Ten Tips to Explore Reggae in Jamaica

ISLANDS contributor Steve Knopper

What’s the best way to experience Jamaica’s most vibrant music? Rolling Stone Editor Steve Knopper offers his take on exploring the island’s reggae scene, fresh off his assignment for ISLANDS magazine. Read his full offering, a feature article about Jamaica and its most iconic music, in the January 2010 issue on newsstands, December 29th. In the meantime, here are his top ten tips for making the most of your next jaunt to Jamiaca:

1. Bob Marley points the way. Yes, the King of Reggae is a bit of cliché in Jamaica, homeland of so many other stars, from dub producer Lee “Scratch” Perry to dancehall superstar Sean Kingston. But in a country filled with shuttered museums and forgotten landmarks, Bob’s history is conspicuously preserved, particularly in rural Nine Miles, where he lived off and on and lays at rest in a marble crypt.

2. Don’t forget the dancehalls. Watch those colorful roadside phone-pole signs. Or ask the locals at your hotel. They’ll tell you how and when to get to the next all-night party, where the bass is booming, the women wear very little and the DJs deftly switch from raucous, growling tough guys like Bounty Killer to, yes, Michael Jackson.

Strawberry Hill Hotel and Spa

3. Consider staying at Strawberry Hill. Islands Records founder, Jamaica native and Bob Marley-and-U2 discoverer Chris Blackwell owns this immaculate white hotel, in the mountainous eastern part of Kingston. The view from our two-story cabin stretched hundreds of yards straight down into a green valley, then up again to a chunk of bamboo-covered peaks. Eat at the restaurant, where the view is in the opposite direction, towards the lights of Kingston, which seems peaceful from here. Marley convalesced at the hotel, on Blackwell’s invitation, after getting shot in 1976.

4. Don’t ignore Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville. Its U.S. reputation as a bland tourist trap notwithstanding, the tiny outlet on the run-down Montego Bay strip is usually packed and an excellent place to relax with Red Stripes and very loud music.

5. “The left side is the right side and the right side is suicide.” Drive carefully! Throughout Jamaica, the curves are sharp, local drivers pass as if they don’t see you coming, and unexpected obstacles pop up every few seconds, from potholes to goats.

Kingston CD Store

6. Regarding CDs at tourist shops: Buyer beware. Most of the discs (Queen Ifrica, Elephant Man) I haggled down to $15 were bootlegs, meaning somebody ripped and burned the music from an original CD and photocopied portions of the liner notes.

7. Find a guide, or pay a driver, before exploring Kingston for the first time. Music landmarks are built into the landscape — Trench Town, the “concrete jungle” where Bob Marley grew up, remains concrete and jungley. But locals know a tourist when they see one, and they can get aggressive with the windshield cleaner at stoplights.

8. Be careful, especially in Kingston, but even at the beach hotels. Watch for tourist warnings from the government.

9. Remember - marijuana is actually illegal in Jamaica. Keep this in mind when somebody offers you a Sharpie-sized spliff in broad daylight and plain view for $5.

10. Consider planning a visit around Reggae Sumfest, the long-running concert every July in Montego Bay that brings together top local talent (like young reggae stars Tarrus Riley and Etana) and big international names (from R&B hitmaker Ne-Yo to Tito Jackson of the Jackson 5). The best stuff doesn’t even start till 1 or 2 a.m., so get some sleep first.

Don’t forget to look for Steve’s full Jamaica story in the January 2010 issue of ISLANDS on newsstands, December 29th.

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