REFLECTIONS ON TRENCH TOWN
Conversations with Junior Lincoln with L. Nicole Brown
Joseph ‘Junior’ Lincoln gets a glossy nostalgic gleam in his
eye whenever he speaks of his love and affinity to Trench
Town, he was after all, born across the road at 3 Metcalfe
street. He describes his young days at Boys Town, the
institution founded by Fr. Hugh Sherlock, as the best years of
his life that afforded him access to mentorship from bigger
boys like Collie smith, who taught him focus, ambition and
tenets of good citizenry, things about life which contributed
to the man he is today.
TRENCH TOWN BRAND
Junior Lincoln, always knew that
Trench Town was an important brand.
A brand in the making for more than
fifty years, a brand deeply interlaced
with the birth and development of
Reggae Music. He knew then there
was something special about Trench
Town and its significance became
more clear when he lived in England
and worked on promotion and
releasing of Jamaican music, mainly
recorded by Artistes from Trench
Town at the time and with producers
like Duke Reid and Coxsone Dodd.
In the 1960’s, as the music gained popularity in england,
Junior Lincoln, brought the first Jamaican Band - Soul
Vendors [known as The Skatalites in Jamaica] - to play
concerts there. This band had as lead singers, Ken Boothe
and Alton Ellis and musicians Roland Alphonso, Jackie
Mittoo, Lloyd Brevett, and Johnny Moore. He would
later organize many more tours in England, Europe and
African Countries and so it was through this medium, the
importance of Trench Town as a brand began to take
shape in its influence on the world.
TRENCH TOWN TODAY
Returning to Jamaica, the mission was to rebuild Trench
Town and its environs in all aspects. Now a community
growing up amidst strife and turmoil of political and turf
wars, whose addresses have been covered in shame of
violence, has been lifted as the people never lost the hope
and resiliency to be more than what they were stigmatised
to be.
Trench Town, has risen from the dust and to
take its place amongst Jamaica’s viable and
economic contributors. In his mind, Junior
Lincoln believes that one such indicator of
how far this community has come, is the
interest of local and International non-profit
groups living and working in the Community
such as Musicians without Borders from
Germany, who have been in the community
since 2013 teaching children and young
adults to learn and play music.
The Annual Trench Town Festival held in
February, Reggae Month, is yet another
major development in the community. This
event has grown to be one of biggest music
festivals in Kingston, showcasing community
talent as well top notch Jamaican Artists providing
community businesses and artisans further opportunities.
With the recent UNESCO designation of Kingston as World
Music City, Junior Lincoln and others like him in the
Jamaican music sector sees this as nothing more than
the formalization of a position long held about our music
and of our city - Kingston. Trench Town is therefore aptly
positioned to make use of this opportunity of rebranding
itself to Jamaica and the World as a Cultural Village for
everyone to have a ‘one of kind’ experience.
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