Dancehall
Encyclopedia
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music
that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae
than the roots
style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably, with digital dancehall (or "ragga
") becoming increasingly characterized by faster rhythms. In the mid-1990s with the rise of dancehall BoboShanti
artists, such as Sizzla
and Capleton
, developed a very strong connection between dancehall and Rastafari.
Dancehall music has come under criticism from international organizations and individuals for its violent and sometimes homophobic lyrics, although the lyrical themes are more varied than simply dealing with slackness
and violence.
in which popular Jamaicans recordings were played by local sound systems. These began in the late 1940s among people from the inner city of Kingston, Jamaica who were not able to participate in dances uptown. Social and political changes in late-1970s Jamaica were reflected in the shift away from the more internationally oriented roots reggae
towards a style geared more towards local consumption, and in tune with the music that Jamaicans had experienced when sound systems performed live. Michael Manley
's socialist
People's National Party
(PNP) government had been replaced with Edward Seaga
's right wing
Jamaica Labour Party
(JLP). Themes of social injustice, repatriation and the Rastafari movement
were overtaken by lyrics about dancing, violence, and sexuality.
Musically, older rhythms from the late 1960s were recycled, with Sugar Minott
credited as the originator of this trend when he voiced new lyrics over old Studio One rhythms between sessions at the studio, where he was working as a session musician. Around the same time, producer Don Mais was reworking old rhythms at Channel One Studios
, using the Roots Radics
band. The Roots Radics would go on to work with Henry "Junjo" Lawes on some of the key early dancehall recordings, including those that established Barrington Levy
, Frankie Paul
, and Junior Reid
as major reggae stars. Other singers to emerge in the early dancehall era as major stars included Don Carlos
, Al Campbell
, and Triston Palmer
, while more established names such as Gregory Isaacs
and Bunny Wailer
successfully adapted.
Sound systems such as Killimanjaro, Black Scorpio, Gemini Disco, Virgo Hi-Fi, Volcano Hi-Power and Aces International soon capitalized on the new sound and introduced a new wave of deejays. The older toasters were overtaken by new stars such as Captain Sinbad
, Ranking Joe
, Clint Eastwood
, Lone Ranger
, Josey Wales
, Charlie Chaplin
, General Echo
and Yellowman
— a change reflected by the 1981 Junjo Lawes-produced album A Whole New Generation of DJs, although many went back to U-Roy
for inspiration. Deejay records became, for the first time, more important than records featuring singers. Another trend was sound clash albums, featuring rival deejays /or sound systems competing head-to-head for the appreciation of a live audience, with underground sound clash cassettes often documenting the violence that came with such rivalries.
Two of the biggest deejay stars of the early dancehall era, Yellowman and Eek-a-Mouse
, chose humour rather than violence. Yellowman became the first Jamaican deejay to be signed to a major American record label, and for a time enjoyed a level of popularity in Jamaica to rival Bob Marley
's peak. The early 1980s also saw the emergence of female deejays in dancehall music, including: Sister Charmaine, Lady G
, Lady Junie, Junie Ranks, Lady Saw
, Sister Nancy
and Shelly Thunder.
Dancehall brought a new generation of producers; Junjo Lawes, Linval Thompson
, Gussie Clarke
and Jah Thomas
took over from the producers who had dominated in the 1970s.
's 1985 hit, "(Under Me) Sleng Teng
" by Wayne Smith
, with an entirely-digital rhythm hook took the dancehall reggae world by storm. Many credit this song as being the first digital rhythm in reggae, featuring a rhythm from a Casio MT-40
keyboard. However, this is not entirely correct since there are earlier examples of digital productions, such as Horace Ferguson's single "Sensi Addict" (Ujama) produced by Prince Jazzbo
in 1984. The "Sleng Teng" rhythm was used in over 200 subsequent recordings. This deejay-led, largely synthesized chanting with musical accompaniment departed from traditional conceptions of Jamaican popular musical entertainment.
Dub poet
Mutabaruka
said, "if 1970s reggae was red, green and gold, then in the next decade it was gold chains". It was far removed from reggae's gentle roots and culture, and there was much debate among purists as to whether it should be considered an extension of reggae.
