 and Stephanie (right) Dixon.jpg)
Age:
20s
Hustle: Reggae Radio
Chicago is no dancehall capital but two
ladies are making sure that Chi-town is getting
its share of the reggae pie. Sisters Petina and
Stephanie Dixon have been longtime promoters of
reggae music in Chicago. The “Ladies of Reggae”
recently sat down with AFRIQUE to discuss their
love for the music, the Chicago music scene, and
their new radio show on Power 92 FM. (This interview
was conducted via email).
1) Tell me about your work as the “ladies
of reggae”. I see you in photos of all of the
latest Caribbean parties and events. What do you
do?
We are reggae radio DJs, broadcasting every weekend
in Chicago. We love covering Caribbean events
and interviewing reggae artists, both in Chicago
and around the world. Some of our favorites so
far are: Red Stripe Reggae Sunfest in Montego
Bay, Jamaica, West Indian Labor Day parade in
New York, One Love Jamaica reggae festival in
Tokyo, Japan, and Sziget Festival in Budapest,
Hungary.
2) Where did you guys grow up?
We’re local girls—we grew up in Evanston, Illinois,
just north of Chicago. We would visit our extended
family in Jamaica during the summer.
3) Why do they call you the “ladies of
reggae?”
A few years after we started doing Reggae Vibrations
on WNUR-FM, our staff grew to about six women
strong. Listeners and the show’s veteran DJ Mobay
One started to call us "The Ladies."
The name stuck so we made it official- “The Ladies
of Reggae.”
4) You two have been advocates for reggae
music (in Chicago and beyond) for years. What
inspired you to get into this line of work?
The music is in our blood. We’re sisters, and
we grew up listening to reggae music- our dad
has a great collection of old 45s in the basement-
and we grew up loving it. It was natural that
we ended up in a field where we have the ability
to share the music that we love with others.
5) You are now part of a new radio show on Power
92 FM dedicated to reggae. That’s big. How did
you manage to get a slot on Chicago radio for
that genre of music?
Petina: That’s been something I’ve wanted to
see happen in Chicago since I got into reggae
radio. I would tell it to anybody who would listen.
Finally, somebody did! When my contact at Power
92 convinced station management to give reggae
programming a chance, Joe Neish (owner of Uncle
Joe’s Tropical Dining, and Exec. Producer of Reggae
Link Radio) was in place to make it a reality.
6) What can we expect from the show? Is
it going to be like roots reggae? soca,? Dancehall?
Reggae Link Radio is the only show dedicated
to reggae on a mainstream hip-hop/R& B station
in Chicago, serving the area’s Afro-Caribbean
communities and all of Chicago’s reggae lovers.
The “Island Check-In” segment of the show encourages
listeners to call in to represent their island,
country, city, or town and it’s very popular.
Reggae Link Radio will incorporate a blend of
roots reggae, lover’s rock, dancehall, and some
soca flavor as well.
7) How does Chicago’s reggae scene compare
to that of other cities in the U.S. and other
parts of the world?
There are a lot of reggae fans in Chicago. The
longer we’re in this industry, the more apparent
that becomes. It’s hard to compare to cities like
New York that are home to millions of Caribbean
people, but Chicago is definitely holding its
own.
However, the Chicago reggae community is still
somewhat segregated and that’s something that
we’d love to see change.
8) What can we expect from the ladies
of reggae in the coming years?
Stephanie: I’m not sure what the future holds
but I know that we’ll continue to be successful
in the radio business. Whether we take it to TV
or not is a whole other ball game. All I want
to see is more success for my sister and I.
Petina: I’d love to see us doing more on-location
reporting from reggae events worldwide… whether
it be for radio, TV or print!
Petina and Stephanie Trivia
Best performance of a reggae artist I
have ever seen is____
Every performance is so unique—it’s nearly impossible
to answer with a BEST. There are so many stand-out
entertainers. But I think you can always judge
it by the way they make the crowd react- anybody
that can get 20,000 people roaring definitely
gets ratings.
The worst performance of a reggae we
have ever witnessed is ___
We’ve seen artists fall off the stage before
and other random mishaps, but there haven’t been
any performances that are so terrible they stand
out in my mind.
The most interesting artist I have interviewed
is __
Stephanie: I personally just started doing interviews.
I’ll always love interviewing Elephant Man, but
that’s just because I know what to expect and
I’ve had the most contact with him.
Petina: I’ve interviewed a lot of reggae artists
over the years at WNUR and also Tropical Riddims
and Beats. I always like anyone who is genuine,
kind and down-to-earth. The entertainment industry
is full of egos, so it’s always refreshing to
talk to someone who speaks to you like they would
to a friend. I’d point to Cham as one of the nicest.
