Dancehall Rebel
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What do you do when the musical culture you love comes with a legacy of intolerance?
Denise is a teen who was raised on Jamaican dancehall music; her dad is a leading local DJ who has imbued her life with a love of music. Denise has aspirations to follow in her dad's footsteps, but there's a problem: Denise identifies as queer, and the music she loves often reflects homophobia. Her mother and relatives are also not accepting. But when she moves to Ottawa for first year university school, encouraged by a sympathetic cousin, she finds a community of like-minded kids who love and cherish both music and diversity.
This lively true-to-life portrayal of teen lives and relationships puts a contemporary spin on the cultural conflict often between more traditional families and their young family members. A groundbreaking novel portraying a Caribbean Canadian teen challenging the ongoing legacy of homophobia in her musical and cultural community. Dancehall music and culture is undergoing a large shift.
Stacey Robinson
Stacey Robinson is an assistant professor of graphic design at the University of Illinois and an Arthur Schomburg Fellow with an MFA from the University at Buffalo. As part of the team "Black Kirby," he works with fellow artist John Jennings to create graphic novels, gallery exhibitions, and lectures that deconstruct the work of comic book legend Jack Kirby into re-imagined Black resistance spaces inspired by hip-hop, religion, the arts, and sciences. Robinson lives in Illinois and can be found on Twitter (@ProfSARobinson) and Instagram (@StaceyARobinson).
More by Stacey Robinson
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