The following exchange took place on the rec.music.reggae IRC group in September 2000:

Re: [Film] Babylon – interview with the director
Date: Thu, 28 Sep 2000
From: Alex Brosgart
Newsgroups: rec.music.reggae

Alex Brosgart wrote:

Yabby You makes the point that he never licenced, nor sub-licenced through other parties, his song “Deliver Me” to the producers of the movie “Babylon.” No one ever asked his permission to use his work nor was he ever paid a licencing fee or any royalites. Yabby You also makes the point that he does not approve of the violent theme of this “Babylon” movie; That being the solution to racial conflict is to take the offensive and stick a screwdriver into someones belly.

A number of years ago Yabby You asked me to act for him in this matter. I wrote letters to CBS (UK) and Chrysalis Records who also released the sountrack to the movie. None of them had the decency to reply.

If any lawyers are reading this and would like to act for Yabby You on this matter on a contingecy basis please get in touch. If anyone would like to talk directly with Yabby You he is available at: http://www.yabbyyou.com
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peace
Alex

Re: [Film] Babylon – interview with the director
Date: Thu, 28 Sep 2000
From: Eden
Newsgroups: rec.music.reggae

Whilst I sympathise about the licensing issues (regretably all too common in reggae) I’m kind of not in agreement about the points about the violence in the film.

I don’t think it portrays sticking a screwdriver in someone as a _solution_ to racial violence, but as a product of someone being in a really oppressive situation and reacting to that. In fact the film shows that action as counterproductive because the violence then continues to escalate…

British society was riddled with violence, tension and racism in the 80s and I think that comes across in the film. As the interview points out, it’s more about raising the issue when people are trying to deny it than offering solutions (which are inevitably pretty complex, IMHO).

Having said that Jah Shaka wasn’t too happy about the way that soundclashes were portrayed as being confrontational either – I think he mentions this in the interview at the Jah Warrior site.

Thanks for your comments – I found them very interesting.

John Eden

Re: [Film] Babylon – interview with the director
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000
12:27:59 -0700
From: Alex Brosgart
Organization: ICG
Newsgroups: rec.music.reggae

Yabby You would have the same opinion as Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Yashua (Jesus) on the matter.

Hate does not conquer hate. Love Conquers hate. Rolling Thunder the great First Nations (Native Indian) medicine man from Nevada, USA says this: “We do good for good; We don’t do good for bad or bad for good; We do good for good.”
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Peace Alex

Yabby You – official myspace