My first time at a reggae bar in Tokyo was a real eye opener. While rum and coke was being poured into my glass, the DJ shouted over Alkaline’s ‘Fleek’ in a mix of Japanese and Patois. Dancers performed, whining and doing split jumps to the song.

Garam in the Shinjuku district is notorious for holding reggae and dancehall events on Fridays and Saturdays and its atmosphere somewhat felt like a home away from home. However, Japan wasn’t the only country that I had experienced this in.

The summer of 2017, I went with friends to a dancehall night at Octagon, a popular nightclub in the Gangnam district in Seoul, South Korea. We ended up in the VIP section with the artist Skull who was performing that night.

As a second generation Jamaican, I never expected to witness my culture and heritage make such an impact in the East. Growing up, I heard the likes of Eddy Grant, Bob Marley, Gregory Isaacs and Brinsley Forde on my parents’ record player at home and through my grandma’s radio in St Anns, Jamaica. But my first exposure to Asia’s take on reggae and dancehall was on the family computer as a teenager.