Cultural Times...

'Ten years of independace and what's it done for me?'

That was the question on the lips of so many youngsters at the beginning of the 1970's. Jamaica was in a deep social and economic mire as a result of independance and the political choices in the following years.

Early jamaica as an independant country saw a decline in the economy, as major forces like Britain and the USA were finding business elsewhere, i.e. caribbean sugar cane was no more needed as their was a cheaper European kind available and all that was left to look foward to was high unemployment and increasing trade deficits. Policies introduced by the newly formed, american influemced Labour party lead to hard times: double figured inflation, food shortages and a poor welfare system, which lead to riots and civil unrest, but naturally such disatisfaction was going to make its presence felt in the music of the day. The real birth Dancehall was in the dances where their was no form of censorship so the genuine passion and anger could be released by the deejays that it moved the crowds and found enormous popular support in Jamaica, but to gain a more powerful status an political effect worldwide and in particularly intersted UK, the deejays and riddims needed to be recorded and cut to songs.

The release of film 'The harder they come' in the early 70's was the main tool in supporting the rastafari roots movement an exposing it to the overground. This was followed by 1972's ellection of Micheal Manley's left wing PNP(People National Party) who also heavily supported the rasta movement, in conjunction with the growing success and popularity of Bob Marley, Dennis Brown etc and biblical and spiritual messages, deejays reached unimaginable poetic heights the roots period was a time when Jamaican music was taking over the world.

However economic conditions worsened and although roots culture seemed to make so much social sense and appeared to be so strong as both a movement and a music, as reggae moved into the 80's roots started to dissapear. Some say the death of Bob Marley was the main cause of this, however the actuality of it was that the same reason for its beginning is the same reason for its demise, a new age of teenagers who had grown up with the poor conditions were ready for change and wanted to lift their people, entertain them, make them feel happy by letting them hear what they wanted to hear, a young generation fed up with roots that were thinking...'Ten years of roots and culture and what's it done for me?'