This shift in style again saw the emergence of a new generation of artists, such as Buccaneer
, Capleton
and Shabba Ranks
, who became the biggest ragga
star in the world. A new set of producers also came to prominence: Philip "Fatis" Burrell, Dave "Rude Boy" Kelly
, George Phang
, Hugh "Redman" James, Donovan Germain
, Bobby Digital
, Wycliffe "Steely" Johnson and Cleveland "Clevie" Brown (aka Steely & Clevie
) rose to challenge Sly & Robbie's position as Jamaica's leading rhythm section. The deejays became more focused on violence, with Bounty Killer
, Mad Cobra
, Ninjaman
and Buju Banton
becoming major figures in the genre.
To complement the harsher deejay sound, a "sweet sing" vocal style evolved out of roots reggae and R&B, marked by its falsetto and almost feminine intonation, with proponents like Pinchers
, Cocoa Tea
, Sanchez, Admiral Tibet
, Frankie Paul, Half Pint, Conroy Smith, Courtney Melody, Carl Meeks and Barrington Levy
.
In the early 1990s songs like Dawn Penn
's "No, No, No", Shabba Ranks
's "Mr. Loverman", Patra
's "Worker Man" and Chaka Demus and Pliers' "Murder She Wrote" became some of the first dancehall megahits in the US and abroad. Other varieties of dancehall achieved crossover success outside of Jamaica during the mid-to-late 1990s. Tanya Stephens
gave a unique female voice to the genre during the 1990s.
The early 2000s saw the success of newer charting acts such as Elephant Man and Sean Paul
, who has achieved mainstream success in the US and has produced several top 10 Billboard hits, including "Gimme the Light
", "We Be Burnin'
", "Give It Up To Me
", and "Break It Off
" (a duet with Rihanna
). He has also had several #1 singles, "Get Busy
", "Temperature
" and "Baby Boy" (a duet with Beyoncé
).
Dancehall seems to be making a resurgence within the pop market in the late 2000s, namely Christina Aguilera
's Woohoo
, Robyn
's Dancehall Queen
and Swan Fyahbwoy.
VP Records
dominates the dancehall music market with Sean Paul, Elephant Man, and Buju Banton. VP often has partnered with major record labels like Atlantic
and Island
in an attempt to further expand their distribution potential particularly in the US market.
and Dirtsman saw another shift, this time back towards Rastafari and cultural themes, with several of the hardcore slack ragga artists finding religion, and the "conscious ragga" scene becoming an increasingly popular movement. A new generation of singers and deejays emerged that harked back to the roots reggae era, notably Garnett Silk, Rocker T, Tony Rebel
, Sanchez
, Luciano
, Anthony B
and Sizzla
. Some popular deejays, most prominently Buju Banton
and Capleton
, began to cite Rastafari and turn their lyrics and music in a more conscious, rootsy direction. Many modern dancehall Rasta artists identify with Bobo Ashanti
.
is a mixture of reggae or dancehall with elements of other genres, such as hip-hop, R&B, jazz, rock and roll, Indian music, Latin music, drum and bass, punk rock or polka. It is closely related to ragga
music. The term is also used to describe artists who frequently switch between the dancehall and reggae genres and other genres, mainly rap and r&b. It originated in Jamaica
, North America
and Europe
, and first became popular in the late 1990s.
Kingsley Stewart outlines ten of the major cultural imperatives or principles that constitute the dancehall worldview. They are:
Such a drastic change in the popular music of the region generated an equally radical transformation in fashion trends, specifically those of its female faction. In lieu of traditional, modest "rootsy" styles, as dictated by Rastafari-inspired gender roles; women began donning flashy, revealing – sometimes X-rated outfits. This transformation is said to coincide with the influx of slack lyrics within dancehall, which objectified women as apparatuses of pleasure. These women would team up with others to form "modeling posses", or "dancehall model" groups, and informally compete with their rivals.
This newfound materialism and conspicuity was not, however, exclusive to women or manner of dress. Appearance at dance halls was exceedingly important to acceptance by peers and encompassed everything from clothing and jewelry, to the types of vehicles driven, to the sizes of each respective gang or "crew", and was equally important to both sexes.
