Wayne Armond came of age during the early 1970s, a time of social change in Jamaica. There was a thriving Black Power movement, led by militant Rastafarians who passionately lobbied for legalization of marijuana.
On Kush, his latest song, the veteran musician hails global legislation that allows unrestricted use of the weed, known as ganja in Jamaica. The song is produced by My MM Productions, an independent company based in South Florida.
According to Armond, “It’s a celebratory message. After advocating for years, artists like Peter Tosh, Bob (Marley) and Toots have all passed before seeing their dream at least come to pass in certain states in the USA and decriminalized in Jamaica.
Those acts openly advocated for “freeing up the herbs” in songs like Legalize It and Kaya which were released during the mid and late 1970s. At the time, Armond was cutting his teeth as a guitarist in bands like Hell’s Angels and Byron Lee and The Dragonaires.
It was with Chalice, a band he co-founded in 1980, that he had most success. They scored with songs such as I Still Love You, Marie and Good To Be There.
Based in South Florida, Armond keeps in touch with the ganja decriminalization process in Jamaica, which started in 2015. He is also in tune with steps for more open use of the weed in the Sunshine State.
“I was actually anticipating the legal use of recreational marijuana in South Florida but sadly it did not pass,” said Armond.
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