Is Chris Blackwell Reggae's Hero or Worst Villain?

[@iamkingziionproductions100]

A very balanced view and narration, there’s always two sides to the story and it’s been confirmed that he gave bob Marley’s family the money to by the rights to their fathers music and legacy. When they couldn’t afford to buy it themselves. Nobody is perfect but you have to appreciate the contribution and good that people do. 👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿

[@leonramsay21]

It's business. Every producer from Coxone to Chris were always called dishonest inspite of their efforts to help artistes out of poverty.

[@WadjilaCherokeeX]

We all work for bosses we sometimes hate. We still come back for more to keep our family alive. In 1976 I was driving with a friend in San Diego and this song which was unlike anything I had ever heard came on the radio. The song was roots rock reggae and that started a love affair that continues to this day. The world needed Blackwell

[@Mrsplanetmaster9]

I hear ya so strong 🌹😁🌿

[@tiffanybrown368]

😂😂if yuh say so. I notice black ppl refuse to do anything without their white massa then wonder why they don’t have shit to pass down to their kids. Get off ya hands and knees. Learn dignity and humility

[@rhysconnel8755]

​@@Mrsplanetmaster9✨️🙋🏽‍♂️ hi

[@majormomo3466]

Needed???

[@usewisdom2]

REALLY? No "we" don't all work for bosses we sometimes hate. that is the mantra the wicked controllers want you to believe. So no one else could have put Bob Marley or the Wailers into the forefront or on the worldstage? Not even themselves by honestly promoting their own works? Really? couldn't people advance from within? Why do they feel they have to submit to the greed and contemptuousness of others who only use them for control and profiteering? No one except the white controllers? Why is it that black people have to acquiesce to being so dumbed down as to believe that they all have to be managed or controlled by others? Like they have no sovereignty? Why was it possible to beat it out of them? And how come other black societies stood up for themselves and exercised their own inborn rights of sovereignty and resisted the control of those whose intentions were spurious at best? And, btw, what happened to them? those who resisted slavemasters? uhh prey tel!

[@rvbsoundfactory]

Blackwell. A Legend. Best £4,000, he ever invested. Try and look at the bigger picture just imagine a world without Bob Marley's and the Wailers PositiveVibration Album. The guy even got street cred. Getting kicked out of Harrow! (Even though I've never heard of the place). Sweet! He has deep, deep Jamaican roots. I bumped into him once while I was visiting Miami, huge charisma.

[@vinylrecordplayer]

Very cool history here. Excellent video. Enjoyed very much! 😁

[@jzkramer]

You my friend, are a superior documentary maker.

[@ReggaeAppreciationSociety]

Blessings Jah man 🙌 Thanks a lot

[@zn12914]

I think it is both.. it is undeniable that he did so much to promote the music and give it an international platform, but the way he treated artists and how much he profited off of others will always be sketchy

[@clintquintal5885]

Like it or not he put reggae on the map. He understood how to present The Wailers. He understood that Bob was the guy with the star quality. He was a major factor in putting reggae into a place where it would become a household name. Who has done that since? Which label or music exec has done that since? No one. Love him or hate him, he was the guy that understood the market place and the artists place in it.

[@teeree2128]

Not putting down blackwell ...............even though he is from the dominant people so he can open doors.....................BUT...........the wailers was a force that could no be held down...........they shine in the music world to this day.....

[@usewisdom2]

@@teeree2128 maybe a lesson to learn that the praise given to blackwell is misplaced.

[@AuthenticSelector64]

Same could be said of….Coxsone Dodd…. Duke Reid….Lesile Kong…Bunny Lee….Joe Gibbs…

[@MrAlistar99]

Absolutely. ....am sorry but the fact of the matter is that blackwell will get more hate then the others for the simple fact of him been white.

[@AuthenticSelector64]

@@MrAlistar99 … rightly so because the others were local manipulators…. Blackwell is an international manipulator….

[@MrAlistar99]

@@AuthenticSelector64 so are you telling me that Chris Blackwell is not a Jamaican?