One major theme behind dancehall is that of space. Sonjah Stanley-Niaah, in her article "Mapping Black Atlantic Performance Geographies", says
In Kingston's Dancehall: A Story of Space and Celebration, she writes:
These same notions of dancehall as a cultural space are echoed in Norman Stolzoff's Wake the Town and Tell the People. He notes that dancehall is not merely a sphere of passive consumerism, but rather is an alternative sphere of active cultural production that acts as a means through which black lower-class youth articulate and project a distinct identity in local, national, and global contexts. Through dancehall, ghetto youths attempt to deal with the endemic problems of poverty, racism, and violence, and in this sense the dancehall acts as a communication center, a relay station, a site where black lower-class culture attains its deepest expression. Thus, dancehall in Jamaica is yet another example of the way that the music and dance cultures of the African diaspora have challenged the passive consumerism of mass cultural forms, such as recorded music, by creating a sphere of active cultural production that potentially may transform the prevailing hegemony of society.
This is seen, in the more obvious sense, in the use of gun talk by artists like Buju Banton
and Capleton
, or the sporting of bling-bling
by "Gangsta Ras" artists like Mavado
and Munga. The term Gangsta Ras, which seeks to reconcile thuggish imagery with Rastafari is an example of how in dancehall, "the misuse of Rastafari culture has diluted and marginalised the central tenets and creed of the Rastafari philosophy and way of life".
What Kingsley regards as the "socioexistential imperative to transcend the normal" is exemplified by artists like Elephant Man
and Bounty Killer
doing things to stand out, such as putting on a synthetic cartoonish voice or donning pink highlights while constantly re-asserting one's hypermasculine attributes. The need for one to be different and to be a superstar, as opposed to merely being talented, is a relatively new phenomenon which can be said to have started with western celebrities and rock stars. Donna P. Hope argues that this trend is related to the rise of market capitalism
as a dominant feature of life in Jamaica, coupled with the role of new media and a liberalized media landscape, where images become of increasing importance in the lives of ordinary Jamaicans who strive for celebrity and superstar status on the stages of dancehall and Jamaican popular culture.
Another point of dissension of dancehall from reggae, and from its non-western roots in Jamaica, is on the focus on materialism. Prominent males in the dancehall scene are expected to dress in very expensive casual wear, indicative of European urban styling and high fashion that suggest wealth and status. Since the late 1990s, males in the dancehall culture have rivalled their female counterparts to look fashioned and styled. The female dancehall divas are all scantily clad, or dressed in spandex outfits that accentuate more than cover one's nakedness. In the documentary It's All About Dancing, prominent dancehall artist Beenie Man
argues that one could be the best DJ or the smoothest dancer, but if one wears clothing that reflects the economic realities of the majority of the partygoers, one will be ignored.
Since the popularizing of Buju Banton's dancehall song "Boom Bye Bye" in the early 1990s, dancehall music has come under criticism from international organizations and individuals over anti-gay lyrics in a few songs. In some cases, dancehall artists whose music features anti-gay lyrics have had their concerts canceled. Various singers have been investigated by international law enforcement agencies such as Scotland Yard
, on the grounds that the lyrics incite the audience to assault homosexuals. In 2003, the British LGBT
rights group OutRage!
called for the arrest of Elephant Man for allegedly inciting the killing of gay men in his song lyrics. He was not arrested. Buju Banton
's 1993 hit "Boom Bye Bye" allegedly advocates the murder of homosexuals by shooting and/or burning ("like an old tire wheel"). Many of the affected singers believe that legal or commercial sanctions are essentially an attack against freedom of speech
. Some artists eventually agreed not to use anti-gay lyrics during their concerts in Europe and the United States, although some artists, such as Capleton, continue to have their concerts canceled due to the Stop Murder Music campaign.
Donna P. Hope argues that dancehall culture's anti-homosexual lyrics form part of a masculinist discussion that advances the interest of the heterosexual male in Jamaica, which is a fundamentalist Christian and deeply patriarchal society. Even while contemporary dancehall culture in Jamaica sports images of men in pseudo-gay poses and costumes, the cultural, religious, social and gendered imperatives of the society advances and promotes the ideal man as macho and heterosexual and men who are homosexual are identified as inadequate and impure portraits of true masculinity. Dancehall music has played into and with this divide in an extreme and lyrically graphic fashion that has been rendered politically incorrect in many places globally but remains culturally relevant in Jamaica.
", "Pon de floor
", "Pon de Replay
", "Tek Weh Yuhself", "Whine Up
" (a mix of various genres), "Boosie Bounce", "Drive By", "Shovel It", "To Di World", "Dutty Wine
", "Sweep", and "Daggering
" amongst many others.
