Dubwise: Reasoning from the Reggae Underground

John Walker is a professor of Spanish studies at Queen’s University.

Even the most ill-informed layperson in North America will have heard of
Bob Marley and his contribution to reggae music in his homeland of
Jamaica. Klive Walker’s Dubwise reinforces and expands this knowledge
and provides much more information on Jamaican popular music Caribbean
culture in general.

Walker himself was born in England to Jamaican parents, later moved to
the West Indies, and now lives in Toronto. Dubwise is made up of 10
essays that are interlinked by their treatment of the reggae phenomenon,
and its connection not only to West Indian culture but also to the
regional politics and social protest of post-independence Jamaica.
Although the author displays an encyclopedic knowledge of reggae music,
there is a personal voice running through these essays. Walker knew many
of these artists, attended many of the concerts, and generally shared in
the artistic events described.

The essays deal with various related themes: the life and career of Bob
Marley; the link between the mento verse of poet Louise Bennett and
Marley’s reggae poetry; the neglected and underrated work of women
reggae singers, such as Marcia Griffiths, Jody Mowatt, and Rita Marley;
the Jamaican roots of ska music and the influence of jazz on ska; the
tragic life and premature death of homicidal schizophrenic trombonist
Don Drummond; a history of reggae in Canada; a summary of reggae in the
Caribbean diaspora in the United Kingdom and the United States in the
1970s and 1980s; a portrait of Dennis Brown, one of the most famous and
influential Jamaican reggae artists; and a comparison of reggae and
hip-hop and the influence of Jamaican “toasting” on rap.

All of the essays in this collection are informed, personal, and deeply
engaging.