Escape from Babylon by Jesse Bernard review – an intimate history of Black British music | Music books

The 1989 was a landmark in Black British music: Soul II Soul was on its way to conquer America and Sade was already gaining international attention, while A Guy Called Gerald and Nightmares on Wax had the entire Hacienda. dance to their songs. It’s a fitting time for Jesse Bernard (who was born that year) to begin his best-known historical novel, Escape from Babylon. Made as a mixtape, it jumps between skits and short combinations of stories and poems, through the carefree story of Bernard’s life as he grows from a stupid schoolboy (expelled for sticking rotting fish in the school’s radiators) to a music researcher, DJ and journalist.

Bernard’s music lessons began in his parents’ car, with Mica Paris, Soul II Soul and Carol Wheeler accompanying him all the time. It continued with Craig David performing 7 Days on Top of the Pops in 2000, one of the first times Bernard saw the British R&B singer. Such personal memories are presented together with performances and artists encountered during the period of journalism to create an argument about the origin and movement of Black British music. The past Saxon sound system emcee Tippa Irie’s view that reggae is a tree and that both the UK sound and the branches that come from it informs his approach. Through Bernard we meet and talk to many of the tree’s descendants – from UK fun to grime, jungle and drilling.

Escape from Babylon gives dedicated – and long – attention to British Black artists who emerged in the 1990s, especially Lynden David Hall, a successful artist who died in 2006 of Hodgkin’s lymphoma at the age of 31. Bernard appreciates the talent and pain of a man who could “have the spirit of Marvin Gayez” above the sprinkled London and Teddy Pendergrass. He also correctly emphasizes the importance of The Lick, directed by Hall’s mentor, Trevor Nelson, and aired on MTV Base in the 2000s. The overall image is one of Black British music that is growing on its own at a time when many people are growing up, creating a deeper understanding of its history and future.

Bernard’s passion and knowledge of the subject make him an excellent guide during this renovation process. Some of his insights are revealing, such as his contention that British artists had to use their own version of the Chitlin’ Circuit, and that African American gymnasts were forced to participate in segregation. And this did not happen before, but in the 2000s: Dizzee Rascal remembers places like Le Fez in Deptford, Stratford Rex and the Palace Pavilion in Romford as places where “you can shoot but not make a lot of money”.

Some parts of this heritage are still with us. Form 696, the site inspection document that the Met used to block Black music events in the capital, has been withdrawn. But the police are now looking at the statements of hundreds of youths to confirm that they are “terrorists”. Bernard doesn’t just look to show this much, but this is an “intimate history”, more about his experiences of being a black British man than an exploration of the external factors that have shaped his country.

This method has its drawbacks. There is a steady stream of voices that are only briefly reviewed before another idea, theme song or skit is introduced. The constant chopping and changing can leave frustratingly undeveloped conflicts.

Regardless, Escape from Babylon feels like an important contribution to another important year for Black British music. It comes after the Mobo awards celebrated its 30th birthday and at the same time the V&A East launched the exhibition The Music is Black: A British Story. With this ambitious, shape-shifting account, Bernard has added his title to a growing portfolio.