Nation Boss and Dean Fraser hold a ‘reasoning’ on music

In the heart of Cassia Park sits the Verene Avenue community, where the newly opened Eastwood Park Community Centre was the venue for a reasoning session with reggae artiste Nation Boss and veteran saxophonist Dean Fraser.

Addressing several topics affecting men and masculinity, the discussion was hosted by Dragon as part of its Be The One Reasoning sessions. Speaking after the session, Nation Boss told THE WEEKEND STAR that he thinks initiatives like this are exactly what young men need.

"It is a way to express freely and me feel like we need more of dem reasoning deh and it is definitively something that we can push islandwide. This is something that we need to invest in 'cause with what a gwaan a Jamaica now, we have a wul heap of key factor fi reason pon and figure out some positive ways forward from that. It is a learning process as well. We talked about entrepreneurship and ways of using the system to your benefit," he shared. He added that listening to Dean Fraser was the best part of his day.

"He spoke about some key points about music that I definitely need to hear as a young artiste myself and I need those pointers myself to move forward the right way," he shared.

Fraser certainly made an impact on the men and some women who gathered to listen. Ditching a speech to just talk freely and answer questions, he spoke candidly about his experience in music.

"Music is my business. I just take my time till I reach where I am today and I would recommend that most of the youth dem do the same. I know sometimes the ting look really pretty but all that glitters is not gold and we haffi understand that. We have to understand that this is hard work. In any business that you are in and intend to do, is that it is hard work, and what I can tell you about music is that most of us have a misconception about it. We think music is something to play with and it is not that. We have to be very serious about whatever you go into," he urged.

According to the Junior Brand Manager of Dragon, Arnaldo Martin, the sessions are geared toward positive engagement with men, inner-city youth specifically.

"We try to create more intimate settings where they are able to address different concerns, from a mental health standpoint to even a physical health standpoint, and we try to put them in front of some of the people who are doing the things that they are trying to do," he said.