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
than the roots
Roots reggae
Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of the artists concerned, including the spiritual side of Rastafari and with the honoring of God, called Jah by rastafarians. It also is identified with the life of the ghetto sufferer, and the rural poor...
style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably, with digital dancehall (or "ragga
Ragga
-Origins:Ragga originated in Jamaica during the 1980s, at the same time that electronic dance music's popularity was increasing globally. One of the reasons for ragga's swift propagation is that it is generally easier and less expensive to produce than reggae performed on traditional musical...
") becoming increasingly characterized by faster rhythms. In the mid-1990s with the rise of dancehall BoboShanti
Mansions of Rastafari
Mansions of Rastafari are branches of the Rastafari movement. Mansions include the Bobo Shanti, the Niyabinghi, the Twelve Tribes of Israel, and others. The term is taken from the Biblical verse in John 14:2, "In my Father's house are many mansions."-Bobo Shanti:Prince Emanuel Charles Edwards...
artists, such as Sizzla
Sizzla
Sizzla Kalonji, or simply Sizzla in are de reggae musician. He is one of the most commercially and critically successful contemporary reggae artists and is well-known for his above-average prolificacy...
and Capleton
Capleton
Capleton is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist. He is also referred to as King Shango, King David, The Fireman and The Prophet. His record label is called David House Productions...
, developed a very strong connection between dancehall and Rastafari.
Dancehall music has come under criticism from international organizations and individuals for its violent and sometimes homophobic lyrics, although the lyrical themes are more varied than simply dealing with slackness
Slackness
Slackness refers to vulgarity in West Indian culture, behavior and the music. It also refers to a subgenre of dancehall music with straightforward sexual lyrics performed live or recorded. Its form and pronunciation varies throughout the Caribbean....
and violence.
History
Dancehall owes its moniker to the Jamaican dance hallsDance Hall (Caribbean)
The dance halls of Jamaica in the 1950s and 1960s were home to public dances usually targeted at younger patrons. Sound system operators had big home-made audio systems , spinning records from popular American rhythm and blues musicians and Jamaican ska and rocksteady performers...
in which popular Jamaicans recordings were played by local sound systems. These began in the late 1940s among people from the inner city of Kingston, Jamaica who were not able to participate in dances uptown. Social and political changes in late-1970s Jamaica were reflected in the shift away from the more internationally oriented roots reggae
Roots reggae
Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of the artists concerned, including the spiritual side of Rastafari and with the honoring of God, called Jah by rastafarians. It also is identified with the life of the ghetto sufferer, and the rural poor...
towards a style geared more towards local consumption, and in tune with the music that Jamaicans had experienced when sound systems performed live. Michael Manley
Michael Manley
Michael Norman Manley ON OCC was the fourth Prime Minister of Jamaica . Manley was a democratic socialist....
's socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
People's National Party
People's National Party
The People's National Party is a social democratic and social liberal Jamaican political party, founded by Norman Manley in 1938. It is the oldest political party in the Anglophone Caribbean and one of the main two political parties in Jamaica. Out of the two major parties, it is considered more...
(PNP) government had been replaced with Edward Seaga
Edward Seaga
Edward Philip George Seaga ON PC was the fifth Prime Minister of Jamaica from 1980 to 1989 and Leader of the Jamaica Labour Party from 1974 to 2005. He served as leader of the opposition from 1974 to 1980 and again from 1989 until January 2005...
's right wing
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
Jamaica Labour Party
Jamaica Labour Party
The Jamaica Labour Party is one of the two major political parties in Jamaica, the other being the People's National Party. Despite its name, the JLP is a centre-right, conservative party.-Background:...
(JLP). Themes of social injustice, repatriation and the Rastafari movement
Rastafari movement
The Rastafari movement or Rasta is a new religious movement that arose in the 1930s in Jamaica, which at the time was a country with a predominantly Christian culture where 98% of the people were the black descendants of slaves. Its adherents worship Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia , as God...
were overtaken by lyrics about dancing, violence, and sexuality.
Musically, older rhythms from the late 1960s were recycled, with Sugar Minott
Sugar Minott
Lincoln Barrington "Sugar" Minott was a Jamaican reggae singer, producer and sound-system operator.-Biography:...
credited as the originator of this trend when he voiced new lyrics over old Studio One rhythms between sessions at the studio, where he was working as a session musician. Around the same time, producer Don Mais was reworking old rhythms at Channel One Studios
Channel One Studios
Channel One is a recording studio in Maxfield Avenue, West Kingston, Jamaica. The studio was built by the Hoo Kim brothers in 1972, and has had a profound influence on the development of reggae music....
