Police Harassment in the Narratives of Dancehall M.C.s in 1980s Britain
Later this year, I am due to publish a chapter entitled ‘Stop and Search: Representations of Police Harassment in British Hip Hop during the 1980s’ in Beats Not Beatings, edited by Anthony Nocella II and published by Peter Lang. In revisiting the proof ahead of publication, I reflected again on the Jamaican influence in the emerging sound of eighties London hip hop – most notably London Posse, Demon Boyz, Asher D and Daddy Freddy – that ragamuffin hip hop style that emerged through synergy between the diasporic nature and regionalist agenda of British rap following the first wave of its global explosion.
Whilst I do discuss London Posse and Demon Boyz in the chapter, my exploration also drifted – quite naturally – into the realm of sound system deejays and original Great British M.C.s (to borrow from the title of the Fashion Records stable compilation of the same name). Two key artists from the Fashion label and Saxon Sound International – Peter King and Smiley Culture – addressed issues of police harassment, yet, rather than in a stop and search context as pedestrians on the street as in later rap song narratives, both wrote about being pulled over while driving.
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