If you happen pick up a copy of Bob Marley’s vinyl record titled Survival and flip it over, you will see this quote on the bottom right-hand corner : “A people without the knowledge of past history, origin, and country is like a tree without roots.” This quote said by Marcus Garvey, and the message it carries is only a minute fraction of everything that...

THE SOUND SYSTEM AND JAMAICAN MUSIC A historical survey of Jamaican popular music The Jamaican popular music tradition is unique in the Caribbean musical landscape. Its sound can be clearly discerned from other styles, such as meringue, zouk, or the Martinican beguine (Desroches, 1999), whose African and European influences might be more easily perceived. With respect to many other Caribbean styles, the peculiarity...