St Croix: the roots revival

South of Puerto Rico, in the Lesser Antilles archipelago shared between Great Britain and the United States, three islands make up the US Virgin Islands. St Croix, St Thomas and St John have been American since 1917, bought from Denmark for 26 million dollars after 50 years of negotiations. Such determination was down to their strategic position, which allows control of the main passage of the Caribbean Sea commanding access to the Panama Canal. Their economy is driven by tourism: cruise ships call in there. Two million tourists visit every year. The music they can hear there ranges from hip hop to R&B, but also calypso and gospel. For some time now, a new, strong and combative vibration has been developing in the Virgin Islands, and in St Croix in particular.

Yet the largest of the three islands covers only 212 km² (an area smaller than that of the Creuse département!). The island has passed from hand to hand through the seven successive colonisations of the archipelago: Holland, Spain, Great Britain, Malta, France, Denmark and finally the United States, which still holds a veto over the local government today. A turbulent past, a real breeding ground for creativity, which recalls that of Jamaica. The Arawak Indians lived in the Virgin Islands before being driven out by Christopher Columbus. Hence a deeply rooted tradition of rebellion. With historic local figures who fought against slavery and for the black condition, some pages of Virgin Islands history recall Jamaican rebellions such as Morant Bay. In 1733, on St John, a violent slave rebellion forced the overwhelmed Danes to ask the French for help. Coming from Martinique, they managed to restore order and put the plantations back in working condition. On St Croix, a Black slave named Queen Mary led a rebellion as a result of which the town of Frederiksted was burned to the ground.
Other personalities have a direct link with Jamaica, such as Edward Wilmot Blyden, a friend of Marcus Garvey. As in Jamaica, the Virgin Islands have developed local patois fed by French, Dutch and English through successive colonisations, and using completely different grammars.

An overdeveloped music scene
While Jamaica was still mourning Bob Marley and the world was turning away from reggae, roots took hold in St Croix in the mid-80s, with the formation of groups such as Inner Visions and Midnite. Since 1999, reggae fans have noticed that the name of this island keeps coming up. For the reggae scene has grown considerably. Local artistic activity once again recalls a neighbouring island a few years ago. At a time when Jamaica listens to nothing but dancehall, St Croix looks well set to become the next Mecca of roots / nu-roots.
The music scene there is overdeveloped, and particularly prolific. A veritable tap of young talent, groups and solo artists seem to appear in cascades. The small size of the island favours artistic exchanges, which multiply, creating an effervescence conducive to creation. A music scene of astonishing dynamism, especially considering the island's population - no more than 100,000 inhabitants.

The sound played in St Croix is of rare quality; deeply roots, it remains specific to the island. The styles are in fact quite varied: rockers, roots, stepper, one drop, but also many forays into dancehall and new-roots. The pure creation is of high quality, taking new and innovative directions. Each artist has their own specialities, which makes the reggae scene even more varied and attractive: you will love Ras Attitude for his sharp dancehall or Batch for the range of his vocal abilities. But none of them confines himself to one style. The singers, singjays and musicians of St Croix wield a deep, sincere reggae with a strong identity. The island's past, the dimension of the Rastafarian faith and the local context are all reasons why every artist shows a desire to resurrect the original 'One Love', and is keen to write conscious lyrics. The scene is also solidly occupied by female artists (Mada Nile, Sistah Joyce, or Dezarie), which can only be welcomed when listening to their albums.