As Jamaicans, we have become normalised to watching or listening to daily reports of gun violence meted out to our citizens. The murder statistics are a daily part of the news cycle. The murders a.
Crime control: Myth or mystery? jamaicaobserver.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from jamaicaobserver.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Clarks shoes might not be the epitome of cool here in the UK, but in Jamaica, they hold a special place in Jamiacans’ hearts. Referenced in hundreds of reggae and dancehall songs, the “champion shoes” are the preferred footwear of gangsters, school children, Rastas, government officials and everybody in between, and it’s been that way for as long as anybody can remember.
Now One Love Books is releasing the long-awaited second edition of Al Fingers‘ cult classic, Clarks in Jamaica, updated with new interviews, photographs and previously unseen archive material.
With a focus on the Jamaican singers and DJs who have worn and sung about Clarks over the decades, this classic style reference explores how footwear made by a Quaker firm in the quiet English village of Street in Somerset from 1825 became the “baddest” shoes in Jamaica and an essential part of the island’s culture.
Yaadcore, Jah9
Reggae songstress Jah9 has teamed up with her colleague Yaadcore and the Subatomic Sound System for a cover of John Holt’s 1982 classic Police in Helicopter, which the
Avocado artist says has been “reimagined for a new generation”.
A few days ago Jah9 posted a captioned visualizer on her Instagram page announcing the song’s release “on all platforms”.
“Tribute Music one of my all-time favorites! John Holt’s classic
reimagined by my brothers @yaadcore and @subatomic,” she wrote. “I could do a whole lecture on what this song means to me. Instead, here’s a brief history… context for those too young to know the struggle it took to get to a place where we in Jamaica can openly use our medicine in peace. Still a long way to go before we truly unleash all the wholistic and economic potential of this magical plant. But we celebrate the small victories.”