12: Why Vybz Kartel is the most important Jamaican artist of the century

Without Jamaican sound system culture, much of the electronic
music we love wouldn't even exist. So why is it so often
underrepresented when we talk about dance music history?


To tackle this and more, we brought in author Marvin Sparks, one
of the UK’s preeminent experts on reggae and dancehall.


We also had topical news to cover: Vybz Kartel, currently serving
a life sentence in prison, had his murder conviction overturned
last month. As is often the case, press coverage of the appeal
has been meagre, so we asked Marvin to explain just why this
ruling is so important, and how Vybz Kartel became the most
important dancehall artist of the 21st century.


Marvin’s also on form when it comes to the big picture stuff:
dancehall’s influence on all the music you love, the problems
with its press coverage in and out of Jamaica, and his expertise
in a genre that, as he puts it, music fans don’t care nearly
enough about.


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