I woke up this morning with a great idea.

Everyone knows about Paris Hilton’s album, right?  Has anyone actually heard the entire thing?  Of course not, because nobody takes it seriously.  I did hear her first single, Stars Are Blind, and I was pleasantly suprised that it was a reggae track.  Of course, if you watch the video of it, you’ll see it is not a rasta themed track, filled with images of the material fruits of Babylon.  Well, I have an idea for America’s Biggest Obsession, the Queen of Babylon.  

Gerard gave me a CD of Sinead O’Connor’s roots reggae rastafari album, Throw Down Your Arms.  O’Connor truly captures the spirit of both roots reggae and Jamaican Rastafarianism.  She recorded the album in Jamaica with some of Jamaica’s finest musicians.  The album opens with an acoustic chant and singing, “Jah no dead, Jah no dead, Jah no dead, Jah no dead…”  She sings about Marcus Garvey’s words coming to life, warns the oppressed of the powers of Babylon, and does an incredible version of Bob Marley’s War.  O’Connor’s beautiful, powerful, and haunting voice works in perfect harmony with the steady upbeat of the roots reggae band behind her.  In other words, it is quite the opposite of Hilton’s Gwen Stafani inspired track.

But let’s not judge Paris so quickly.  Sinead O’Connor obviously has been exposed to the reggae and Rasta culture.  She’s probably sat down with trusted Jamaican elders and learned about true oppression, and the joy of living a life in dedication of Jah.  Sinead feels it, so she knows it.  And she took that knowledge and channeled it into her Throw Down Your Arms album.  It’s very refreshing listening to a roots reggae album from the voice of a white female.  It shows the universal impact of the both the music and the message of the music.

So here’s my idea.  Like I mentioned on a previous post, the original Wailers are still touring and playing regularly.  What better band than the Wailers to record an entire roots reggae Rastafari album with Paris Hilton?  Paris could go down in seclusion to Jamaica, and spend several months under tight security living and learning about the Jamaican culture.  Yes, kind of like the Simple Life, but with no cameras, no press, and no American friends.  She’d just be on her own.  Or better yet - Sinead could be with her and show her around and help collaborate with the arrangements.

The result would be huge - everyone in the world would listen to that album.  And with that kind of influence, imagine what Paris could do.

She could donate the entire proceeds of the album to a charity in Jamaica, or help establish am organization that bring awareness to the poverty of the Jamaican people.  Or maybe she could build a huge public schooling building for the youth, and fill it with technology centers and big, packed to the brim libraries.  Or anything.  But most importantly, she could make an impact on the world - teach others about her experience and share her wealth with those in need. 

C’mon, Paris, what do you say?  I’ll contact the Wailers and see if they would do it.  I’m sure they would jump at the chance to spread their message through the voice of the Queen of Babylon.