CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 2/12/2018

Celebrate Black History with 'Dancehall'

Featured image, of Little John, George Phang and friends, is reproduced from Dancehall: The Rise of Jamaican Dancehall Culture, a staff favorite for Black History Month. “In a poor country where, in the early days, owning a radio was a luxury, people found ways to satisfy their musical craving… The poor man or woman in the ghetto had no access to expensive entertainment, so the man with the turntable and a few records was king… All he would have to do is set up his turntable and speaker, and play a few tunes out in the open air, where people could hear them, and a crowd would gather. To add to their appeal, these improvised soundsystems would also play records that didn’t get played on the radio stations…”