1. Beginnings in Two Worlds
Though I was primarily raised in Greater London, my childhood was generously sprinkled with time in Jamaica—holidays and extended stays in my parents’ homeland where my cousin, Gregory Isaacs, would often serenade the evenings. Those early years grounded me in Jamaican soil, music, and culture, even as I grew up navigating the streets of London.
Back in the UK, Sundays were defined by the “rice and peas selection”—Bob Marley, Gregory Isaacs, Toots & the Maytals. Pirate radio stations like Choice FM and Lightning Radio became our soundtrack in the '80s and '90s, voices of a culture that thrived despite not yet being embraced by mainstream Britain.
My childhood was pulsing with community. Monthly weddings, baby christenings at Afro-Caribbean community centers in Brixton, Stoke Newington, Islington… each event a celebration of identity and belonging. Games, laughter, entrepreneurship—London’s Black community wove resilience through the fabric of everyday life.
