I discovered rave music as a sheltered Ghanaian teenager – it changed my life

By Louise Owusu-Kwarteng, Senior Lecturer, Programme Leader, Sociology, University of Greenwich

In 1991, just before my 16th birthday, I took an unexpected foray into rave culture. This went against my upbringing in a Ghanaian household and community, where there was emphasis on “good behaviour”, educational excellence, and being a “good Ghanaian kid”. There was great fear that exposure to other external influences, including popular culture that didn’t reflect our heritage would ruin us.

Naturally, growing up here in the UK meant that we were exposed to different youth cultures, which greatly concerned our elders. Many bought into moral…

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