Surveying 500 years-worth of any sort of music is no easy feat. But tackling the history of Black British music is near impossible – not least because of its legacy permeating nearly every instance of contemporary pop and underground culture. Having said all that, this landmark exhibition at the British Library does a pretty good job at giving it a go.
Around 300 objects are on display here, including letters by 18th-century composer Ignatius Sancho, an outfit worn by jazz singer Patti Flynn in the 1970s, Steel Pulse’s KKK-style hood, a Nokia 3370, imagery of the early days of grime by acclaimed photographer Simon Wheatley and footage from the MOBO Awards. Each object is full of stories, full of songs and sound, taking us through the development of Lovers Rock, to the creation of two-tone, jazz, reggae, jungle, Afroswing and so much more: showing Black British music as celebration, as protest, as ever-evolving, as vital.
We’re left to reflect on the music we listen to every day, the artists we follow, the spaces we dance in
What follows is an accessible, holistic view of an impossibly vast scene. The exhibition does an excellent job of balancing commercial artists with essential grassroots activities, spotlighting the carnivals, community centres, record shops and other spaces that have all played a part in cultivating different musical genres: including The Reno in Manchester, Bristol’s Bamboo Club, Scottish club night The Reggae Klub and The Four Aces in London. There’s more recent developments, too, like pirate radio, the late Jamal Edwards’s video camera he used for SB:TV, issues of Guap magazine and Stormzy’s signed Glastonbury set.
The whole thing ends on a different note: a five-channel film and sound installation by artists Tayo Rapoport and Rohan Ayinde, showing fragmented clips of speakers, dance floors, faces and bodies, all projected onto the ceiling and walls as guests collapse into cushions and stare as the soundtrack thumps. You’d be forgiven for fobbing this off as an afterthought – a tick of the ‘immersive’ box – but the film provides some much-needed space and reflection after the glitzy cover stars in the previous room.
The clips fuzz together like a sleepy trip: we’re left to reflect on the music we listen to every day, the artists we follow, the spaces we dance in, and to think about where it all came from and where it could go. It celebrates Black music for its vital, ongoing contributions to British culture – making this exhibition a must-see for any music lover.