, using the Roots Radics
Roots Radics
The Roots Radics Band was formed in 1978 by bass player Errol "Flabba" Holt and guitarist Eric "Bingy Bunny" Lamont. They were joined by many great musicians. As a combined force the Roots Radics became a well-respected studio and stage band, which dominated the sound in the first half of the 1980s...
band. The Roots Radics would go on to work with Henry "Junjo" Lawes on some of the key early dancehall recordings, including those that established Barrington Levy
Barrington Levy
Barrington Levy is a reggae and dancehall artist from Jamaica.-Career:In 1976, Levy formed a band with his cousin, Everton Dacres, called the Mighty Multitude; the pair released "My Black Girl" in 1977...
, Frankie Paul
Frankie Paul
Paul Blake , better known as Frankie Paul, is one of Jamaica's best-loved and popular dancehall reggae artists. Born blind, he has been dubbed by some 'The Jamaican Stevie Wonder'.-Biography:...
, and Junior Reid
Junior Reid
Delroy "Junior" Reid is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall musician, best known for the songs "One Blood" and "Funny Man", as well as being the man that replaced Michael Rose as lead vocalist for Black Uhuru.-Biography:...
as major reggae stars. Other singers to emerge in the early dancehall era as major stars included Don Carlos
Don Carlos (musician)
Don Carlos a.k.a. Don McCarlos is a Jamaican reggae singer and composer.-Biography:He was born and raised in Western Kingston, Jamaica in a very deprived district known as Waterhouse out of which came many talented reggae musicians. One such artist was King Tubby, one of the founders of Black...
, Al Campbell
Al Campbell
Al Campbell is a Jamaican reggae singer active since the late 1960s.-Biography:Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Campbell's singing career began in church, where his father was a preacher, and Al would sing to raise funds...
, and Triston Palmer
Triston Palmer
Triston Palmer aka Triston or Tristan Palma is a reggae singer/deejay active since the mid-1970s.-Biography:...
, while more established names such as Gregory Isaacs
Gregory Isaacs
Gregory Anthony Isaacs was a Jamaican reggae musician. Milo Miles, writing in the New York Times, described Isaacs as "the most exquisite vocalist in reggae". His nicknames include Cool Ruler and Lonely Lover....
and Bunny Wailer
Bunny Wailer
Bunny Wailer, , also known as Bunny Livingston and affectionately as Jah B, is a singer songwriter and percussionist and was an original member of reggae group The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh...
successfully adapted.
Sound systems such as Killimanjaro, Black Scorpio, Gemini Disco, Virgo Hi-Fi, Volcano Hi-Power and Aces International soon capitalized on the new sound and introduced a new wave of deejays. The older toasters were overtaken by new stars such as Captain Sinbad
Captain Sinbad
Captain Sinbad was the deejay alter ego of Jamaican record producer Carl Dwyer .-Biography:Dwyer was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and entered the music industry as a deejay under the name Captain Sinbad on the Sound of Silence sound system, which at the time also featured Sugar Minott, with whom he...
, Ranking Joe
Ranking Joe
Ranking Joe aka Little Joe is a reggae deejay who rose to prominence in the 1970s and had continuing success in the 1980s.-Biography:...
, Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood (musician)
Clint Eastwood is a Jamaican reggae deejay, who recorded as a solo artist in the late 1970s and early 1980s before teaming up with UK deejay General Saint as the duo Clint Eastwood & General Saint.-Biography:...
, Lone Ranger
Lone Ranger (musician)
Lone Ranger is a Jamaican reggae deejay who recorded nine albums between the late 1970s and mid-1980s.-Biography:...
, Josey Wales
Josey Wales
Josey Wales, born Joseph Winston Sterling in St. Mary, Jamaica is an influential Jamaican dancehall deejay. He was considered, along with Brigadier Jerry, Yellowman and sound system partner Charlie Chaplin, one of the best deejays of the 1980s....
, Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin (singer)
Charlie Chaplin is a Jamaican dancehall and ragga deejay and singer. It was common for Jamaican deejays of the era to name themselves after film stars or characters. Bennett, however, had been nicknamed after the comedian since his youth. His career began in 1980 when he began working with...