The hottest Chicago spot for Caribbean
music is ___
The Wild Hare stands strong (especially with
their new look) but there are plenty of other
places in Chicago that play reggae music we still
have yet to visit. (We’ll be there soon, I promise!)
The hottest local Caribbean artist in
Chicago right now is?
There’s definitely a lot of local talent like
Gizzae, Dub Dis, Nu-Ras, Twilite, and others,
but I know we haven’t heard all of them yet...
Afrique team went out to the streets
and questioned 100 people on their perspectives
of what “whiteness” is. It is a term that’s been
coined in many different ways, and something I,
an ethnic person deal with on a daily basis. However,
it is important, because socially speaking, the
entire country is obsessed with it positively
or negatively, in one-way or another. Here are
some of the answers.
“Whiteness is political, it is a machine and
represents this country as a whole. It transcends
race and is representative of this country's history."
“Whiteness in America seems to me a myth, more
defined by what it isn't than what it is. We are
told that whiteness doesn't included African,
Latin or Indigenous roots, but even people who
don't pertain to these categories often don't
consider themselves "white" if they
have another strong ethno-cultural identity. They
consider themselves and are considered Jewish,
Italian, Spaniard or Latino, etc. Perhaps because
of America's immigrant heritage, then, whiteness
in America describes an ethno-cultural category
that is empty and exclusive. It has been created
based around a lack of cultural tradition rather
than anything tangible or identifiable.”
“If there are any basic characteristics associated
with whiteness in America, it seems to me that
they are found with someone who has pale skin
coming from European ancestry, has Christian religious
beliefs, speaks English and comes from a family
that has been in America for multiple generations.
An interesting question thus arises. As we move
away from these traits, does someone become "less
white"? Where are the boundaries for whiteness?
And where is the threshold where someone stops
becoming "less white" and is not considered
white at all?”
“Golf, country clubs, Ann Taylor, Gap, Abercrombie
and Fitch, Tiffany’s, Coach, Starbux, Wine and
Dining culture, theatre culture, Ivy league schools,
frat phenomenon, laughing at things that are not
really funny and talks of yachts and sailing like
it’s sex to them is white. But you don’t have
to be white to be ‘white’”
“Because of brainwashing and what we have been
taught, Whiteness now does not have a color. African
Americans can be diagnosed as White. Moved to
the Burbs, Caucasian friends, schools, etc, these
social doings in and out of your day. Not acting
like inner city blacks (ghetto, street, hood)
= being White. Even Caucasians in the Hood can
be seen as more Black than White in these standards,
it’s about how you behave socially.”
“White supremacy. Everything done the White Way.
White is seen as right.”
“Whiteness to me brings to mind the idea of white
privilege, values and way of living. Not that
privileges, values and ways can't be shared across
races, but rather that there seems to be, in today's
world, a premium put on everything white. People
even speak of white lies as being less damaging,
as if the color itself were immune to doing anything
wrong. As far as Chicago is concerned, the whole
city seems to be organized along those lines:
white people and where they live vs. everyone
else.”
“I'm sorry never heard such a word. I don’t know
where u would hear this word thrown around. Is
the segregation still happening and that’s why
you are writing about it?”
“I think about the skin privileges it accords
people with the skin color. In this society White
skin equals: access, doors opening, domination.”
“To me that the term "whiteness" represents
greater opportunity, a bright future and supremacy…see,
when your white society don't teach you equality,
they just teach you tolerance...and nobody wants
to be tolerated, they want to be accepted. You
tolerate a crying baby on an airplane even though
its annoying your brains out, you cant say you
tolerate someone when they are not doing anything
wrong in the first place...I guess when you are
white you have the privilege to choose which part
of society you tolerate and which side you won’t.
“
“When you are white the sky is the limit, when
your colored, the limit is the sky-this is whiteness
in a nutshell for ya!!!”
“British imperialism, and pastel colors, pasty
stuff.”
“We have just enough culture that make us hate,
but not enough to make us love one another! I
used to THINK that white represents, happiness,
peace, hope, love, cleanness, beauty, we've experienced
it in weddings, holidays, funerals. I learned....
There is no such a thing as WHITE OR BLACK. It’s
just all socially constructed! WE created a word
for physical, social and cultural, religious differences!
Consider TV as one of the socially constructed
entertainment that emphasizes and perpetuates
these false stereotypes. WE observe black people
as "the bad guys" and white's as "the
good guys"...we see white birds as a sign
of peace and black bird as evil. If this idea
is socially constructed, then it's up to US to
change our own view and understanding of the world!
Grab your sword and your Gasha! Lets make a change!
