Beyond the Black Atlantic: Black Outernationality and Afrocentrism in Aotearoa/New Zealand Roots Reggae

Abstract

Roots reggae has been labelled a roots music because its stylistic elements, associated iconography and cultural practices, as well as the linguistic and thematic content of song lyrics, have enabled some Jamaicans (descendants of African slaves transported to Jamaica's sugar-cane plantations) to maintain, renew and (re)create African identities. Although roots reggae has been globally disseminated, adopted and localized in numerous cultural contexts, it remains strongly associated with African geographical and cultural origins. This article explores how some New Zealand Polynesians have engaged with roots reggae's African roots, and the socio-political and psychological implications of their doing so. It argues that perceived similar experiences of rootlessness have led some Polynesian New Zealanders to form transcultural alliances with African-Jamaicans and other members of the African diaspora via their engagement with roots reggae, thereby showing that reggae's rhizomatic roots network extends far beyond the boundaries of Gilroy's Black Atlantic and into Oceania.

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