, General Echo
General Echo
General Echo aka Ranking Slackness, was one of the first reggae deejays to move away from 'cultural' lyrics towards 'slackness' ....
and Yellowman
Yellowman
Yellowman is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay, widely known as King Yellowman...
— a change reflected by the 1981 Junjo Lawes-produced album A Whole New Generation of DJs, although many went back to U-Roy
U-Roy
U-Roy , OD, is a Jamaican musician, also known as The Originator. He is best known as a pioneer of toasting.-Biography:...
for inspiration. Deejay records became, for the first time, more important than records featuring singers. Another trend was sound clash albums, featuring rival deejays /or sound systems competing head-to-head for the appreciation of a live audience, with underground sound clash cassettes often documenting the violence that came with such rivalries.
Two of the biggest deejay stars of the early dancehall era, Yellowman and Eek-a-Mouse
Eek-a-Mouse
Eek-A-Mouse is a Jamaican reggae musician. He is one of the early artists to be described as a "singjay".-Biography:...
, chose humour rather than violence. Yellowman became the first Jamaican deejay to be signed to a major American record label, and for a time enjoyed a level of popularity in Jamaica to rival Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
's peak. The early 1980s also saw the emergence of female deejays in dancehall music, including: Sister Charmaine, Lady G
Lady G
Lady G, born Janice Fyffe, is a female Jamaican dancehall and reggae deejay. She is best known for her song "Man a Bad Man" from the film Third World Cop. She is little known outside of Jamaica but has a firm fan base there. Other songs include "Nuff Respect", "Round Table Talk" , "Certain Friends"...
, Lady Junie, Junie Ranks, Lady Saw
Lady Saw
Lady Saw is a Jamaican reggae singer, known as the queen of dancehall.-Biography:...
, Sister Nancy
Sister Nancy
Sister Nancy, aka Muma Nancy, real name Ophlin Russell-Myers, is a dancehall DJ and singer. She is known to the world as the first female dancehall DJ and was described as being a "dominating female voice for over two decades" on the dancehall scene...
and Shelly Thunder.
Dancehall brought a new generation of producers; Junjo Lawes, Linval Thompson
Linval Thompson
Linval Thompson is a Jamaican reggae and dub musician and record producer.-Biography:Thompson was raised in Kingston, Jamaica, but spent time with his mother in Queens, New York, and his recording career began around the age of 20 with the self-released "No Other Woman," recorded in Brooklyn, New...
, Gussie Clarke
Gussie Clarke
Augustus "Gussie" Clarke , is a reggae producer who worked with some of the top Jamaican reggae artists in the 1970s and later set up his own Music Works studio.-Career:...
and Jah Thomas
Jah Thomas
Nkrumah "Jah" Thomas is a reggae deejay and record producer who first came to prominence in the 1970s, later setting up his own Midnight Rock and Nura labels.-Biography:...
took over from the producers who had dominated in the 1970s.
Digital dancehall and ragga
King JammyKing Jammy
Lloyd James , better known as Prince Jammy or King Jammy, is a dub mixer and record producer. He began his musical career as a dub master at King Tubby's recording studio...
's 1985 hit, "(Under Me) Sleng Teng
Sleng Teng
Sleng Teng is the name given to the first fully computerized riddim in Jamaican music. The riddim, which was created by the collaboration between King Jammy and Wayne Smith, was titled "Under Me Sleng Teng". However, in this case Wayne Smith was the one who had found the computerized sound in Noel...
" by Wayne Smith
Wayne Smith (musician)
Wayne Smith is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall musician.-Biography:His 1985 recording of " Sleng Teng", is generally regarded as the beginning of ragga style reggae. The rhythm was created on a Casio MT-40 and is based on the riff from Eddie Cochran's "Somethin' Else"...
