Culture at the Cutting Edge:: Studies in Caribbean Popular Music

The anglophone Caribbean has long been celebrated and known for its vibrant and innovative music. Reggae, dancehall, calypso, soca, gospel, and ringbang have flourished within the Caribbean and have exploded on the worldwide stage. Somewhat surprisingly, many facets of this contribution have not been adequately analyzed or discussed by academic writing. This work deliberately moves away from the customary exclusive focus on Trinidad and Jamaica and broadens the discourse to represent the wider region. It addresses several topics which remain under- discussed in Caribbean music, such as the status of Caribbean gospel; the birth of new musical styles in the Eastern Caribbean; cultural misrepresentation in Caribbean music videos; the representation of AIDS in Caribbean music; and the impact of the actual music technology utilized by Caribbean musicians in the last twenty years.<P>This book represents a new wave of Caribbean cultural criticism and the author's unique approach is influenced both by his training in the humanities as well as from his experience as a performing musician, sound engineer and a small studio producer.