Who is with me!!”
“In terms of the idea of whiteness, it is a mind
block. There’s a key difference between the Africans
and African Americans in how they deal with psychological
racism. A lot of African Americans (not all) use
this really annoying 'woe-is-me-I-am-forever-cursed-by-my-skin-color'
mentality to justify under achievement. Who cares
if there are racists out there? Who cares if some
people will look at you funny? My parents are
both highly educated African immigrants, who had
to deal with discrimination from both blacks and
whites, but that never stopped them from achieving
success. There are no handouts and easy rides-
if you work hard and do your best people will
be forced to recognize you.”
“being white by default... just not knowing where
you come from which isn't much when you could
almost make it up like me. I have no idea where
I come from, except for Amsterdam.”
“Its not about the term, white or black as a
skin color but if someone identifies with being
white, if they say 'yeah I'm white' then that
is a reflection that they would not be racist
but if someone says "oh I'm not white I 'm
Caucasian mixed with Lithuanian or whatever, whatever,
whatever...then that is a lot of baggage they
have to deal with that simplifies that they could
be racist yet they might not know it. (other voice:
I don't know if I agree with that) At least that
is what this guy told me who worked his whole
life with racists.”
“White people don't exist... they're beige or
pink.”
“I think White people have a lot of work to do
in forging their own ethnic identity because I
think a lot of White people are comfortable with
just saying that they're white and it just is
there.. and they don't need to construct any other
ethnic identity. Ethnicity is other people's domain
unless they think deeply and see that is false,
everyone has an ethnicity. As far as American
whites, they culture is not that different from
blacks because it is all American. I wonder if
White people talk about being white when no one
else is around..”
“A lot of whites, well I'm white but I’ll say
it, a lot of Whites are scared that the future
of humanity is somewhere around medium brown.
They know that, they don't want to acknowledge
it (why is that threatening) because that means
the end of their genetic existence.”
“The height of wealth and status.”
“Wal-Mart, McDonalds, Christmas trees, Santa
Clause, and the Easter Bunny. Being culturally
deprived. Being a huge Hodge-podge mix. Being
American, I think that is what it is. American
pop culture.”
“Vanilla Ice.”
“Money.”
“To me, whiteness is something generic used to
label a group of people. It is a stereotype like
all the others.”
“Opera, people who likes to jog with their dogs.”
“Mashed potatoes and celebrating corny holidays
is white. Celebrating really gruesome parts of
history as a not-so-bad-of-a-thing is a White
thing.”
“Way of speaking, that’s southern, mid western,
east coast, west coast, it’s a language thing.
That can be white.”
“Just like CNN, Fox News and the Media, cannot
be trusted!”
“Pretending Republicans and Democrats are different
enough to make a big deal every four years.”
“Whiteness is believing that some lies are okay
because they are small yet numerous when in reality
they are not good at all!”
“Having a bunch of I.Ds you don’t even really
need is a white cultural phenomenon.”
October Arts & Ent. Calendar
Music/Concerts
October 14th
Jennifer Lopez & Marc Anthony
Doors Open:6:00pm Show: 7:30 PM
United Center (1901 W. Madison)
For tickets: Visit www.livenation.com
October 24th
Zap Mama
8pm
$21 (18 & Older)
Metro
3730 N. Clark
For more info: Call 773-549-0203
October 31st
Lupe Fiasco
Door:6:30pm Show: 8pm
House of Blues
329 N. Dearborn
For tickets: www.hob.com
October 17th
CEU
Latin Grammy-nominated, Brazilian singer-songwriter
returns to Chicago for another smashing performance.
Old Town School of Folk Music
8:30pm
4544 N. Lincoln Ave
For more info: Call 773 751 3332
Theatre/Film
October 4th-October 17th
43rd Annual Chicago International Film Festival
At this year’s CIFF will be films from South Africa,
Brazil and other corners of the globe. Check Out
the CIFF’s Black Perspectives Program.
(Various venues and times)
For more Info: www.chicagofilmfestival.org
Through Oct 21st
Congo Square Theatre Company presents:
Elmina’s Kitchen (Congo Square Theatre)
Play by Kwame Kwei-Armah about British youth fighting
to stay out of trouble with the law.
Times Vary
Chicago Center for the Performing Arts
777 N. Green St.
For more info: Call (312) 733- 6000
October 13th
Black Perspectives
Tribute & Party
Cocktail Reception
Tribute Presentation Party
Visit www.chicagofilmfestival.com
October 14th
Black Perspectives
Special Screening
Chicago International Film Fest
Poor Boy’s Game
AMC River East 21
322 E. Illinois St.
Special guest: Tonya Lee Williams