[@uk_bigboss1705]

Yep colour don't mean nothing business is business

[@AuthenticSelector64]

@@MrAlistar99 …. Am saying Blackwell was always in a position of privilege… and a man of his status and upbringing should not indulge in conning and manipulating poor uneducated young people …. Remember Coxsone Dodd … Duke Reid…are Local Area Dons from poor backgrounds who didn’t know any better….Artists like Millie Small…. Black Uhuru…. Jimmy Cliff… Bob Marley…. These were very poor young people trying to get out of the very dangerous ghetto life…

[@michaelwilson2340]

He was a businessman. Despite his best intentions in the beginning, all that money was too hard for him to resist. Your values take a back seat to the power and cash.

[@Beatetemporaryhermit]

Started to read his autobiography, which is absolutley fascinating. Have not gotten to most of what is discussed here yet, curious what he will have to say. From the book, the reasons why he did not fare well in English 'public' schools are far more complex (and they were rather awful places - but they gave him an accent and connections which later proved useful business-wise).

[@longjidalu3845]

For me Blackwell is simply a hero. Nothing good comes easy. Much love from Nigeria 🇳🇬🇳🇬

[@johngammon963]

God bless my african brother :)

[@majormomo3466]

Nigerians are the worst smh..of course you would

[@PapaIrie]

Two things can be true at the same time

[@reginalanco7941]

He is a professional , what you call villain is what would have brought his downfall! ❤ I will definitely watch more on him this kind of people have the best lessons for success in business

[@positive___soul]

Very interesting question. I wonder what Peter Tosh would say…

[@marktyndall6493]

Peter always calls him whitewell

[@lemontadams3029]

​@@marktyndall6493whiteworse

[@natel9019]

@@marktyndall6493Chris Whiteworst

[@lawrencenjawe9875]

What else but the usual rants

[@josephnuttn3600]

Tosh just hated every white

[@gregoryspevack2263]

I remember talking to some of the members of Third World and they had nothing but good things to say about him.

[@zillogullu33]

He will always be the guy who defused the true potential and purpose of the great wailers...

[@thetamihana2561]

No their own egos did that.

[@Beautybizz28]

​@@thetamihana2561and Mr blue eyes too

[@watsonunlimitedmusic]

Recently finished his biography - a great read actually. I think Blackwell is both a product of the colonial era in Jamaica and someone who genuinely cared for the music and the people who made it. The only thing I might say in response to what you said here is - Island didn't make as much off "My Boy Lollipop" as people think. The song was a cover and was licensed to other labels like Fontana for international release. Blackwell actually simultaneously had his hands in a bunch of publishing arrangements behind the scenes that made him enough money to keep Island afloat. Island also had a fair bit of success putting out English folk records in the mid 1960s.

[@johngammon963]

Very fair conclusion, thanks

[@gregoryspevack2263]

Had a chat with Flabba Holt from the Roots Radics, he said he was never paid for the Night Nurse album. That he basically produced

[@uk_bigboss1705]

Then he must be stupid😂😂

[@simpsond7862]

It's sad to hear that som people didn't make any money because there is enough in the business for everyone and some people just want a little piece of the pie.

[@truebornafrican9213]

He remains significant in making the music global . Most artists out there would jump on the opportunity of being on that label for peanuts . The money he gave the wailers then could acquire a property in certain parts of England then . You win some , you lose some at least he gave the world Bob and made him rich before he passed on ..

[@thenowchurch6419]

Blackwell was a pioneering promoter and investor in Reggae music but he was never a hero. He became something of a villain due to his self enriching and artist neglecting contracts.

[@dia.6213]

@thenowchurch6419 - that is a perfect summation

[@thenowchurch6419]

@@dia.6213 Thanks. As a longtime Reggae and Wailers fan, I have been observing and researching that situation for a while now. Bless up.

[@neblitude]

How did the contracts neglect the artists?

[@thenowchurch6419]

@@neblitude The cut the artists got was minimal compared to other labels. Ask Jimmy Cliff, Third World, Inner Circle, Black Uhuru, Toots and the Maytals, Aswad, Steel Pulse, Burning Spear, Lee Perry, The Congos, Junior Murvin.......the list goes on. They all left Island Records for that reason.

