I didn't know Papa Pilgrim well and I only met him once but he certainly
was a great friend to all reggae ambassadors. He was a visionary. He 
would probably humbly disagree but that was how he was. My first 
encounter with the man was in 1988 when he responded to an add that I 
had run in "The Beat" magazine about my band. He had never heard of me 
but wanted to offer his assistance in breaking the reggae market in his 
area. I stayed in touch with Papa and finally met him at the RAW 
conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan in '92 (or '93?). He struck me as 
a bit eccentric (like myself) and he was a tireless supporter of reggae 
music. His humble vision of a world wide network of reggae ambassadors 
was just begining to become a reality at that time. Since the early 
years, Papa Pilgrim's vision has manifested itself as something much 
greater than (I think) he ever imagined. The organization now boasts a 
prestigious membership including many of the foundation artists of 
reggae music. As I recently perused my new RAWSTER I was excited to see 
the membership list  included  reggae greats such as Ras Michael, 
Burning Spear,Pato Banton, The Twinkle Bros, The Congos, The Skatalites,
The Meditiations, I Jahman Levi, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Mystic Revealers,
Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace, Peter Broggs, Yami Bolo, Deadly Headley and 
the list goes on and on. RAW  has established itself as a force to be 
reckoned with in the reggae world with RAW djs, record companies, 
promoters and artists on all levels of the business and in all areas of 
the globe.

May Jah bless Papa Pilgrim on his journey to Zion. We will miss him, but his vision lives on!
 
SEEFARI (RAW#81)