sonic self-liberation is an interdisciplinary exploratory research project exploring music's crucial role as an expressive instrument of social, political, cultural & spiritual consciousness in Jamaica. An in-depth journey into the dimensions of sound in society, sonic self-liberation highlights the seminal role of sound systems in Jamaica's musical heritage of ska, rocksteady, roots reggae and dub. Sound systems became social institutions in the 1940s, facilitating the development of an autonomous music scene innovating first and foremost to the tastes of their sound system audience. Deeply grounded in their communities, sound systems became vehicles for expression of an ever-changing social, political, cultural and spiritual consciousness — dynamic, resilient, and responsive to the subjective tastes and desires of their audience. sonic self-liberation celebrates and calls attention to the unspoken legacies of Jamaican musical innovation, far beyond Bob Marley.