Tosh
Tanya Batson, Staff Reporter
I'm not in this world To live up to your expectations, neither are you here to live up to mine, - Peter Tosh, I Am That I Am
PETER TOSH earned himself the reputation of being an angry, bitter man, at least in some persons' estimations. This reputation came from Tosh's behaviour on and off-stage, which has been described as overly aggressive and alienating.
In its biography of Peter Tosh, Bobmarley.com describes Tosh as such:
'Peter Tosh was an extremely talented man, but, at the same time, he was very bitter. Arrogant, unreasonable, inflexible, he was in many ways almost the personification of Bob Marley's shadow'. The description of Tosh as the 'personification of a shadow' is a particularly damning one.
Additionally, it would seem that Tosh's teachings continue to rub against sensitive issues. According to Ibo Cooper, persons still teach that Tosh was an eccentric and therefore dangerous. This statement, made recently at the second symposium on Peter Tosh at the University of the West Indies (UWI), was soon borne out by a member of the audience, who pointed out that Tosh's assertion that 'You can't blame di youths' is a very dangerous one which can have varied repercussions. What this woman's note of warning failed to do, nonetheless, is refute the truth imbedded in Tosh's work, that the real problems of the society do not begin with the youth of the nation. They may be its largest symptom (and largest casualty), but their violence reflects much more.
As such, it is not surprising that while persons who are willing to assert that Tosh's work was by no means inferior to Bob Marley's can be found, the former has not commanded half the respect and adulation which blossom at Marley's now almost hallowed feet.
It has been pointed out that Tosh may have blamed this on the politics of colour. Whether or not that is true, what is clear from Tosh's own interviews and music is that he believed that race counted when it came to socio-political relations worldwide.
His socio-political stance is part of what makes Tosh's work continue to be relevant, even when some of the related events came after his death in 1987. Interestingly, Dr. Omar Davies argued in his presentation Reggae and our National Identity: The Forgotten Contribution of Peter Tosh that this may also be the reason Tosh is not overly accepted in Jamaica. In this lecture, which was delivered in 2000 at the UWI he states, "...perhaps most important, was the fact that his (Tosh) persistence in raising concerns about socio-economic injustices and his strong advocacy of black consciousness were not only disturbing to the status quo, but simply placed ahead of his time."
Davies also pointed out that other factors may have led to Tosh almost being damned to obscurity or some neighbouring city. He pointed to Tosh's alienating behaviour as well as his advocating the legitimisation of marijuana. Songs such as Legalise It, Wanted Dread and Alive and Buckingham Palace all speak to this. Another controversial issue relating to Tosh was his affinity for curse words. Davies argues that these qualities endeared him to neither the authorities nor the Jamaican middle class. Evidently, with the anthem of frustration, Oh B.... Claat under Tosh's belt, this position, in light of the recent arrest of artistes for cursing in public, might not have changed.
Interestingly, persons such as Herbie Miller (one of Tosh's former managers) and Robbie Lyn (former member of Word Sound Power) tried to show the man behind the revolution at this year's Peter Tosh symposium. What they revealed is that among other things, when in private, Tosh was neither loud nor arrogant, and he also had quite a sense of humour.
This other side to Tosh, the retrospective man, can be glimpsed in songs such as Why Do I Cry?. The song speaks of a vulnerability and longing which are no less powerful or global than Tosh's revolutionary chants. He sings: Why must I cry These tears from mine eyes (x2)
Making believe you love me only
(Just to love) was my great sin whoa (x3)
But I will never fall in love again
'Cause only my heart feels the pain
Nonetheless, these songs are in the minority, and Tosh's performances and speeches certainly overshadow this man who weeps. What they instead show are the philosophies which drove him. Davies grouped Tosh's works into six major themes: his domestic social commentaries, his Pan-Africanism, his support for liberation struggles internationally, his pro-marijuana stance, Jah, and those which give insight into Tosh's character.
The expiration date on the boxes holding these topics have not yet been reached (and in many cases, probably will never be). Davies argues that reggae is culturally important to Jamaica not simply because, to quote the deejays, It put Jamaica pan di map, but because it has helped to shape, or at least give voice to, our cultural identity. Dr. Davies argues that what reggae has done (and by extension Peter Tosh, by virtue of being one of the pioneers of the genre), is 'highlight a national identity for Jamaica'.
In light of this, reggae and Tosh's work remain relevant, especially in the face of globalisation, where several country's fear that their identities will simply disappear as the global village grows. In his lecture, Dr. Davies argued that Tosh's philosophy is simply being echoed by those who currently resist globalisation, those that maintain they have the right to 'retain some sense of self as a human being and to maintain a national identity'. This stance clearly lies in sync with Peter Tosh's anti-establishment themes.
Davies argues that reggae's gift is not only to Jamaica. He argued that reggae gives those far away from our island, 'something to hold unto' as well as identify with. He pointed out that unlike most other genres in popular music, reggae has been able to provide social commentary and still remain entertaining. This is clearly shown in Tosh's work. As such, despite the intervening years, the artiste's remain relevant to Jamaica and the world.
Thus, even though apartheid in South Africa may be over, Tosh's arguments remain relevant to race and its position in socio-economic and political issues in the world. The Jamaican adage that If yuh white yuh alright, If yuh brown yuh can come aroun' but if yuh black yuh in de back fuels much of his work. It is perceptions such as these against which Tosh fought. It fuelled his chant against apartheid which, as Omar Davies has pointed out, began before Nelson Mandela's imprisonment made it a more popular cause. Additionally, it must be noted that in a country where citizens attempt to destroy their skin with bleaching agents, it is still important to speak about the values of blackness, even when to the enlightened these arguments may seem tired.
Clinton Hutton, in his keynote address at the Tosh symposium, explored the continued relevance of Tosh's cry for justice. His paper was titled Peter Tosh's Narrative of Justice: The Dilemma of Fairness in This Global Age. Hutton would refer to Equal Rights and Justice, the title track from Tosh's first solo album, as his quintessential teachings about justice.
He pointed out that where Tosh's stance differed from many others is embodied in the lines: I don' want no peace/ I want equal rights and justice. The song, the title track from Equal Rights and Justice, had local and international implications. It ends with the lines:
Equal rights and justice (which precedes each line below) Everyone is fighting for Palestine/is fighting for Down in Angola/Down in Botswana/ Down in Zimbabwe/Down in Rhodesia/Right here in Jamaica
This statement is particularly troubling because it points to a willingness to stand up and fight for these equal rights, a sentiment also expressed in Bob Marley and the Wailer's Get Up, Stand Up. This stance is by no means a surprising one for the man who spent much time lambasting the 'sh_t-stem'. Hutton argues that Tosh saw injustice in a society which is built upon 'piracy'.
As such, Tosh's cry remains relevant to Jamaica and the rest of the world. Recently, cries of 'We want justice' became so popular that they began to be ignored as just another way for the masses to get into the limelight.
Nonetheless, these badly written placards certainly shout that equal rights and justice have not yet been attained in Jamaica, or if they have been, nobody has bothered to inform those still crying for it.
On the international scale, Hutton pointed to the current state of affairs between Iraq and the United States. He argued that though Israel and Iraq are guilty of the same infractions, only Iraq, no longer a friend of the United States, is a subject of its ire and is therefore being threatened.
I'm like a flashing laser and a rolling thunder,
I'm dangerous (x2)
I'm like a stepping razor
Don't you watch my size
I'm dangerous, dangerous
Apparently, these words written by Joe Higgs and sung by Tosh, remain true. The razor is no less sharp, no less relevant.
