Beat of the Ghetto

Mento and ska provided the backbeat for good times, but reggae became Jamaica’s pounding platform for addressing serious and difficult issues. Artists like Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Culture, Burning Spear, and Jacob Miller sounded the boom shot heard around the world. The power of reggae has been compressed into an impressive traveling exhibit of album cover art, film clips, and audio samples. “Equal Rights: Reggae and Social Change” is currently on display at the Miami-Dade Public Library System’s Main Library, and today’s Get Up, Stand Up at the Library event offers an afternoon of music and island art for fans and newcomers alike. Cocurator and genre historian Herbie Miller will put the exhibition into perspective with a lively panel discussion, and famed dub poet Malachi Smith will perform, as will the Millennium Band featuring King Arthur.
Sat., Jan. 20, 2-5 p.m.