One of reggae's most majestic performers, Alpha Blondy and his 12-piece band, the Solar System perform with a depth and scale that let you know that Africa is in the house. A native of the Ivory Coast, and one of the world's most popular reggae artists, Blondy's music ranges from quietly spiritual to socially outraged. In this 1988 program, the artist is interviewed following his historic U.S. debut performance at The Ritz, NYC.

Bankie Banx, Anguilla's native son, is a unique singer/songwriter whose songs fuse folk, rock, reggae, jazz and blues with a rich baritone and incisive lyrics. Creator of the annual "Moonsplash" festival at his Dune Preserve in Anguilla, Banx is interviewed in Central Park, NYC, 1989. Music videos shot in Anguilla and New York include. “Down on the Corner”, "Prince of Whales," "Screamin", and “Wasted Worry”

Part 2 of the Burning Spear special continues with studio footage of the singer and drummer Nelson Miller mixing, "My Roots" at Sigma Sound Studio in Manhattan. Spear's interview with Ben Mapp is interwoven with live footage of the singer and his band performing "Mek We Dweet", and "Creation Rebel" shot on location at Kilimanjaro, NYC in 1990.

Reggae music's commercial roots extend back to the 1950's and 60's, by way of ska and rock-steady, earlier genres of Jamaican music. In this program, Mutabaruka examines the origin of the dancehall, Toots Hibbert, credited with "reggae's" creation, discusses the origin of the word and Leroy Sibbles, Marcia Griffiths and Jackie Mittoo reminisce about Studio One.

Hailing from St. Lucia and Columbus, Ohio, Identity is a critically acclaimed 8-piece reggae band whose short but sweet career stands as a jewel in reggae's crown. Led by charismatic singer/guitarist/steel drummer, Deighton Charlemagne, this program features interview and concert footage shot in 1989 at Wetlands Preserve, the premiere jam-band and activist venue in NYC.

Singer Judy Mowatt's career spans over 3 decades. A gifted artist and formidable singer/songwriter, she was the first to record at Bob Marley's Tuff Gong studio in the 70's, and that album, "Black Woman", was also the first self-produced album by a female artist in Jamaica. A core member of the I-Threes, Marley's trio of harmony singers, Mowatt remains one of the cultural icons of reggae royalty today.

LTD, the artistic acronym for the dance team, Love, Togetherness & Devotion, are two Jamaican dancers who represent another dimension of reggae culture. Jamaican Festival winners, George Howard and Erroll Waysome, are interviewed at Perry Henzell's studio in Kingston in 1988, and demonstrate their craft in two dance pieces set to reggae music.

Dub poet Mutabaruka is revisited in this 1990 follow-up program. Original concert footage of "Any Which Way Freedom", "God is a Schizophrenic", and "Famine Injection", shot at Kilimanjaro, New York's pioneering African venue, is featured along with "Outcry" from his Lone Star Café performance in 1984. Video spotlights: Mutabaruka, "Dis Poem" and Oku Onuora, "Dread Time".