I was recently at a wedding having fun dancing with my cousin and her friend when Fuse ODG's Azonto song came on. I started trying to do the Azonto dance but I was slightly self conscious because I'm not too sure of how to do it properly. While I was dancing my cousin's friend turned to her and asked if she was sure I was her cousin because I seem like a Jamaican. I sighed. Jamaican dancehall music is my favourite music to dance to but ever since I got married I've been trying to learn how to dance to Afro Beats music. Not long after I got married my husband took me to his family friend's party. Whilst there I was persuaded to join in as all of the females took part in a dance competition. "I'm not used to dancing to Afro Beats!" I exclaimed after they played Afro Beats songs back to back. I got eliminated in one of the early rounds and it was very embarrassing.
I grew up in North West London, which has a large Jamaican community and a strong Jamaican influence. My aunt who lived with us regularly played reggae music and I had a neighbour who was a Jamaican reggae artist. My mum's best friend gave me recordings of various reggae artists and I played them on repeat as a child. In my teens I went to concerts of various dancehall artists including Scaredem, Junior Cat, Merciless, Cham and Bounty Killer. It was Bounty Killer who inspired me to start writing rhymes when he discussed how Sizzla's positive music helped to make the crime rate in Jamaica drop. I appreciated the way conscious reggae artists would speak to poor people helping to uplift and inspire them.
When I was 15 I stayed with my aunt in Tottenham for a few months. I was happy to see that there was a library named after Jamaica's national hero, Marcus Garvey. Unfortunately, I didn't learn about Marcus Garvey in school, instead I had to teach myself about him by reading books on his life. Marcus Garvey was alive at a time when most countries in Africa were under European colonial rule so he spoke out against the injustices and proclaimed that Africa should be ruled by Africans. He encouraged black people to unite and he promoted self love and acceptance. I'm proud to be Nigerian but I'm thankful for the Jamaican influence.
