Rockfort (Kingston, Jamaica)

Rockfort
Community
Rockfort
Coordinates: 17°58′30.61″N 76°45′29.7″W / 17.9751694°N 76.758250°W / 17.9751694; -76.758250Coordinates: 17°58′30.61″N 76°45′29.7″W / 17.9751694°N 76.758250°W / 17.9751694; -76.758250
Country Jamaica
City Kingston
Constituency East Kingston

Rockfort is a community in Kingston, Jamaica that is bounded by Long Mountain range to the north, the sea and Springfield Gardens to the south, Mountain View and Rollington Town to the west, and Harbour View to the east. [1]

History

Rockfort was a centre for Jamaican popular music,[2] where it became associated with Rastafarianism, thanks to the activities of Count Ossie. Others who have performed and lived in the area were Horace Andy, Don Drummond,[3] Johnny Moore, and Tommy McCook.[4] When Captain Sinbad moved to the UK, he named his new enterprise "Rockfort Records".[3]

An enclave for the lower-middle class in the 1950s and 1960s, gang violence began to erupt in the 1980s, and became significantly worse by 2017.[5] In August 2017, a rash of gang violence, crimes, and murder in the area drove some residents to move out of their homes.[6]

References

  1. "Rockfort Summary Profile". Social Development Commission, Jamaica Government. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  2. Klive Walker (2005). Dubwise: Reasoning from the Reggae Underground. Insomniac Press. pp. 14–. ISBN 978-1-897414-60-6.
  3. 1 2 David Vlado Moskowitz (2006). Caribbean Popular Music: An Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 52–. ISBN 978-0-313-33158-9.
  4. Kenneth Bilby (May 10, 2016). Words of Our Mouth, Meditations of Our Heart: Pioneering Musicians of Ska, Rocksteady, Reggae, and Dancehall. Wesleyan University Press. p. 142. ISBN 978-0-8195-7604-0.
  5. Mark, Wignall (August 13, 2017). "Storm and stress in Rockfort". Jamaica Gleaner. Retrieved May 28, 2017 via PressReader.
  6. Limited, Jamaica Observer. "Rockfort suffering from months of murders, theft and gunfights". Jamaica Observer.
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