Join us for our end of summer event when we see the return of Derek A. Bardowell in conversation with author, Diana Evans about FIRE INNA DANCEHALL: A Legacy of Sound, Style and Struggle.
Bardowell's latest book is an unapologetic tribute to the beauty and brutality of dancehall music. It traces the collision of sound, style and struggle that created one of the most influential cultural movements of the past half-century. Blending in-depth social history and journalistic insight with the movement's revolutionary spirit, Bardowell explores how the pulse of dancehall speaks to migrations, masculinity, faith, freedom and the ongoing fight for self-determination to reveal how a sound became a global language of liberation.
From inner city Kingston, to the council estates of London, block parties of New York and the underground scenes of Panama and Puerto Rico, ex-reggae columnist Bardowell tells the story of dancehall reggae's influence (on hip-hop, Afrobeats, reggaeton, etc.), but also looks at what the culture teaches us about a more regenerative, community-led economy. Fire Inna Dancehall also addresses Jamaican politics and the culture's negative realism, while adding some long-awaited cultural perspective on some of the genre's leading stars, like Buju Banton and Sean Paul.