ABSTRACT
On the face of it it might seem that little has changed on the reggae scene in the years since I wrote the earlier chapters of this book. These lyrics are from a song released in 1984 called Kill the Police Bill and they deal with the classic reggae theme of police harassment. They carry on the protest against unjust laws aimed at the poor and powerless. Reggae can still be a rebel sound. And the music is still being used to build a sense of common interests among black people both here in Britain and abroad. It still acts as a kind of newspaper offering information and comment on current affairs. Kill the Police Bill is about the threat to civil rights posed by the Police Bill, which greatly extends police powers of arrest and detention. The record tells us all this. At the same time it reminds us of the Brixton riot in 1981. We remember that the riot was triggered off by Operation Swamp, when police mounted a massive stop and search campaign in the Brixton area. It also reminds us that one year later police shot and almost killed an innocent member of the public, Stephen Waldorf, when they mistook him for a wanted criminal. And yet the release of this record in the 1980s also proves that many things have changed. First it was made in Britain not Jamaica, and it deals with a local political issue. In 1986, black British music is stronger and more confident than it’s ever been. In fact, some people would argue that British reggae is now more alive, more interesting to listen to and
more in touch with the fans than the music which is coming from Jamaica. Second, the song was recorded by a young woman dj called Ranking Ann (Ann Swinton). Toasting and dj reggae had always been a male preserve in the 1970s but talk over artists like Ranking Ann have shown that women can speak out on a rhythm against social injustice as well as any man. Ann is the first British female reggae MC. (MC originally stood for Master or Mistress of Ceremonies; now it refers to “Mike Chanter”.) She began performing at the microphone in her home town of Wolverhampton in 1978. Since then she has released three albums and a string of singles. In the 1980s she has been joined by young MCs like Lorna Gee (Lorna Gayle), Lady Sheree, Pepi, Cindarella and Olive Ranking. In Jamaica, too, women like Queen Tiney, Sister Nancy, Lady Ann, Super Chick and Sister Verna have begun to “chat ’pon a sound” in dj style. Meanwhile, in Britain, Culcha Posse is the first sound system to be operated by a woman, Sista Culcha.1
