Letters for June 6, 2013

Real reggae

Re “One love, one heart” by Jonathan Mendick (SN&R Arts&Culture, May 23):

As a local Midtown reggae deejay, I would like to first say thanks for the article. The reggae scene in Sacramento has been thriving for well over 30 years here, and it's nice to see our local paper givin' the genre some love.

However, I was disappointed that you didn't look into the “roots” of playing reggae while white, and that you didn't interview any of the people who have been active in the scene for more than just a few years.

One of the longest-working promoters for reggae in Sac was Jeff Woodworth of Bigga Promotions, workin' since the '70s, holdin' it down through the '80s, [at] the Courtyard in Old Sac back in the early '90s, as well as Reggae by the Pool; [he] kept promoting until his death in 2010. Papa Wheelie has been hosting his weekly radio show Sundays on KDVS 90.3 FM for 13 years and has a support base of over 5,000 listeners, and I have been holdin' down weeklies here since I moved here in 2000, not to mention DJ Esef, Selekta Lou.

There is a lot more to our scene than bands from the burbs playin' reggae.

Wok Star

Sacramento