are mostly white that pack large crowds into stadium theaters. These groups are promoted by the big records labels while the originals legends are broke because the labels either ripped them off or decided not to promote their talents. Eek-A-Mouse should be reinstated and allowed to perform. Remember, Little Richard, he complained about being ripped off and not being allowed to prosper, so did Kayne West. All of these acts went on to become more successful after they spoke what was the truth. Don't stop this true living legend and inventor of sing jay from speaking from his heart and mind based on years of experience in the music business.

And eek-mouse out bust was un called for he's a damn idot. There is a time and place for everything and that was not the place..Now wonder he cant get booked for shows he's too ignorant. Now Reggae Music is world wide, people who embrace it, dance to it understands it, buy, it and supports it, why should they perform it or sing. I listen to Matisyahu and I dont like his musiz maybe he should try singing calypso instead. Reggae is not for everyone so dont get it twisted, If sounds good I dont care where you from I'll support it. How Matisyahu got a record deal to begin with? He probally owns the record label. D'Nicso what where you thinking? Leave the Carribean Music to the carribean people this cross over should not have taken place IT SOUNDS LIKE SHIT, BECAUSE IT HAS A REGGAE BEAT DOESNOT MAKE IT REGGAE. Hopefully I will not see his name on anymore CARRIBEAN events AS A PERFORMER. THEY should create some other music category for his sh*t. I'ts defitenely not reggae. I will not support this concert I will mail my money to KEEP A CHILD ALIVE ORGINAZATION INSTEAD. REGGAE MUSIC IS FOR EVEYONE, IF YOU WANT TO BE A REGGAE ARTIST YOU BETTER COME CORRECT.. BIG-UP TO ALL MY TRUE REGGAE ARTIST.. D, I HOPE YOU WILL HAVE SOMEONE OUT THERE TO TALLY-UP HOW MANY JEWS CAME OUT TO SUPPORT THIS MATUSH BULL-SHIT.. HE'S NOT EVEN OF CARRIBEAN DECENT. WHAT THE HELL. LET'S SEE HOW MUCH GREEN (money)ITS GOING TO BE ON JULY 6TH..
BLESS,

nuff artist VEX fi years,nuff grudge still ah carry and really and truely nothing dont change,Good statement eek probably bad timing or not,maybe ur the sacrifice for I an I,Dem say nothing too black nuh good,well mi black and gooder than good.

It has a reggae beat but is not reggae? Same can be said for Eek a Mouse. Biddy goiyn goiyn biddy beng beng. The hell is that s**t. I didn't even know eek was still alive. It must be nice to always have someone else to blame for all your failures.

B-RAD watch your f*cking tone when you talk about Jamaicans on this site.,,,i wonder wha the BBBBBBBBBBBB stand fah
who you classing as blasted idiat.. you claim you have lost respect for haters but aint you a hater b*tch

eek a mouse a talk truth bout the complexion of reggae. look how many brown skin girls from uptown jamaican trying to promote and them cant even sing. all them chins and alaine cant sing, nuff nuff darker skins girls a jamaica can sing better than them but wont get the chance. same with shaggy and sean paul they only there because people tend to like brown and still a try fi mek black people feel like something wrong with being black. and not to mention that black people prolong this stereotype by putting so called brownings pon display. its insulting as a black person to see how black people still hate themself when as dem see the brown skin dem skin ketch a fire. look pon beenie man and look how many brownings tun him ina fool cause him never leave fi love him bllack skin and think hes ugly. how many times you hear black men talk bout dem ugly so dem a look a pretty gal fi deh wid.

Matisyahu has never claimed to be a reggae artist. I think Matisyahu has a good understanding of his place in the music business. The festival is taking place in NY and Matisyahu is a popular artist there so no beef with him performing there. Matisyahu's music certainly takes a lot from reggae in terms of his beats, and his deejaying skills certainly borrow from the dancehall, but Eek-A-Mouse is misinformed if he thinks the music labels are promoting Matisyahu as a reggae artist because he is white. He is not even promoted as a reggae artist.

The festival is called Carifest, not Reggaefest. Given that the festival is in the US, the promoters certainly have the right to put together a diverse lineup which shows the various influences carribbean music and culture has on contemporay music. The organizers are supporting a cause, and given that Eek-A-Mouse has not been relevent in over 15 years, he should be thrilled that he was selected to rep JA in the festival.

There are plenty of festivals in NY which cater to more traditional reggae and dancehall. Each have their place.

I have no qualm with white artist performing pure reggae however. Any critic will tell you Gentleman is one of the 5 best reggae artists on the planet. The color of his skin has nothing do with it. Eek-A-Mouse claims the music business only promotes lighter skinned artist. Is he claiming they have an advantage. I would think artist such as Gentleman and Collie Buddz have to do even more to gain legitamacy with fans because they are white. Gentleman got bottled the first time he performed in JA. Once people got past the fact he was a white artist from Germany, they realized that his talent is undeniable.