, with an entirely-digital rhythm hook took the dancehall reggae world by storm. Many credit this song as being the first digital rhythm in reggae, featuring a rhythm from a Casio MT-40
Casio MT-40
The Casio Casiotone MT-40 is a musical keyboard, formerly produced by Casio and originally developed for the consumer market. It is 9 voice polyphonic, with 37 main keys and 14 smaller bass keys. Eight notes may be played on the main keys, and one note on the bass. The bass section has one timbre,...
keyboard. However, this is not entirely correct since there are earlier examples of digital productions, such as Horace Ferguson's single "Sensi Addict" (Ujama) produced by Prince Jazzbo
Prince Jazzbo
Prince Jazzbo is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay and producer.Prince Jazzbo began recording with Coxsone Dodd's Studio One label in the early 1970s...
in 1984. The "Sleng Teng" rhythm was used in over 200 subsequent recordings. This deejay-led, largely synthesized chanting with musical accompaniment departed from traditional conceptions of Jamaican popular musical entertainment.
Dub poet
Dub poetry
Dub poetry is a form of performance poetry of West Indian origin, which evolved out of dub music consisting of spoken word over reggae rhythms in Jamaica in the 1970s....
Mutabaruka
Mutabaruka
Mutabaruka is a dub poet. His name comes from the Rwandan language and translates as "one who is always victorious". He lives in Potosi District, St. James with his significant other, Yvonne, and their two childern. Mutabaruka continues to perform and write poems on every issue known to man...
said, "if 1970s reggae was red, green and gold, then in the next decade it was gold chains". It was far removed from reggae's gentle roots and culture, and there was much debate among purists as to whether it should be considered an extension of reggae.
This shift in style again saw the emergence of a new generation of artists, such as Buccaneer
Buccaneer (musician)
Buccaneer is the stage name of Jamaican dancehall artist Andrew Bradford . He first emerged in 1994 and has released three albums. He later went into production.-Biography:...
, Capleton
Capleton
Capleton is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist. He is also referred to as King Shango, King David, The Fireman and The Prophet. His record label is called David House Productions...
and Shabba Ranks
Shabba Ranks
Shabba Ranks is a Jamaican dancehall musician.He was one of the most popular dancehall artists of his generation. He was also one of the first Jamaican deejays to gain worldwide acceptance, and recognition for his 'slack' lyrical expressions and content, when "ridin' di riddim"...
, who became the biggest ragga
Ragga
-Origins:Ragga originated in Jamaica during the 1980s, at the same time that electronic dance music's popularity was increasing globally. One of the reasons for ragga's swift propagation is that it is generally easier and less expensive to produce than reggae performed on traditional musical...
star in the world. A new set of producers also came to prominence: Philip "Fatis" Burrell, Dave "Rude Boy" Kelly
Dave Kelly (producer)
Dave Kelly is a Jamaican Record Producer. He began his career as an Engineer in the late eighties. After getting into producing at the "Penthouse" label of Donovan Germain, he started his own label "Madhouse" together with business partner Janet Davidson in 1991...
, George Phang
George Phang
George Phang is a reggae producer born in the 1950s in south Saint Andrew, Kingston, Jamaica where still resides today.Phang started his reggae label Powerhouse in the early 1980s. His first hits were Little John's "True Confessions" and "Roots Girl", both released in 1983...
, Hugh "Redman" James, Donovan Germain
Donovan Germain
Donovan Germain is a reggae producer, one of the most successful of the digital era.-Biography:Germain's entry into the music industry was via his record shop in New York City in the 1970s. He began production in 1972, visiting Jamaica for recording sessions, working in both roots reggae and...
, Bobby Digital
Bobby Digital
Bobby Digital may refer to:*Robert Dixon , an influential dancehall producer, also known as "Bobby Digital"*RZA, a rapper and music producer who has performed under the name Bobby Digital...
, Wycliffe "Steely" Johnson and Cleveland "Clevie" Brown (aka Steely & Clevie
Steely & Clevie
Steely & Clevie, aka Wycliffe Johnson and Cleveland Browne, was a Jamaican dancehall reggae production duo. It worked with artists such as the Specials, Gregory Peck , Bounty Killer, Elephant Man and No Doubt....
) rose to challenge Sly & Robbie's position as Jamaica's leading rhythm section. The deejays became more focused on violence, with Bounty Killer
Bounty Killer
Bounty Killer is a Grammy nominated Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay. He is the founder of a dancehall collective known as The Alliance.-Early life and career:...
, Mad Cobra
Mad Cobra
Ewart Everton Brown , better known by his stage name of Mad Cobra or simply Cobra is a Jamaican reggae musician.-Biography:...
