The Coalition to Preserve Reggae Music (CPR) announced today, their collaboration with Reggae AMPPS (Reggae Artist, Musicians, Producers, Promoters and Songwriters) in staging the 2010 season premier of the Community Conversation Series. The highly anticipated forum is scheduled to take at place 6:30pm on Wednesday, February 24th at the historic Boys and Girls High School, 1700 Fulton Street near Utica Avenue in Brooklyn. The season premier comes on the heels of a year of multiple cases of reggae and dancehall artists facing criminal charges, and the forum will address this in the framework of “The Buju Banter: Should communities defend or denounce accused artists before evidence and verdict are known?”

Carlyle McKetty, president of CPR states, “We are pleased to collaborate with Reggae AMPPS on this venture and we look forward to the community coming out to make their voices heard.” The community is invited to attend the panel discussion and express their feelings about the issue. The forum promises an evening of enlightened discussions of a topic that has become a hot button issue within the industry and the community at large.

An esteemed group of panelists and commentators have been assembled to lead this discussion. Serving on the panel are attorney at law and long time radio host Jeff Barnes; renowned music executive, Maxine Stowe; musician, singer and philanthropist, Mystic Bowie and musician, singer, producer and president of Reggae AMPPS, Ed Robinson. Offering their insights as commentators during the evening’s discussion will be WHCR radio host, Vinnie B; promoter, Junior “Nakisaki” Lynn; reggae writer, Pat Meschino and Michelle Arthurton of Reggae AMPPS.