ENTITY · PLACE

Flatbush / Little Caribbean, Brooklyn

Well supported

East Flatbush corridor around Nostrand, Church and Flatbush Avenues, officially designated Little Caribbean, and the heart of Brooklyn's Jamaican dancehall community — sometimes called Jamaica's '15th parish'.

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At a glance

Type: place
Confidence: Well supported
Era: Open era →

Places & geographyDance, body & movementDiaspora & global influence

Connections

In stories

Story · Well supportedThe front line and the far east: how reggae built places abroad

Jamaican music didn't just travel - it named streets, districts and venues on four continents.

Debate & reception

How people argued about the music — praise, criticism and public debate. See all debate & reception →

commentary

Brooklyn as Jamaica's '15th parish': second home or dilution of dancehall?

Documented commentary on the Jamaican diaspora scene in Flatbush/Little Caribbean, stated neutrally: many observers celebrate Brooklyn as a vital second home whose venues, record shops and studios sustained dancehall's singers and selectors through the 1980s-90s; others argue the music's centre of gravity and economy should remain rooted in Jamaica. Neutral framing; no verdict. Sources: BK Mag; Vice; Brooklyn News Service.

Stance: diaspora Brooklyn as a sustaining second home vs keeping dancehall's centre in Jamaica