The Keys 107: Reggae Strong withDiane Strong

Diane Strong talks about her journey as a video producer, editor, and documentarian of Reggae Music. She came on the scene when the music was exploding in America; especially in New York City. Diane joins Sis. Rafika in a lively conversation about Reggae music it's past, present and future from the lens of Reggae Strong! Step Lively Productions, Inc was founded in 1984 in New York City, and began shooting material for the Reggae Strong television series shortly thereafter. The program, conceived and directed by the late Jamaican playwrite/actor, Stafford Ashani (Harrison), and produced and edited by Diane Strong, was the first reggae television series to be broadcast internationally, via satellite and cable, between 1987 and 1991.  At that time, an unprecedented number of Jamaican and international reggae artists were touring the world, with little mainstream radio or television promotion. Reggae Strong attempted to bridge that gap, as a thirty-minute weekly magazine-format series, produced (primarily) out of New York City, an essential stop on every touring artist's itinerary.The passing of Bob Marley in 1981, yielded a decade in which roots reggae music spread internationally from a small island in the Caribbean to the four corners of the world. New York City, with its large Caribbean community, wealth of performance venues and world-class recording facilities, was at the center of reggae's musical and cultural expansion. Reggae Strong documents this era in the music's development through original interview, concert, news and cultural vignettes. Shot on location throughout New York City, the series is hosted by artists such as Black Uhuru, Third World, Lucky Dube, Alpha Blondy, Ziggy Marley, Maxi Priest, Burning Spear, Jimmy Cliff, and Sly and Robbie.