This article by Angela Carone appeared in kpbs.org. Follow the link below for a video and audio of the report.

Dancehall has replaced reggae as the defining music of Jamaica, at least for contemporary Jamaicans. Fans say it’s the voice of the people. Critics say it glorifies sex and violence. In its most basic form, dancehall involves a deejay rapping over a beat.

Because it dates back to the 1970s, some argue it’s the source of hip hop.

No one denies that today, dancehall is the most popular art form in Jamaica.

The culture surrounding dancehall is the subject of Ebony G. Patterson’s artwork. Her large mixed-media wall tapestries and paintings are on view at the Lux Art Institute in Encinitas through the end of May.

Patterson has always been interested in more than just the music of dancehall.

“It’s language, it’s dress, it’s music, it’s movement and it’s bravado,”…