Wayne Stoddart is at it again; this time in the ad rhetorical classroom of song and higher learning, schooling pupils on his electrifying
new track, ‘Raise It.’ The proverbial lesson begins with a riveting historical intro of epic proportions, citing civil disobedience activist, the honorable Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in one of his most prominent speeches; “All we
“Not to decide is to decide.” -Wayne Stoddart
say to America is be true to what you said on paper… [ ] The greatness of America is the right to protest for right.”
The musical climate of this soldier’s anthem is laced with declarative messages exposing truth and raising spiritual awareness amidst a starchy social terrain. “Who are these lawmaker guys trying to distort the laws of the Most High?” is the loaded question Stoddart queries in the primary verse; a bulls-eye missile of compelling lyrics directed to an inescapable target that achieves exactly the intended effect. ‘Raise it’ provoke mankind’s consciousness towards recognition of public discrepancies, moral decadence and societal plights; imploring to “open up your eyes, read between the lines [and avoid] annihilation” and religious pollution, a reverberant instruction from the symbolic homework assignment to “read Rev-You-Lation.” Those lyrics hit the ears differently when armed and activated with the Word of Yah.
Believe me you’ll want to take notes! Pull up a chair and get your school gear because the roots rock reggae professor dives into the next segment of curriculum with a vocabulary lexicon of names by which a “chosen generation with the righteous meditation” can call on Jehovah God. In his activation chant to “raise” the banner high, Stoddart pleas to “shout the name of Adonai” – the divine name translated ‘Lord’ and signifying sovereignty; and at proclamation of the name, ‘Yeusha HaMashiach (sp)’ – interpreted ‘The Anointed One,’ obstacles, hindrances, blockers “haffi (in his West Indian dialect) [must] step aside.”
Is there such a concept as a peaceful battlefield? There is, according to Stoddart, the singer/songwriter who yielded chart topping hits like ‘Charity’ and ‘Live, Love and Learn,’ from his ‘It is Written’ sophomore album. But, make no mistake, Wayne’s high-raised bloodstained banner in ‘Raise It’ (an illustration of Jehovah Nissi – the Lord is our banner) is no white flag indication of surrender in God’s army but instead an entreating to recognize earthly putrefaction using spiritual comprehension and therefore standing resolute on God’s command. “Walking through the valley, [he] will never fear your night,” promulgates Stoddart on this explosive track, which boasts lyrical ingenuity of Ninth Heaven stratospheric dimensions, an equivalence of
transcending space and time.
Track mission synopsis: Da one ya haad! (Translated – This one is hard!)
But Stoddart reminds, “Don’t you ever get shy.”
By: Shawna Brown, editor, TLBN