Jamaica Observer
Jamaica, W.I. - In a culture dominated by hardcore reggae and dancehall rhythms, St Vincent and the Grenadines steel pan players Reajhaun Baptiste and Rodney Small said it took some convincing to win over the local audiences.
Baptiste, 27, and Small, 25, recently completed their four-year bachelor's degree in jazz and popular music performance at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in St Andrew.
"My strategy to win over the Jamaican audience was to first give them their own culture on pan. So I played dancehall and reggae, then mixed it with my own musical style," Small told The Sunday Observer.
Baptiste said the steel pan is oftentimes stereotyped as an instrument associated with Carnival.
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