Any non-carribbean (or black for the matter) artist is going to bring a different perspective to the music, as their experiences are vastly different. It is important that we view them in this context rather than painting all artist with the same brush.

I think this is exactly the question that the man was asking at the press conference, and this was a valid question.

I wonder if Eek-A-Mouse is going to return the royalties he rec'd from "Khaki Suit" which he recorded with a certain light-skinned artist?

He may bring up some valid points, but this was not the arena to voice them. If Eek-A-Mouse has something to say, how about recording an album like most artist with opinions do.

I hate it when has-beens blame the world when their moment in the sun passes, and they are too ignorant to realize it.

I don't think that Buju Banton, Beenie Man, Beres Hammond, Luciano, Sizzla or Capleton have found their dark complexion to be an obstacle to international success.

And in terms of crossover financial success, Shabba reached the highest of heights in the early 1990's, and was the toast of America. And as we know, his downfall had nothing to do with the color of his skin.

matushi r wateva him wa name, i hope laing bill him fi perform a sting, den we will see which reggae him know bout.Meck dem bottle him r***********sssssssssssssss.

Everybody's talking about Jamaican music but da mouse spoke about sean paul and shaggy and bob marley. He doese make a valid point but If he felt so strongly why did he do a song with Jr gong who's 3/4 white? The best artist have and will always be jamaican. A little less passa passa and a little more marketing is all the industry needs. Because most of the money comes from....you guessed people outside of jamaica,alot of who are white

Yow Eeekarat. A wah you a deal wid. you mek any tune round here mr one hit wonder. how you fe dis the great Bob Marley p*ssy. did Bob chose is father or Shaun Paul chouse is colour. so wey you a say them no fe live because a them colour. mi think yu did have better sense than that. now mi know yu a real ediot fe come out with somthing like that. if yu fegot here this. out of many we are one. go mek some tune with yu jealous ass self. let me remind yu bout yu big tune. mi muma mi muma mi muma she grow mi with out a pupa. that a yu claim to fame pussy. go get a life and leave Great people name alone. the man who put Jamaica pon the map yu want come dis Him. The Man son Junior Gong even use piece a yu tune the other day pon him tune welcome to Jamrock. talking about biting the hands that feed yu wash up ass self. Crawl back in the hole where you come from EEKARAT. Yu a look a little Fame but it na go work yu just show up yu self for what you are. a ediot. now is 2008 not 1908. when yu dey a farin a pure white people suport yu. yu think we no know fool.

I would like to comment that some of you have taken the comments made by Mouse totally out of contexts. Eek was referring to the record labels that have discriminated against various artists due to the color of their skin. He called names to give examples of the industry and how they promote certain acts or another. He never said that he was a racist or against any of those mentioned. He merely gave examples by using their names.

As far as the question about the song "Khaki Suit" and the 3/4 white guy that he sang along with (Jr. Gong), well that album went platiumn and Mouse did not receive any royality payments of of that album. When I say none I mean ZERO. I believe that two of the performers received a grammy as well. On that albumn his face was to appear but they decided not to use his face and promote theirs instead.

The record company has ripped Mouse off for the past 30 years. Ras Records and now Greensleeves while stealing all of his publishing rights and then sold the company for over 3.5 million dollars. These are the small time companies that the older legends have had to deal with. None of the bigger companies have backed these talents and have not offered any of these sweetheart deals that are going around over these big bands need I say white bands. The Truth is the Truth.

"A wah do dem, a wah do dem,dem,dem- a mi no oh, a mi no oh oh". Ooonuh low di Mouse. I don' tink him mean whaeva him sey in any vindictive way.

Big up Jamaica everytime for being the creators of such a wonderful and soulful form of social commentary...Reggae Music. It should be taken as a compliment when other nationalities/ races sing and perfect reggae...there should be no room for hating....as a matter of fact it took foreigners and other races to internationalize the music form and help it attain the heights that it did so far, and remember reggae music trancends all boundaries, nationalities , gender , ethnicity and so much more so just let the music grow from strength to strength and spread across even more continents. Eek a Mouse is one of my favourite reggae artistes for over twenty years and I still rate him but perhaps he still doesn't understand the fundamentals of PR and the industry...Anyway, big up Collie Buds , Marlon Asher , Gentleman , the late Lucky Dube , Nacio Fontaine , Bunji Garlin , Matisyahu , [my countryman] Natural Black and all other foreign artistes who represent for the music....big up the originators and practicioners of the music [every Jamaican artiste ]..." If music be the food of love , let it play on ". Don't watch no face...
Kutspect !