FOCUS: Uniting different cultures through music

Saturday 25 May 2024

To mark Africa Awareness Week, a local DJ has shared how he aims to bring local Caribbean and African communities together through music events.

Dean Leith said that he wants to create a diverse musical culture on the island inspired by his Jamaican heritage and love of black music.

He explained: “I grew up in a Caribbean community in the UK and was hearing a lot of the music my parents would play like reggae, ska, soul and lovers rock.”

Pictured: Dean's music journey included MCing for big DJs, where he would rap in between transitions. 

Dean's music journey started as a DJ, touring with reggae artists like Steel Pulse and Maxi Priest. 

He became a selector for UK sound systems like Luv Injection, handing tracks to the DJ, and would regularly ‘soundclash’ with other sound systems up and down the country.  

Dean then moved into the jungle scene, MCing for big DJs such as Kenny Ken, where he would rap in between transitions. 

"We wanted to bring people from different backgrounds together"

He later toured with Grammy-nominated hip-hop artist Busta Rhymes, before settling in Jersey in 2018.

"Coming to Jersey, there wasn't much of a Jamaican community," said Dean.

"But there was a big Caribbean community that got involved with the African community."

In 2019, he joined the local charity Friends of Africa Jersey and was inspired to explore various African music styles. 

Pictured: "It's all about it's all about building the vibe. I try to appeal to as many people as we can."

Dean explained: "The great thing about being a member is learning more music styles and genres that I was not aware of. 

“Now I understand the difference between Kenyan music and Ugandan music."

 During the COVID lockdown, Dean and his peers noticed a lack of entertainment options for the Black Afro-Caribbean community. 

"We wanted to bring people from different backgrounds together to have fun and relax," he said.

"There was a taste for it"

This led Dean to start his promotion company, BLOCDOWN, and bring the first Amapiano artist to the island, sparking an interest in this South African genre of jazzy house music. 

“It was brand new to the island but there was a taste for it," he said. "I continued putting on events once a month ever since.”

Dean's events, under the banner of FROBASS, feature a variety of musical styles, from dancehall and afrobeat to Kenyan and South African styles. 

He said: “My speciality is Jamaican music, but I bring in DJs from different backgrounds to cater to everyone’s tastes.

“It's all about it's all about building the vibe. I try to appeal to as many people as we can."

Dean added: "I can’t cater 100% to the Kenyans or the South Africans so I bring DJs from those communities so that we can play across the board and everybody's happy. That's my formula.

“We have Kenyan South African Caribbean English and Portuguese DJs playing at our nights.”

Pictured: BLOCDOWN is hosting a Spring Bank Holiday Sunday event at Havana Club on Halkett Street, featuring afro bass, reggaeton, Latino and R&B. 

Dean also co-runs a recording studio based at Millennium Park called The Garden with his business partner Lee 'Contagion' Davis. 

He said the studio offers a creative space for musicians, singers, and rappers to develop their music.

“We have people coming in to either create new music or improve what they’ve already recorded,” explained Dean.

“The clubs are under pressure"

Together, Dean and Lee also perform as a drum and bass duo both in Jersey and the UK. 

Dean also spoke about the challenges facing the local nightlife scene.

“The clubs are under pressure right now," he said.

“Extending trading times, even by an hour, would be great. 

“When a DJ tries to cater to 500 people in a three-and-a-half-hour window, it's difficult. 

“The high price of alcohol is also a reason why people aren't going out as much."

Islanders are invited to learn more about Jersey's African-Caribbean culture in a series of events organised as part of Jersey's eighth annual celebration of Africa Awareness Week.

You can learn more about Friends of Africa Jersey or African Awareness Week 2024 HERE.

Pictured top: Dean Leith DJing on the decks African Awareness pop-up in the Royal Square. (David Ferguson)