[@usewisdom2]

@@neblitude I guess you didn't understand what you heard; watch again and this time pay attention to what is being said.

[@chegenjonjo1381]

To me he is both the hero and a villain.

[@solarscience5815]

Absolutely not. You are either one or the other. Him making money from reggae artist was more about him making money for himself than helping the artist. That’s a villain.

[@tiffanybrown368]

Pick a goddamn side. It’s cowardly to straddle the fence. Just say you don’t know the depths of his evilness and push on

[@fabriciotonelli5396]

I agree Without Chris, we all would NEVER hear about Bob marley, reggae, or anyother jamaicam artist

[@solarscience5815]

@@fabriciotonelli5396 Speak for yourself. Black ppl already knew who Bob was before Chris Whitehell came about. Who’s “we” anyway?

[@fabriciotonelli5396]

@@solarscience5815 OH WELL, black people have heard about Bob before Chris? You gotta be kiding. Even when a superstar in late 70´s, Bob never got the atenttion of black people in USA.

[@bobstephen782]

Big up chis

[@IvoTichelaar]

Ultimately, history filters the significant acts and weaves the story that we want to remember. I remember reading an interview with Max Romeo in which he said that Chris Blackwell was keeping others back to advance Bob Marley. That's a story that sticks with me. But honestly, Bob had the more international style and appeal. I would probably never have found out about Max Romeo without Bob. So if Blackwell did keep others back/down, he made a deliberate decision that ultimately helped reggae and thus Max Romeo. In my lifetime, it will be hard to reconcile Blackwell promoting reggae, but also damaging some artists' careers. Later on, I suspect that his critical selection of which artist to push and which not will end up in history books as a decisive factor in reggae's lasting legacy.

[@fredvan6043]

Well, Romeo may have felt frustrated, but Island did not exactly hold him back, as they issued two of his albums, presumably hoping for a return on investment (and they did promote a lot of other reggae artists, but of course there was only one Bob Marley - who didn't need other artists to be "held back" anyway). But the thing is, for Romeo's best and most successful album, War ina Babylon, Blackwell only had an agreement with Lee Perry, who was reaping the profit by licensing Romeo's work (or rather: his work with Romeo) to Island. So in a way, Romeo found himself in a similar situation as Familyman...

[@a.champagne6238]

Speaking of 007, Carlos Malcolm claims that he composed the famous theme and that the producers literally stole his written sheet music at a hotel where they met.

[@Duane-tl2zc]

Blackwell was both good and bad but without him we might not have heard of Reggae, Grace Jones, Sparks, he even promoted DC Go Go music in the 80's

[@usewisdom2]

Without him you would not have heard of reggae; typical thoughts of a slave. Why do you think it only takes an "exploiter" to showcase people's talents? Why would you deny others their own abilities to promote themselves or others, simply out of the enjoyment or love of their own skills or abilities while making an "honest" dollar? There are always others whose forte is not singing or dancing but of using their own desires to share what they believe to be beautiful talents, or to share truth as this guy is doing on this channel? He's sharing what he discovered truth, and did not exploit you to do so.

[@Duane-tl2zc]

@@usewisdom2 I'm nobody's slave and all I said was he definitely promoted reggae to the masses throughout the world. I have a huge collection of "Island Records" from the 70's so don't try to tell me he didn't and I never said exclusively " myself" found out about reggae from his label but many did. Chill out with your 'wanna be' telling someone talk 🤨 you picked the wrong hombre to vent your vex to out of all the people "bigging up" Blackwell here.

[@BlackMartialArtsSociety]

10:28 why did it he just give her a % of her royalties she would never go broke

[@fredericocr1]

He is both. But the larger problem is the lack of strong and smart regulation to protect talent

[@dia.6213]

@frdericocr1 🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯

[@Ukboss1]

The problem is lack of bussiness knowledge especially in the black community

[@robertmcbride6931]

Interesting. Have always heard the name, but never knew the story.

