First Coast Story - Part 1.

First Coast, Yard Core, Jamaican Hip-Hop.....Whichever terminology you choose to describe it the movement is flourishing and has a very bright future. In order to take advantage of this bright future it is important to understand the history. It is virtually impossible to state a definitive history especially since there is very little documentation on the topic. So here is a First Coast history lesson from our perspective..... Here goes.

Like many elements of Jamaica’s history, the first coast story cannot be told without mentioning the impact of external forces on its development. An integral part of the story involves the USA and a borough of the state of New York called the Bronx.

In 1967, 12 year old Clive Campbell, The eldest of 6 children born to Nettie and Keith Campbell, Migrated with his family to America where they settle in New York, in the southern part of the Bronx. One important memory that young Clive carried with him to the South Bronx was the sound systems of local parties referred to as Dancehalls. The Disc Jockeys on these sound systems became famous for the speech over the microphone called toasting. This tradition of “toasting” traveled with the young Campbell to 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx. Amidst a gritty urban backdrop existed break dancing, graffiti and a new form of expression known as rapping, which some argue is a direct offspring of the tradition of toasting practiced in Jamaican dancehalls. Over the years we’ve come to know these forms of expression as part of the culture of hip-hop. Much of the atmosphere that existed around hip hop was influenced by Jamaican immigrants and then re-interpreted and translated back to Jamaica on holiday visits back home.

For decades American hip-hop has been the most dominant form and up until recently acceptance into the culture of anyone outside of America has been slow for some and non-existent for others. Early attempts at Jamaican hip-hop date as far back as the late 70’s with a Jamaican cover version of the hip-hop classic “Rappers Delight” by The Sugar Hill Gang. All through the 80’s break dancing became a popular youth activity and local high schools would battle each other to see who had the best moves.

Through the 90’s the cultural exchange continued even further when two Jamaican barbers turned rappers who went by the names “Smesh” and “Slick” collaborated with a local hip-hop producer to create what is considered by some as some of the first original local hip-hop recordings. Original rhymes written and flowed over original beats all created locally. The majority of their music was never released but was an important step in the development of the movement locally.

Throughout the 90’s the local movement surged with the help of local radio disc jockey duo Alrick and Boyd and there exceedingly popular radio show which included an hour of hip hop called the phat block. All one had to do was tune in to the fat block on Saturdays to the Phat Block to hear music from names like Holocaust, Armagheddon, Gangsta Colony, Keystone, Cess, Norcritic & Doom to name a few.

Stay tuned for Part 2. Of the story