Where this was said
Unusual Influences: The Alpha Boys School and Rastafari
At 14:11 · chapter starts 12:40
Two of reggae's most unexpected origin stories live in this chapter. The first is Sister Mary Ignatius Davies — 'Sister Iggy' — a jazz-loving nun who ran the music programme at Kingston's Alpha Boys School, a trade school whose graduates included Yellowman and many of the early ska and reggae horn players who shaped the genre's sound. [1] — Chuck "A nun named Sister Mary Ignatius Davies — 'Sister Iggy' — ran a jazz-obsessed music program at Kingston's Alpha Boys School that trained ma…" 12:01 The second is Rastafarianism's unlikely legitimization. Before 1966, Rastafarians were widely regarded in Jamaica as weirdos on the fringe of society. Then Emperor Haile Selassie made an official state visit, awarded medals to Rastafarian preachers, and overnight the movement gained respectability. Rita Marley converted on the spot, and her influence carried Rastafari directly into the Wailers' musical identity, fusing spiritual resistance with reggae's rhythms in a way that would define the genre's most iconic recordings. [2] — Josh "Before 1966, Rastafarians were seen as fringe weirdos in Jamaica. Then Haile Selassie made a state visit, awarded medals to Rastafarian pre…" 13:13 Josh also notes that dreadlocks had been part of Rastafarianism since the 1940s — a fact that surprises even the hosts.
Haile Selassie's 1966 state visit to Jamaica legitimized Rastafarianism in the eyes of Jamaicans, including Rita Marley, and directly sparked its fusion with reggae music.
Before 1966, Rastafarians were seen as fringe weirdos in Jamaica. Then Haile Selassie made a state visit, awarded medals to Rastafarian preachers, and overnight the movement gained legitimacy. Rita Marley converted on the spot — and her influence wired Rastafari directly into the Wailers' music.
Dreadlocks have been associated with Rastafarianism since at least the 1940s, far predating their popularization in Western culture during the reggae boom of the 1970s.