[@stevepolius-nx8ip]

Sick sick As always jumping on owet ship Wakr up. Wake up Icon. Yes con

[@djtricks1]

Big Up RAS, as others have mentioned , the record companies seemed to all do it, i.e take advantage, even in today's music.. if you don't read the contract or get a solicitor to help,the same could happen to you or the group, back in the day, people were very poor..especially the West Indies & to get support from a record label must of been seen as an excellent opportunity,however, (never sign your music for a $20 contract ..lol) As for Mr Blackwell, hes just another Man who helped the music but MONEY sometimes can make you greedy.. when it starts to roll in, plus, i wasn't there when those Big Artist now.. signed their music away for whatever without knowing what the REAL truth is in the music "BUSINESS" Industry! Bless!

[@amegwuabel563]

Most record label owners are greedy and he is one of them

[@Facts-Over-Feelings]

THEY ARE RACIST EUROPEAN EXPLOITERS.. THAT'S THERE CULTURE.

[@MickeyWu7r5]

He was so greedy he gave the Marleys family the money to Buy the publishing rights to Bob Marley and the Wailers music. Which he didn't have to do he sold the label in the 80s.

[@ustheserfs]

all label owners are in it to make money, a good indication of how successful their business endeavor is.

[@macalloway1]

​@MickeyWu7r5 some people mean well but don't trust others, so they insist on having the power and / or money always in their hand. What has a man really done if he takes your risidual earnings and gives it back to you when you go broke? That can't be characterized as good because what if he passes away while he has you earnings and the people that inherit it aren't so generous

[@zurimoore2545]

I agree

[@nanamagagula3914]

❤❤❤

[@danikriatura7671]

Babylon vampire embodied.

[@neblitude]

How so?

[@usewisdom2]

Well said. a fitting description

[@willieluncheonette5843]

From my article on Bunny Wailer " It may surprise some that given his bitter feelings toward Blackwell, Bunny chose Blackwell's Island Records for his first solo album, the monumental Blackheart Man. But Bunny had an ace up his sleeve. He inserted an unusual clause into his contract specifying that in the event of Blackwell dying, he would be free of his contract. "That way," Bunny is reported to have said, " I can get out of the contract at any time." Bunny received an extraordinary $42,000 advance to make the album"

[@ReggaeAppreciationSociety]

Interesting 😃

[@FireSankra7]

If he started as a Good Samaritan & end up a thief , then the latter applies to him.

[@alanwerb354]

He played his part, cant change the truth! Whatever one's oppinion may be! (JAH LOVE)

[@BillOdyssey]

No excuse for exploitation.

[@bobcosmic]

Confrontation was released on Tuff Gong records & not Island records

[@nonethelessbysignificantvi197]

More Villain than hero

[@majormomo3466]

Villian

[@FireSankra7]

Their is no such thing as lesser of two evils, he did exploit plenty of the artists who wouldn’t otherwise have to go seeking their royalties in their elder age. P.S. noth of the producers did the same.

[@United-States-of-Africa]

He's not ni hero. He didn't invent anything as it relates to our culture and music. He was a exploiter period!

[@jamesekeke1182]

Take a moment to pause and think. Was he really an exploiter or investor ?

[@usewisdom2]

@@jamesekeke1182 invest in himself and his white homeland owners that sent him to other lands to do same divide and conquer via using the simplicity of the people who are way too trusting. If he was such an honorable person why did he leave those singers by the wayside why was that guy cheated out of his royalties? all the work he did for a measly 5 grand when they make millions? do you think he was the only person? you people need to stop loving your slavemasters because they gave you a few crumbs while enslaving you. Yes he's an investor, one who puts very little money into the pot as bait and then after several manipulations, drag out the gold leaving the lead behind and if and when its not working for them anymore, they are dumped aside or destroyed. yes invest money or people, same thing and to what end? who wins? why do people invest, where does the investment go? for whose betterment? you're always bait for more, and more control until you become useless. Has it ever occurred to you why the jewels of certain countries remain poor while their lord saviors like the Blackwells always seem to prosper on the backs of the poor and downtrodden, e.g. so-called third world countries as in parts of Africa, South America and North America? What do they have in common? Powerful natural resources perhaps? Why are those people who know the true nature of their land kept impoverished along with those who don't know lest they be destroyed? The Aboriginal peoples worldwide, the origins of Africa and the Americas including their lands that have been destroyed along with its peoples who resist? Know your history, those who don't always repeat it. Look around you in these years of the 2000's; pay attention to what's happening around you and in your world in 2024. Are people truly happy? Does true freedom really exist? or are you so betrothed to someone or something else that you are under a false sense of security, a false sense of freedom while you enjoy the "crumbs" thrown to you like the bones to abused dogs.? the "slave mentality" its way past the time for you people to wake the hell up and smell your coffee! AND no its not too late to take back your power, your sovereignty, with which you were born into this land of Gaia. And instead of abusing it, heal it as you heal yourself. (Gaia is our motherland). Find and use your own discernment, starting with basic commonsense, then research with an "open mind" using your discernment and "see" the real truth. Take deep dives into the abyss of your own realities, and then and only then, spread the correct words not the lies of your slave masters. Good luck.

