Book of dread

FRIDAY 7 | It would take Eric Clapton’s 1974 cover of I Shot The Sheriff to bring the music of Bob Marley – the dreads-sporting spawn of 1960s’ Jamaican ska and rock steady – to the rockers of the wider world, but when reggae finally made land, it made land in style. By 1972, this new rhythm had bubbled to the top of the US Billboard Hot 100, first with Three Dog Night’s roots cover of Black And White then with the gentle contemporary groove of I Can See Clearly Now, by Johnny Nash. From the loins of pioneers such as Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and King Tubby have sprung forth a new generation of lyrical Rastafarians who, like their forefathers, use the sacrament of music to promote everything from ganja to the unifying concept of One Love. Among their number are Kaztet D (MC, singer, activist, made in France), the creative force behind new reggae sound system collective Wat A Gwaan (‘What’s going on?’ in reggae lingo), who tonight is joined by DJs Polaak, Tonle Dub and Mercy.

WHO: Wat A Gwaan
WHAT: Reggae sound system collective
WHERE: Oscar 51, #29 Street 51 (corner of Street 172)
WHEN: 9:30pm February 7
WHY: Bob would approve

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