Jamaican Canadian musician Jay Douglas finally gets his flowers in Play It Loud!

Play It Loud! is a new film that charts how Jamaican music became a big part of Canadian culture.

The documentary centres on the influence of Jamaican Canadian singer Jay Douglas, who has been performing for almost 60 years. His life story parallels the emergence of Jamaican popular music both in Jamaica and Canada, and follows not only the birth of ska and reggae but also the origins of this country's unique Black music culture

Today on Commotion, culture critics Danae Peart and Dalton Higgins join guest host Rad Simonpillai to discuss Play It Loud!, which will be available to stream on all TVO digital platforms starting this Friday.

We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, where the panel also discusses Bam Bam: The Sister Nancy Story, listen and follow Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud on your favourite podcast player.

Rad: Dalton, educate us. Where do Jay Douglas's contributions to reggae and soul music sit within the larger history of musical genres in Canada? 

Dalton: Jay Douglas is a very interesting figure in Canadian music history in that he never really won any major awards, and he's never necessarily even had a hit record. So he's not really known like that in the commercial music realm. But what he did do for decades, since the '60s to today, he became a really strong ambassador for reggae music and soul music. And he is someone when you see him play live, he always puts on a fantastic live show that would, honestly, put a lot of artists today to shame. 

I would say that Jay's shining moment is, he was attached to this project called Jamaica to Toronto: Soul, Funk & Reggae 1967-1974. It was an album put out by this American record label called Light in the Attic. I actually ended up producing the show down at the Harbourfront Centre way back in 2006…. That, to this day, is one of the largest concerts that venue has ever produced. So that goes to tell you the resonance of the tracks. He and all of these artists that had been performing from the '60s and '70s in Toronto, they came here from Jamaica: The Mighty Pope, Wayne McGhie, Jackie Mittoo — the type of influence and impact they had on Canadian music, you know? 

Rad: I love how just recalling that show, all of a sudden a surge of electricity just went through you, you know? Drawing on that energy, Danae, how did you feel about the doc's take on Jay Douglas's musical legacy? 

Danae: So, I loved it. Obviously, I have a little bit of bias. I know Jay. I've known him in the scene. I worked in radio, played his music, so I love Jay. And what it made me do is appreciate Jay as a legend in the music. The fact that Jay Douglas and his band performed at the first Caribana ever, the fact that he performed at Le Coq d'Or, which if anybody knows the history of that tavern, you'll know that not a lot of Black acts got in there, and when they did, it was usually from the States. So Jay Douglas has always been making history, and has always been making an impact in the music. But it was good to see a documentary film portray his full body of work and full impact. 

Now, Jay Douglas as protagonist, we are watching the development of music in Canada, Black music and the impact of Black music through his lens. And as a protagonist, he allows us to see what is this journey like? What has been this uphill battle? What has been the challenges as an artist trying to make it? And some of the fears that come with not growing in a certain way, and some of the triumphs that come with, even if you don't get an award, guess what? He is still performing. Living legend, still performing to this day. And the fact that persons looking on, younger artists can pick up on that and realize this journey is not new. Somebody else has been here. Somebody else has felt this challenge, but here's how he's gone through it. So I appreciate it as a body of work, as capturing the story of Black music in Canada whether it is reggae or soul, and the fact that it is now here for you to look at as a waymaker, as a blueprint, if you wish, for doing it.

You can listen to the full discussion from today's show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts.

Panel produced by Ty Callender.