[@usewisdom2]

YES like he rest of them, sent by their slavemasters of the british empire to go to other lands and use, manipulate, exploit the masses.

[@jamesmorrison5861]

@@jamesekeke1182Yeh he still is

[@majormomo3466]

Pure Evil, every villian has an arc-they never start out as one. He grew into a villian who exploited and choked the talent pool of Reggae

[@stuckintha90s]

I never Blackwell grew up in Jamaica. I always thought he was British through and through

[@a.champagne6238]

It is said that Byron Lee was great to work with because artists actually got paid. As a bandleader, his music was more sanitized. If Coxsonne and Duke Reid were the sound of downtown Kingston, Lee was the sound of the resort hotels.

[@mooskamoo]

I feel this is a bit harsh on Chris Blackwell. I think a lot of the gripes from former artists come from being unhappy with contracts that they themselves signed and that Island went on to promote skilfully and successfully over subsequent years. You can’t blame Island for that, it was up to those artists to make sure they were well advised about what those contracts really meant. My understanding from watching documentaries on him is that he was actually pretty popular with his artists and was seen as quite fair by industry standards at that time. More than that, he promoted lots of new talent (acknowledged in this video) but was also quite influential in developing their sound such as encouraging Bob Marley to use guitar solos in his tunes which he hadn’t really before. Blackwell was also well known to allow artists great freedom to follow their creativity and Island gave musicians much more time in the studio to make the recordings so they could develop their music as they wanted to. I’m sure there were bad politics going on as well but overall Blackwell was definitely a positive force for black music during that period in my opinion.

[@quanitaposton504]

You have a good point 👍

[@thetamihana2561]

On it being humble and generous will bite your back pocket if your not business savvy.

[@BlackMartialArtsSociety]

Millie small single handly built island records and all the millions they made after because his come up was off her music … how much did she get off that 7million sales

[@MrAlistar99]

Probably the same as Susan Cadogan got off Lee Perry😂😂

[@uk_bigboss1705]

Did Millie ever do a interview

[@upscalebama9701]

At the end of it all , everyone ate 🙏🏿

[@Beautybizz28]

He's a hustler and gate keeper.

[@alexanderjames6328]

Mr Blackwell is a genius... the hatred for him is misplaced and from the usual (have not achieved anything) types of folks. Island Records is one of the more loved record labels. Blackwell was one of a trio of founding members of the aforementioned - Island Records. Honestly, some of the dross that gets posted on KZbin is an embarrassment.

[@zeusapollo8688]

Two things can be true at once

[@thomasray2261]

It has long been style and fashion for some to dismiss---or worse---Chris Blackwell.This tends to come from those who are more 'politically ideological' than of musical background, or knowlegable of the music business---especially in Jamaica. Consider this: not one of Blackwell's detractors can name a single platinum Rock act that ever took him to court. You can't. Then there are those wishing to say the man 'broke up the Wailers'. Please. As if those 3 quite brilliant, opinionated products/survivors of Kingston's sometimes dog eat dog music industry could be manipulated and controlled by him. Finally---said as someone in the music business 48 years & has visited JA for both business and 'social living' since the early 80s---given the sort of business ethics by many Jamaican producers, this guy is a #$%?!-ing saint. If you think CB is 'the dark side' of the music industry, LOL.

