Listening Party: Musical Truth by Jeffrey Boakye, illustrated by Ngadi Smart

Welcome to my stop for the Listening Party of Musical Truth, published earlier this week. At the end of this blog post I'll share one of the iconic songs featured in this essential work, but first, here's my review:

Jeffrey Boakye’s latest form-breaking book Musical Truth, stylishly illustrated by Ngadi Smart, is a highly informative, accessible walk through modern Black-British history with a twist. Using the emotive springboard of music — an actual playlist of tracks — Boakye surveys the Black-British experience, not just racism and hardship but also resistance, hope, creativity and success.

Building the book around 28 songs by seminal Black musicians (including a few white artists, like Ed Sheeran, who were heavily influenced by Black music), Boakye thought-provokingly reframes longheld historical narratives. He cleverly interweaves detailed analysis of each piece of music with key political, socio-economic and cultural events occurring from 1948 to 2020. He brings to the fore powerful stories of Black-British individuals and communities in each decade, including his own wonderfully personal anecdotes.

The book starts prior to the arrival of the Empire Windrush in 1948, with an introduction examining the widespread power and dubious legacy of the British Empire. This provides an important broader context within which we gain a deeper understanding of post-war events and the complex Black-British experiences referenced in the main text. 

One of the most arresting sections is the list of eight Black-British citizens, including musician Smiley Culture, who died or were grievously injured in police custody or during home raids over the last 30 years. And, although this is one of the book's more sombre moments, Boakye deftly and knowingly balances this with joyful positivity in other sections.

The combination of text and tunes works brilliantly as a conduit for adults and pupils to appreciate Black musical achievements while engaging in reflective discussions about the concepts of imperialism and colonialism, and how British history is constructed. 

Image: Jeffrey Boakye © Antonio Olmos

Boakye’s lively, personal, straight-talking style, with a bit of wry wit thrown in, will appeal to children in KS3 upwards but the text could also be used judiciously by KS2 teachers. (Note: a few of the tracks contain strong language so you may wish to check they suit the maturity levels of your listeners or perhaps substitute with 'cleaner' versions.) 

Children will be introduced to famous Black musicians of the past, such as Lord Kitchener, Mighty Terror and Eddie Grant through to contemporaries Craig David, Stormzy and Dave. Although slightly more men than women are afforded individual chapters, game-changers, such as Sade, Skunk Anansie, Neneh Cherry and Ms Dynamite, are included and well celebrated. 

The fact that you can stop and listen to the stirring YouTube playlist while reading is a conceptual stroke of genius that makes this book the perfect gift for music enthusiasts, young or old. It is also an essential resource for primary and secondary teachers wanting to develop their own historical knowledge.

From calypso to pop, reggae to grime, this groundbreaking musical journey through post-war Black-British history is a sensory feast for your eyes and ears that will also deeply touch your soul.

Listening Party — Track 8: Pass the Dutchie 

Today, for the Musical Truth Listening Party, I'm sharing a song from my childhood: Pass the Dutchie by teen band Musical Youth. The track was released in 1982, an adaptation of Pass the Kouchie by reggae group Mighty Diamonds which was originally about sharing of recreational marijuana. Musical Youth's version was modified entirely to be about the sharing of music as metaphorical 'food'. But some say the song was a comment on extreme poverty — there are several interpretations. In any case, it went on to be a massive success, selling over 100,000 copies on release day. 

Pass the Dutchie takes me back to happy primary-school memories. I was blown away when I first heard it. Never before had I had the privilege of listening to Black-British kids just a little older than me singing on national radio, and to a strong reggae beat at that! 

It was a landmark moment and, even at the tender age of nine, I knew this uplifting tune was radical and transcending. I felt validated and proud of those Jamaican boys from Birmingham who seemed to be singing for a whole young Black generation. And, for the very first time, I was able to share a small part of my private Jamaican culture with my school friends. 

Patois terms, such as 'Dutchie', 'Jah' and 'bun', once reserved for home, now spoke to all of us as we sang and choreographed dances to the hit song at playtime. 

Listen to the track 

You can listen to Track 8: Pass the Dutchie here. Read more about why this song and its young Black singers were so influential in Musical Truth (see page 61). Don't forget to continue the party by checking out the fabulous music on the rest of this tour.

Musical Truth by Jeffrey Boakye, illustrated by Ngadi Smart is available from Bookshop. 

Thank you Faber Children's for sending me a review copy and inviting me on this inspirational Listening Party blog tour.

Check out my Black Children's Books directory for suggested suitability of all the books I have reviewed. All books are also checked against my Jericho Benchmark.