Join writer and former reggae columnist Derek A. Bardowell in conversation with Irenosen Okojie for an evening celebrating Fire Inna Dancehall, his exhilarating new history of the people, places and politics behind one of the most influential cultural movements of the past half-century.

Born in inner-city Kingston and carried through migration to the council estates of London, the block parties of New York and underground scenes across Panama and Puerto Rico, dancehall became far more than a sound. Its influence can be heard in hip-hop, grime and contemporary pop, but its story is also one of identity and self-determination: a culture created by people determined to be seen and heard on their own terms. Blending social history with journalistic insight, Bardowell explores the music alongside the world that produced it, examining how dancehall became a vehicle for conversations about migration, masculinity, faith, and Black identity.