Aren't we Jamaican too? Rock bands and the authenticity question
One side
Rock played by Jamaicans is foreign imitation, not Jamaican music
The other
Born-and-raised musicians say Jamaican identity is not bound to one genre
“Some say we don't write Jamaican music, but we are all born and raised in Jamaica, so aren't we Jamaican too?”
What was argued
The recurring charge against Jamaica's home-grown rock bands is that what they play is not Jamaican music. DownStairs bassist Andrew Campbell gave the scene's standing answer in a 2005 Gleaner profile, and the alternative circuit's advocates have repeated the point since: the musicians are as Jamaican as the audience doubting them.
The records this concerns
Sources
Jamaica Gleaner, 28 August 2005, "DOWNSTAIRS" (entertainment section); Caribbean Beat issue 79 (2006), "Rocking to a different beat".