What is it about?
Along the lines of religious doctrines in Rastafarian culture and the attempted spiritual transcendence of racism the chapter explores the genre's signature tropes of social justice and anti-materialism, also considering the less strictly defined identity-constructions of recent artists.
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Why is it important?
In this chapter, the inherent socio-political claim of Reggae and Rastafarian culture are put in context with the conflicting claims of superiority and non-partiality that can frequently be found in the music.
Perspectives
I found it interesting to point out the contrast between defining aspects of religious rigidity, a socio-historically derived counter-narrative, and anti-consumerism on one hand and the universal message and commercial success of the music on the other.
Dr. Martin Abdel Matin Gansinger
Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Sufferers in Babylon: A Rastafarian Perspective on Class and Race in Reggae, January 2020, Bloomsbury Academic,
DOI: 10.5040/9781501345395.ch-023.
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Resources
Chapter 22. Sufferers in Babylon: A Rastafarian Perspective on Class and Race in Reggae
Reggae and class have been put in context by various authors, this chapter identifies the role of Rastafari as the style’s constitutional ideological foundation. Since the artistic presentation of the genre remains rooted in the social realities of Jamaica as its place of origin, this is not an attempt to provide an overview of the considerable influence the music and its inherent confrontational stance of protest and social change has managed to address concerning matters of inequality around the globe. As a religiously charged empowerment strategy that evolved in the climate of imperialism and colonization, the Rastafarian concept aims at eradicating structural disadvantages between the dominating Western world and the global periphery and offers a spirituality-based social consciousness, characterized by its egalitarian character.
The Bloomsbury Handbook of Popular Music and Social Class
The Bloomsbury Handbook of Popular Music and Social Class is the first extensive analysis of the most important themes and concepts in this field. Encompassing contemporary research in ethnomusicology, sociology, cultural studies, history, and race studies, the volume explores the intersections between music and class, and how the meanings of class are asserted and denied, confused and clarified, through music. With chapters on key genres, traditions, and subcultures, as well as fresh and engaging directions for future scholarship, the volume considers how music has thought about and articulated social class. It consists entirely of original contributions written by internationally renowned scholars, and provides an essential reference point for scholars interested in the relationship between popular music and social class.
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