[@Infinitebrandon]

Poison bread isn't good for no one even its free and made with some goodingredients. A mon cyant serve 2 masters 😏, ya serve Jah spirit or mammon so sadly, I know he won't enter heaven.

[@davidwilliammusic]

The reggae scene of the 70s is a complex affair! Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, Jimmy Cliff & Lee Perry all had long-running issues with Blackwell. Bunny Wailer and Lee Perry had issues with each other. Tosh also with Perry. Bob had an on/off relationship with Perry. Lee Perry had a dislike of Jimmy Cliff. None of The Wailers band members seem to agree on anything. Peter Tosh had issues with Bob at times. It's almost impossible to get to the truth of anything in that scene. The only thing all the characters involved seem to agree on is that Blackwell is the devil 🤣

[@usewisdom2]

yeah and that devil did a good job of creating disharmony among them its called divide and conquer. an age old tactic used to isolate those slaves that can be best profited upon, from those who cannot.

[@MrGtk010]

Jewish Blackwell in a Jewish world. Who else make reggae famous but a 'jew

[@fredvan6043]

@@usewisdom2 Yaaaaawn... As if the Jamaican music scene was all harmonious unity until Blackwell came along: think again, dude! (or better: just try to start thinking)

[@MickSupper]

Those stories about him being saved by Rastafarians and nursed back to health and a psychic telling him to continue in music sound like huge tales. Too funny. BTW, albeit is pronounced all be it.

[@stuckintha90s]

It's all in Blackwell's autobiography

[@usewisdom2]

Agreed. Fairytales. pretty much like christopher columbus's. thats what they do exploit and destroy for greed.

[@Harold-m3p]

????😂❤😮😢😢😮 two pirate in ONE

[@thetamihana2561]

Praise the lord and bless Chris Blackwell for bringing us the music of our lives and opportunities for many. Don't begrudge him working hard to achieve success.

[@usewisdom2]

awwwh and let those who were exploited and ended up penniless fall by the wayside, yeah praise "your" lord, typical words of a slave, totally dumbed down and brainwashed.

[@Mrsplanetmaster9]

Good over evil⁉😁🌿

[@leonramsay21]

So Millie Small built Island records.

[@zillogullu33]

Whitewell...that is it

[@costermasumbuko6653]

Chris Whitewell

[@kmcin]

He’s a hero! Without him, reggae would not be what it is today. Of course, he is not perfect but he is an important promoter of Jamaican music.

[@usewisdom2]

Of course, words of a typical modern day slave. Yuh do yuh massa well...

[@uk_bigboss1705]

Bussiness is bussiness

[@usewisdom2]

yes, abusing human beings for profit is the same... right? slave?

[@fredvan6043]

Funny thing is, practically all black Jamaican record producers made a fortune by exploiting artists, but when a white producer enters the scene, he's suddenly seen as THE villain (although he certainly treated his artists way better than the likes of C.S. Dodd, Byron Lee or Lee Perry used to do). And there's no denying that Island records played a pivotal role in the international exposure and acceptance of reggae music (not only with Bob Marley, but also promoting artists like Burning Spear, LKJ, Black Uhuru, Bunny Wailer et al.). Anyway, that "hero or villain" dichotomy is ridiculously simplistic.

[@djpanrasdaversiteoldschool8912]

This has a point as to why he sold the company. Why sell the company?? Think about it!! So you won’t get sued right!! I think it’s more on the side of exploitation than it he artist actually dying making money off of their royalties. Look at how all these artist under him suffered.. yes we love the music produced but it’s sad the artist never got to see the Benifits

[@fredvan6043]

Can you provide any more details of artists suffering under him? I guess not...

[@ustheserfs]

done more good for a nations well-being than detriment. if millie doesn't break with lollipop (which he produced, marketed and canvassed) where it needed to in 1964 uk, can't say much would have followed it on a global scale.

[@usewisdom2]

where is she now? how much was she paid for her talent?

[@BG-it7hb]

Least villainous music mogul, look what the guys in DefJam and Universal do to artists...nextvto them he's a hero

[@indigohammer5732]

Blackwell wasn't Don Arden.

