CPR Salutes Reggae Month/African Heritage Month With A State Of Reggae Music Presentation, February 22, 2011

On Tuesday, February 22nd, the Coalition to Preserve Reggae Music Inc. (CPR) commemorates Reggae Month and African Heritage Month with a reception at 3Ten Lounge, 310 Bowery (Houston and Bleecker) from 6:30pm to 10:30pm. The highlight of the reception, which will also mark the launch of the third season of the CPR Community Conversation Series, will be the State of Reggae Music keynote address which will be delivered by veteran broadcaster, musicologist and reggae historian Dermot Hussey. 

Reggae Month was established in Jamaica to encourage reflection on the contribution of this important industry to Jamaica and how it can be utilized and improved for the benefit of the people of Jamaica. CPR contends that Reggae is Jamaica’s gift to the world and each year the organization uses this opportunity to reflect on the state of reggae music. According to Dermot Hussey, our 2011 keynote speaker the “concept of celebrating Reggae Month was laudable and one which should be embraced internationally.” In tracing the history of Jamaican music, Hussey points out that, “Jamaica gave the world a new rhythm with melodic bass lines closest to a heartbeat.”

At a time when the industry is loosing so many stalwarts who were instrumental in the creation and development of the genre, CPR is pleased to have Dermot Hussey deliver the Keynote address for what is expected to be an exciting evening of music and history. Hussey states that, “a study of the global penetration of Jamaica’s music into communities which have adopted it, could reveal that its internationalization was the country’s finest hour.”

CPR strives to increase understanding of Reggae’s development, its significance to the social, economic and political development of Jamaica and its influence around the world. Its mission is to raise the bar in the creation, development, promotion and presentation of reggae; to elevate the profile of its purveyors and to research, codify, curate and disseminate information about the genre. The reception will set the tone for the third season of the CPR Community Conversation Series which begins in March in honor of Women’s History Month.