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NT,CARIBBEA EA EAN AN EANLI LIF IF LI L FENE ENE NE N EN E E ENEWS WS WS. S. COM C /EN
Flashback - Edwin Yearwood (left) and Lil Rick hoist 2017 Soca Monarch Red Plastic Bag after he was announced
winner. Photo by George Alleyne
Caribbean Life, O BQ CTOBER 25-31, 2019 49
By George Alleyne
He entertained while ever mindful
of his impoverished beginnings which
enabled him to grace the world stage
with humility, now those unpretentious
qualities have resulted in the
man known as Reg Plastic Bag being
recognised by the highest university
in the Caribbean.
‘RPB’ or ‘Bag’ as he is commonly
known among his fans, but whose
real name is Stedson Wiltshire, was
over the weekend conferred with an
Honorary Doctor of Letters by the
University of the West Indies, Cave
Hill Campus, at the annual graduation
ceremony.
Delivering the feature address at
the ceremony, he dispensed some of
the self-effacement that guided him
through a career from 1979 by telling
the audience that there is no shame
in starting life from the bottom, and
it should in no way limit goals for the
future.
“Your beginning is not as important
as your becoming. Your income
is not as important as your outcome.
Wealth is not only financial, but also
spiritual.”
Bag said that the caring nature
of the fishing village of Bayfield, St.
Philip, Barbados, where he was born
among 10 siblings gave him a sense
of community and belonging which
built his character.
RPB used music to express himself
and in 1982 at age 21 became
the youngest winner of the national
calypso title, Pic-O-De- Crop, which
he went on to win another nine
Continued on Page 50
Bunny Wailer.
Associated Press / Collin Reid
By Nelson A. King
The Board of Directors of the Brooklyn
based Coalition to Preserve Reggae
Music (CPR) announced recently that
Reggae Culture Salute 2019 (RCS) will
be a “Tribute to The Wailers” in recognition
of the trio’s contribution to the
development and spread of the genre.
According to Carlyle McKetty, CPR’s
Jamaican-born president, this year’s
event will take place at the Kumble
Theater at One University Plaza, down-
Continued on Page 50
By Vinette K. Pryce
When rapper Kanye West re-recorded
an infectious song titled “Gold Digger”
to parody a hit Ray Charles classic he
never imagined an entire country would
brand him similar to the exploitative
character described on the popular single.
Repeatedly the lyrics denounced an
individual with lines “you ain’t nothing
but a gold digger.”
The tune resonated as a rebuke to
women who prey on rich men.
Less than 24 hours after making a
hit appearance in Jamaica, West is being
branded with similarity.
Apparently, more than a few Jamaicans
are accusing the born-again rapper
of capitalizing on their culture with
some on social media outright naming
Continued on Page 50
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Reggae
Culture Salute
JA rebukes
Kanye West DR. BAG
The UWI honors Bajan calypsonian
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