[@MegaFOUNDATION1]

WHAT ARE SOME OF THESE FOLKS REALLY SAYING? THEY REALLY DON'T KNOW THE TRUTH OF WHO HE WAS. I WAS THERE WITH ALL OF MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS ALL THIS TIME, AND HAVE THINGS WHICH WOULD MAKE SOME OF THESE PEOPLE REALLY SIGH AND SAY WHAAAAAt? I REALLY WILL SHOW THEM SOME TRUTH WHICH THEY HAVE NEVER SEEN NOR HEARD WITH FACTUAL EVIDENCE. WHO WOULD DARE TO CHALLENGE US? THEY ARE JUST TALKING FROM WHAT THEY HAVE HEARD AS-"HEARSAY".I/WE HAVE RAW EVIDENCE TO DEBUNK THEIR SPECULATIONS TOTALLY. I RAS CARDO AND CREW WHO ARE STILL HERE FROM THOSE TIMES, AND LIVED THE EXPERIENCES SPEAKS DIFFERENTLY. IT IS CLEAR TO SEE WHY SOME FOLKS ALLOW THEMSELVES TO BE DECEIVED. HIS PLAN WAS DECISIVE, SINISTER, PERFIDIOUS, PERSECUTING, AND MARKEDLY LETHAL. HE CHOSE THE-"WEAKEST LINK"-METHOD OF DELIVERY. SO, LIKE ALL SLAVE MASTERS AND THEIR CHILDREN ON THE MINDS OF BLACK FOLKS, IT WORKED TO HIS GREAT ADVANTAGE. DO YOU REMEMBER THE SONG-"WHO FEELS IT KNOWS IT?" THIS IS WHY IT WAS MADE. HIS -MODUS OPERANDI -SHOWS IT ALL. RICO STATUTES IN THE USA WOULD EXEMPLIFY HIS MOVES.

[@fredvan6043]

Is your CAPS LOCK stuck?

[@Jason-lv4uu]

Why didn't he make sure all his artists got their royalties?

[@Ukboss1]

Yh but black producers and managers have done the same thing to artist bussiness is bussiness

[@Jason-lv4uu]

@@Ukboss1 yeah the industry is Wack 👎🏾

[@stinga_]

He didnt authorised no money. The family won it in court. Family man lost in court

[@riastevens8271]

He is the same as Michael Jackson U2 Roxy Music and the Royal/Govt war machines.

[@TravisSelassieSimbawafedha]

Chris Whiteworse for sure.

[@paulbillerey1594]

Yes right Chris whiteworse Rip off Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer

[@evertonbrownsnr.5807]

​@@paulbillerey1594fucking thief

[@tyronecorbin9982]

This guy trick Bob blind.

[@thetamihana2561]

Bob paid for Chris's house when Blackwell had nada.

[@majormomo3466]

Y’all sound crazy saying the world wouldn’t know Raggae or Bob Marley without this guy….stop it lol

[@fredvan6043]

What would have been without him no one can tell, but fact is that the world DOES know reggae thanks to Island records.

[@OjanMusic]

Read Bob Marley’s mother’s biography about her son and what she says about Chris Blackwell in that book ❤️‍🔥☺️

[@perekemeodon4111]

He was a hero ooooo😅😊. They may claim he exploited them, but the artiates failed to usbtgeir fame to make more money for themselves and their bands.

[@linettejenkins8600]

Who owns reggae?

[@jocabspring]

bunny wailer had big problem with this man. many other to..🥴

[@andytaylor6781]

Man Tosh went to soon.

[@t.echieecho3480]

Hust geg a bookkeeper en manage yourself... the sweet was great at that

[@ray1love1]

He was a blood sucker of the poor

[@alansjf33]

In other words , he is just a great music executive . Nothing more , nothing less. That is both good and bad. However we must all be honest and admit reggae music may have never really hit the world without him. That is the truth. Island records and Trojan records were the foundational labels for the genera of music. The music stays in Jamaica and likely never goes beyond its borders without him.

[@zillogullu33]

That's a lie ...UT would have reach the heights of where it was supposed to go...in the hearts of our people...he made it about stardom and fame...our struggle suffers because of foreing investors trying to make a profit.....he used Bob.

