HONOURING THE GOODNESS AND THE BAWDNESS OF JAMAICAN MUSIC CULTURE

HONOURING THE GOODNESS AND THE BAWDNESS OF JAMAICAN MUSIC CULTURE

Witness Ace Dillinger, Bambii, Heather “Live Wire” Bubb-Clarke, Nino Brown, and Tasha Rozez: five local selectors (DJs) and soundsystem owners offering audiences a fuller view of local bass music culture across eras, genres, and communities.

Their stories were gathered by musician Alanna Stuart, one-half of the dancehall-inflected R&B duo Bonjay, who is currently in the midst of an ongoing, interdisciplinary research and practice-based project exploring the complexities of the Jamaican-Canadian experience. 

Rewind/Forward was conceptualized and developed by Alanna Stuart, as part of ArtworxTO: Toronto’s Year of Public Art.

This project wouldn’t have happened without the hyper-optimism and organizing skills of energy goddess and project manager, Simone Osondu of the Somewhere Else Media team. Nor would it be as rich and real of an experience without the nurturing push of curatorial consultant, Rea McNamara, of norma e. projects. 

Bless up to Amy Gottung and Erika Hennebury (formerly of the Toronto Arts Council) for encouraging the development of this project.

Bless up to soundsystem expert Tony Myers of the Jam One Soundsystem Federation, Drs Carolyn Cooper, Isis Semaj-Hall, and Julian Henriques for knowledge of the deeper meaning of this, and thank you to the music people of Toronto for remaining the city’s most vital source of vibes.

Please check the team credits for the most creative and magical humans one could ever collaborate with.

A flash photograph of three Black women standing together on pavement outside of a cream and orange building at night. Each of the women are wearing all-white outfits and sandals. The women to the left and right of the frame have dark-brown hair tied

  • A flash photograph of three Black women standing together on pavement outside of a cream and orange building at night. Each of the women are wearing all-white outfits and sandals. The women to the left and right of the frame have dark-brown hair tied up on their head while the woman in the centre has a short blonde wavy bob. All three women smile and look straight towards the camera. A small crowd of people socialize behind them.

Bubb-Clarke established one of the earliest femme-owned soundsystems in Canada after emigrating from Jamaica in the ’70s, and Rozez is one of Toronto’s only women soundclashers; meanwhile, DJs Ace Dillinger, Nino Brown, and Bambii have carved out inclusive nightlife spaces centring queer Black, Brown, and allied people. 

Printed large and loud. Mounted way up on high. Finally, the selectors’ presence match the magnitude of Jamaican music culture’s impact on Toronto. 

Their portraits were captured by Jorian Charlton, an emerging local photographer who specializes in a form of Black portraiture that, through style and gesture, reveals the vulnerabilities and intimacies of Caribbean diasporic family life and community.

A photo of a beach picnic in Hellshire Beach, Jamaica featuring an aerial view of a picnic. In the bottom-right corner is a beige canvas tote bag with the words 'FOOD HOME' printed in orange. There is a fresh green coconut, cut open with a straw out

  • A photo of a beach picnic in Hellshire Beach, Jamaica featuring an aerial view of a picnic. In the bottom-right corner is a beige canvas tote bag with the words 'FOOD HOME' printed in orange. There is a fresh green coconut, cut open with a straw out the top, a dish of mixed vegetables beside it, a bowl of escovitch (spicy pickled peppers and onion), fried parrot fish and fried dumplings. This food is laid out on a yellow beach towel with white cartoon cactus. There is a folded leg of a nearby person with medium-light brown skin tone.

An animated GIF of Alanna Stuart shot by May Truong. Alanna is pictured in a soundsystem yard. Alanna is a Black woman with medium-light brown skin tone. She stands on top of a tall black speakerbox with two stacks of black speakerboxes beside her. T

  • An animated GIF of Alanna Stuart shot by May Truong. Alanna is pictured in a soundsystem yard. Alanna is a Black woman with medium-light brown skin tone. She stands on top of a tall black speakerbox with two stacks of black speakerboxes beside her. This creates the effect of looking like she's in a big black box. There is a spotlight on her as she strikes several poses. She wears a neutrally coloured, high-waisted, and form-fitting pencil skirt with a matching short-sleeve crop top, and black ankle boots. Her natural hair is tied in a bun at the back with loose, kinky bangs in the front.

