Dance, dance, revolution

Over at our sister site, The Root, Denise Campbell has a fascinating dispatch from Kingston, Jamaica about “Passa Passa,” the massive weekly dance party that is providing economic community in the city’s crime-infested “garrisons”:

to understand why Passa might be a positive force, it’s necessary to know the culture of the communities known as garrisons. These communities—Tivoli, Trench Town, Concrete Jungle, Fletcher’s Land and others—are governed by gangs and “dons” who control their entrances and exits and act as a liaison between the community and political parties. Wars are fought to protect political boundaries and territories, and protection of political parties insulates the communities from law enforcement. Through Passa Passa, music and enterprise have become a catalyst for entrepreneurship, peace and community building. It’s also largely free from violence—the troublemakers avoid trouble lest they face a censure and backlash from the neighborhood.  

Nearly 20,000 revelers flock to this ordinarily scorned community on a good night, bringing their spending money with them. As Popcorn told me, “an unemployed person can ‘trust’ [buy on credit] chicken, fish, cigarettes or a box of beer from a wholesaler and start a business. Sell, pay the debt and keep it going. Everybody profits.” 

Jeff Chang’s Can’t Stop Won’t Stop has some great history on the role dancehall “sound systems” have played in Jamaica’s turbulent politics, and their influence on the early days of U.S. hip hop.

flickr user nickolette22