[@usewisdom2]

@@zillogullu33 ABSOLUTELY

[@usewisdom2]

you need to ditch that Slave mentality

[@dannelbrash-hs3tg]

HE'S THE WORST VILLAIN 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 !!!!!!!!!!!

[@phynessea247]

Chris is/was an ally. He had much love and respect for the genre. But at the end of the day he was a business man at heart and much of the animosity between him and other artists was due to his preference for commercially viable artists and music such as Bob Marley. He had the money and connections to open doors for many artists and promote reggae music on a global scale. Although Peter Tosh would refer to him as Chris Whiteworst. I see him as more an ally than villain.

[@waltertebele3494]

This one was a racist, is the one who masterminded the splitting of the Wailing Wailers and appointed Bob to be the leader of the group

[@fredvan6043]

A racist? I guess that's why he promoted not only Bob Marley & the Wailers, but also a whole bunch of other, mostly very black-conscious Afro-Caribbean artists: that's a typical thing racists do, indeed... And if you knew just a little about reggae's history, you would know that Bob was already considered the leader of the group long before they joined Island records (as it was Lee Perry who in 1970 changed the group's name into Bob Marley and the Wailers). But anyway: whatever.

[@AuthenticSelector64]

Am from the same planet as you!!!! …..you need to start respecting the principles your parents taught you…. Instead of following the crowd…

[@orvillegrant3304]

What you expect, he is a child of the exploiters, the colonial powers who got rich from black people country.

[@anthonyhutchinson77]

This is really disappointing to hear. I have heard Marcia Griffiths speak of much respect for Chris Blackwell... unfortunate you didn't mention that here. I know Peter and several Ratafari bredrin and others point finger that really illustrates their own lack of knowledge and appreciation of business and how risk taking is paid for... At the same time having heard how Rasta helped build Blackwell I would have hoped Blackwell would seek to change the narrative of our artistes not benefitting hugely from their work... Harder they come tells the story

[@teeree2128]

Who invented the music..............?????????... ..anything black people create , people try to put other races up front....

[@jiggamortice3870]

What a man!

[@stevepolius-nx8ip]

Wake up. Wake up Wr are being pimped

[@SufferersKeepOnJammin]

Why do we do this? Blackwell is a businessman. Businessmen, black or white, live by the rule of profit only. Black people love money but don't understand profit. Apart from that, where would blues AND reggae be without the Rolling Stones, Clapton and Blackwell? So ease off Blackwell, he's just a producer. We can ignore him, promote the musicians. They're the real heroes.

[@KC-gy5xw]

Blackwell was pivotal to the development of Ska to Reggae and all other genres that came out of it.. He did what everyone did white or black or mixed....I totally agree with you.

[@BlackMartialArtsSociety]

That slave mentality, just because black producer are exploiting their own doesn’t make it ok for someone else to come in exploit the situation and become a billionaire while the Artist are still broke… think like thisnis why ngas can’t get anywhere

[@BlackMartialArtsSociety]

Where would The Rolling Stones Clapton be with out the Afro an invention of drums and guitars……where would black week be if Millie small never made that song… island record wouldn’t exist all the artist and billions wouldn’t either

[@SufferersKeepOnJammin]

​ @HealerTheMaroon really bro? We've been trodding on the musical winepress for so long, and getting exploited. They exploited Louis Armstrong 100 years ago, Bob. Peter and Bunny 50 years ago and Michael Jackson and Prince 40 years ago. There comes a time when it's not exploitation, it's just easy money. Look at the Buju case, I love him. But a righteous artist, has so many children (presumably with multiple women) to keep in a "my daddy is Buju order". He is tempted and set up and loses his freedom and earnings. Many artists live the life they want to live, can probably tell tall tales about women and ganja quality. Then when they're old and broke, somebody exploited them. And don't forget the parade of homegrown producer exploiters.

[@DJIMMI-G]

I've watched teach dem interview so many artists who got ripped off by countless producers in Jamaica. So maybe you going to highlight them aswel. It's just the music business.

[@Oldschoolways168]

He's the villain. They all are!

[@josephnuttn3600]

They all are😂 and the others all have a victim complex?😂😂🎉

[@brienfarmer6846]

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