Alanna Stuart

Alanna Stuart is a music artist, researcher, curator, and documentarian based in Toronto, Canada and Kingston, Jamaica. As one-half of the Polaris Prize-nominated duo Bonjay, Alanna creates and performs a bass heavy, soul-driven sound that the New York Times calls ‘Canadian Dancehall’. She is also a proud member of the Queer Songbook Orchestra. 

Outside of the studio, Alanna conducts research in ‘diversity’ and ‘innovation’, and explores how creative industries engage with socially marginalized cultural producers around the world. Toronto Arts Council Leaders Lab Fellow and Radio Starmaker Fund board member.

A black and white portrait of Jorian Charlton taken by Roya Del Sol. She looks over her left shoulder with her gaze focused directly at the camera. Her hair is styled in faux-locs, which she wears half-up in a twisted knot and half falling down her b

  • A black and white portrait of Jorian Charlton taken by Roya Del Sol. She looks over her left shoulder with her gaze focused directly at the camera. Her hair is styled in faux-locs, which she wears half-up in a twisted knot and half falling down her back. There are a few gold charms threaded throughout her hair. Her shoulder is bare. There are out-of-focus white candles lit in the background.

Jorian Charlton

Jorian Charlton is a portrait photographer based in Toronto. Her work focuses on Jamaican- Canadian culture through her personal experiences, highlighting beauty and style when it comes to contemporary modes of black representation. She pursues reflections of identity and diasporic relationships to homeland, while her poetic approach to these themes characterizes her method of visual storytelling. She is a graduate of the Bachelor of Photography program at Sheridan College.

ArtworxTO

ArtworxTO: Toronto's Year of Public Art 2021–2022 is a year-long celebration of Toronto’s exceptional public art collection and the creative community behind it. Working closely with artists and Toronto’s arts institutions, the City of Toronto is delivering major public art projects and commissions, citywide, from fall 2021 to fall 2022. Supporting local artists and new artworks that reflect Toronto's diversity, ArtworxTO is creating more opportunities for Torontonians to engage with art in their everyday lives. This year, explore your city and discover creativity and community–everywhere. Visit artworxTO.ca for full details.

CREDITS

  • Gabbie Clarke, Audio Mixer & Sound Designer @gabbie.gib

    Allie Graham, Audio Editor @alliegraham_instapage

    Garvia Bailey, Audio Story Consultant, Media Girlfriends

    Julia Little, Audio Recordist, Audio @post_opamp

  • Roya Del Sol, Director of Photography @royadelsol

    Graeme "DJ Gramera" Mathieson, Editor, Bonfire Originals @gramantics

    Jadon J.B. Williams, Editor, Bonfire Originals

  • Una Janicijevic, Web Designer @unagotlost

    Joshua Rille, Set Designer, Exhibition @jjjjjjjoshua

    Robin Clare, Illustration & Design

    Rea McNamara, Curatorial Consultant

  • Jorian Charlton, Photographer @jjjorian

    Malik Kennedy, Stylist @malikskennedy

    Rahnell Branton, Make-Up Artist, Rahsthetics @rahsthetics

  • Ali Daly, Social Media Coordinator

    Kendra Thompson, Public Relations

    Daina Astwood-George, Copyeditor

    Sabrina Sisco, Behind-the-Scenes Photographer

    Wang Yuji, Behind-the-Scenes Photographer

    Stacey Berquist, Copyeditor

  • Renee Dumaresque & Stefana Fratila, Accessibility Consulting, Crip Rave @criprave

    Simone Osondu, Producer, Somewherelse @Somewherelse