Posted by Guest Contributor— Louise Bennett— The history of reggae in Toronto, one of the strongest cities in the world for this genre and its offshoots, can’t merely be a rundown of notable bands — it’s bound up in an infrastructure of musicians, venues, promoters and record stores. It’s also about the tension of artists trying to succeed in both Canada and in the reggae universe with Jamaica as its axis. Most of all, unsurprisingly, it’s tied to Jamaican people in Canada. Jamaicans came to Toronto in large numbers in the 50s and 60s, and since then have somewhat determined the tenor of Toronto’s black community while spreading their music to a multicultural fan base in Toronto, all the while maintaining possession of it. Caribbean immigrants’ arrival in Toronto goes back well over 100 years … Read entire article »