Julia Toppin’s essay ”Jungle – A Critical Intersectional History’ (2023) is published in Black Music in Britain in the 21st Century (Liverpool University Press, 2023), edited by Monique Charles with Mary Gani.

Since the turn of the 21st century, there have been several genres birthed from or nurtured in Black Britain: funky & tribal House, Afrobeats, Grime, Afro Swing, UK Drill, Road Rap, Trap etc. This pioneering book brings together diverse diasporan sounds in conversation. A valuable resource for those interested in the study of 21st century Black music and related cultures in Britain, this book goes incorporates the significant Black Atlantean, global interactions within Black music across time and space. It examines and proposes theoretical approaches, contributing to building a holistic appreciation of 21st century Black British music and its multidimensional nature. 

This book proffers an academically curated, rigorous, holistic view of Black British music in the 21st century. Drawing from pioneering academics in the emerging field and industry professionals, the book will serve academic theory, as well as the views, debates and experiences of industry professionals in a complementary style that shows the synergies between diasporas and interdisciplinary conversations. The book is interdisciplinary. It draws from sociology, musicology and the emerging digital humanities fields, to make its arguments and develop a multi-disciplinary perspective about Black British music in the 21st century.

A Spotify playlist of tracks relevant to many of the chapters in the book and compiled by the contributors is available here.