This work provides an accessible account of a poorly understood aspect of Jamaican popular culture. It explores the socio-political meanings of Jamaica's dancehall culture. In particular, the book gives an account of the power relations within the dancehall and between the dancehall and the wider Jamaican society. Hope gives the reader an unmatched insider's view and explanation of power, violence and gender relations in Jamaica as seen through the prism of the dancehall.

Dr. Donna P. Hope is a Cultural Analyst, Author, Researcher, Motivational Speaker, and Director and Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Caribbean Studies and the Reggae Studies at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus. She was born in Linstead, St. Catherine, Jamaica and currently resides in Kingston, Jamaica.

She completed her B.A. (Mass Communication with First Class Hons) and M.Phil. in Government (Political Science) at the University of the West Indies, Mona. She was awarded a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship in 2002 and completed a PhD in Cultural Studies at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.