SOUL II SOUL "What Is" (Poster Print)

It was impossible to ignore Soul II Soul when they debuted in 1989. There wasn’t a club, school, or community dance that didn’t play either “Back To Life” or “Keep On Movin” and when played out today, still evokes the spirit of unity and nostalgia for a time when genres meant nothing. Soul II Soul and their amalgamation of African, Caribbean, and American influences (Funki Dredd - ‘A happy face, a thumpin’ bass, for a lovin’ race!’) are mentioned in the chapter of Paul Gilroy’s book “The Black Atlantic” (this website’s foundational text). Gilroy considers “Keep On Movin” emblematic of the black, transatlantic conversation. The song is notable for its expansion across nation-states, having been produced in the UK by a group of individuals with Caribbean ancestry but also remixed into a Jamaican dub format in the U.S. Gilroy describes the song as an expression of “the restlessness of spirit which makes the diaspora culture vital”