Jamaican Journey

Our educational journey to Jamaica was mainly about creating a documentary. This documentary was created by Sankofa scholars and Yallahs High School scholars. The topic of it focuses on dancehall music, dances, how they were influenced by African-Americans; as well as how dancehall impacts teenagers in Philadelphia, PA. To find the answers to these questions we researched, compared and contrasted reggae music and hip hop. Luckily, we were able to find the music to not only have a negative impact but a positive one as well! The 3 things that I enjoyed while creating the documentary the most were socializing, educational trips, and lectures presented to us.

During educational trips, dancehall music along with pop and reggae music was performed. I personally related to a performance at Edna Manley College because the guitarist (Dario), as well as the rest of his band, influenced me to expand the types of music I play on my guitar. Sankofa scholars and I had an opportunity to interview Dario. I currently play classical music but after finding out that Dario has been playing the guitar less-time than me; I am convinced that I can play reggae, as well as, other music genres in which I am interested.

The educational trips were the best that I have ever had in my whole life. One that stands out is the trip to the Bob Marley Museum. I love reggae, especially Bob Marley and his sons. Fortunately, I was able to go to the Bob Marley museum and take a tour of his house while his family was there. I saw 3 Marley sons – Julian, Damien, and Kymani. During the tour I learned some new knowledge about Bob. For example, Bob sold 30 million copies of his Legend album. I also found out that he performed the Smile Jamaica concert with a bullet lodged in his arm.  

While socializing with local Jamaican musicians, I was able to learn information about Jamaican culture from new Jamaican friends. These artists were very intelligent and use a mixture of musical genres to create their own unique positive musical style. They feature reggae and dancehall. The names of these 3 brothers are Joey, Fabin, and Fiddle. They influenced me deeply by sharing some of their positive messages they created as well as letting me share a couple of my raps and information about my guitar playing. The advice the band shared to us was never give up and always believe in yourself no matter what obstacles.

To conclude, I would say that our group learned a vast amount of interesting knowledge. Out of the many experiences I enjoyed going to the Marley museum the most. Although I believe all of our experiences gave us insight into the importance music plays in our lives and the forces that are shaping today’s dancehall scene. 

Messiah Hopson