The outsider ambassador: should a British selector be reggae's best-known radio voice abroad?

What was argued

David Rodigan, an Englishman, has become arguably the most internationally recognised reggae and dancehall selector on radio, honoured with both an MBE in Britain and Jamaica's Order of Distinction. Supporters point to more than four decades of scholarly, sound-clash-tested advocacy as having won him the culture's genuine respect and expanded its global reach; others have questioned whether a non-Jamaican should hold such an outsized gatekeeping role in introducing the genre to new audiences abroad. Neutral framing; no verdict.