African Awareness Week in Jersey: uniting through music

AS the Island celebrates African Awareness Week, a Birmingham-born DJ has spoken to the JEP about how he aims to bridge African and Caribbean cultures through music events in Jersey. Dean Leith said that he wanted to create a diverse musical culture in the Island inspired by his Jamaican heritage and love of black music. “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,” he said. Leith started out as a DJ touring with reggae artists before going on to tour with Grammy-nominated hip-hop artist Busta Rhymes, and eventually settling in Jersey in 2018. “Coming to Jersey, there wasn’t much of a Jamaican community. But there was a big Caribbean community that got involved with the African community,” he explained. In 2019, Leith joined the local charity Friends of Africa Jersey and was inspired to explore various African music styles. “The great thing about being a member is learning more music styles and genres that I was not aware of,” he said. “Now I understand the difference between Kenyan music and Ugandan music.” During the Covid lockdown, Leith and his...