, Ninjaman
Ninjaman
Ninjaman, alias Don Gorgon, is a popular dancehall deejay / Actor, known for his controversial and pro-gun lyrics and his stuttering and melodramatic style...
and Buju Banton
Buju Banton
Buju Banton is a Jamaican dancehall, ragga, and reggae musician.Banton has recorded pop and dance songs, as well as songs dealing with sociopolitical topics....
becoming major figures in the genre.
To complement the harsher deejay sound, a "sweet sing" vocal style evolved out of roots reggae and R&B, marked by its falsetto and almost feminine intonation, with proponents like Pinchers
Pinchers
Pinchers born Delroy Thompson, 12 April 1965, Jamaica) is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist.He released one album as a teenager in Jamaica for Blue Trac Records, before moving to the UK in 1985....
, Cocoa Tea
Cocoa Tea
Cocoa Tea is a Jamaican reggae/dancehall singer, songwriter, and DJ.- Biography :Cocoa Tea was popular in Jamaica from 1985, but has become successful worldwide only since the 1990s...
, Sanchez, Admiral Tibet
Admiral Tibet
Admiral Tibet , also known as "Mr. Reality" is a Jamaican dancehall singer known for his "cultural" lyrics.-Biography:...
, Frankie Paul, Half Pint, Conroy Smith, Courtney Melody, Carl Meeks and Barrington Levy
Barrington Levy
Barrington Levy is a reggae and dancehall artist from Jamaica.-Career:In 1976, Levy formed a band with his cousin, Everton Dacres, called the Mighty Multitude; the pair released "My Black Girl" in 1977...
.
In the early 1990s songs like Dawn Penn
Dawn Penn
Dawn Penn is a Jamaican reggae singer.-Career:Dawn Penn's earliest recordings were for Prince Buster around 1966. In 1967 she recorded and released the rocksteady single, "You Don't Love Me" produced by Coxsone Dodd at Studio One...
's "No, No, No", Shabba Ranks
Shabba Ranks
Shabba Ranks is a Jamaican dancehall musician.He was one of the most popular dancehall artists of his generation. He was also one of the first Jamaican deejays to gain worldwide acceptance, and recognition for his 'slack' lyrical expressions and content, when "ridin' di riddim"...
's "Mr. Loverman", Patra
Patra (singer)
Patra is a reggae singer. In her beginnings as a Female Dancehall deejay in the late 1980s, she used the stage name, Lady Patra...
's "Worker Man" and Chaka Demus and Pliers' "Murder She Wrote" became some of the first dancehall megahits in the US and abroad. Other varieties of dancehall achieved crossover success outside of Jamaica during the mid-to-late 1990s. Tanya Stephens
Tanya Stephens
Vivienne Tanya Stephens, better known by her stage name Tanya Stephens is an influential reggae artist who emerged in the late 1990s...
gave a unique female voice to the genre during the 1990s.
The early 2000s saw the success of newer charting acts such as Elephant Man and Sean Paul
Sean Paul
Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques , who performs under stage name Sean Paul, is a Jamaican pop rap and reggae singer.-1973–1996: Early life:...
, who has achieved mainstream success in the US and has produced several top 10 Billboard hits, including "Gimme the Light
Gimme the Light
"Gimme the Light" is the first single from Jamaican artist Sean Paul's 2002 album Dutty Rock. It was his first hit single, peaking at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also becoming a top 20 hit in the Netherlands, UK and Canada...
", "We Be Burnin'
We Be Burnin'
"We Be Burnin" is the first single from Sean Paul's third studio album The Trinity. It achieved success worldwide, becoming a top ten hit on almost ten major charts.-Background and release:...
", "Give It Up To Me
(When You Gonna) Give It up to Me
" Give It Up to Me" is a reggae–dancehall song written by Sean Paul for his third album The Trinity . The single meant to be released after "Temperature" was "Breakout", but was switched to "Give It Up To Me" to promote the film Step Up. It is the fourth U.S...
", and "Break It Off
Break It Off
"Break It Off" is a song written by D. Bennett, K. Ford, Sean Paul, and Barbadian R&B singer Rihanna. The song, which featured Sean Paul, was the fourth and final single from Rihanna's second album A Girl like Me and was released only in the United States, Canada, and select European territories...
" (a duet with Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
). He has also had several #1 singles, "Get Busy
Get Busy
"Get Busy" is a 2002 Dancehall song by Jamaican dancehall reggae toaster Sean Paul, from his album Dutty Rock. The song was one of the many hits from the jumpy handclap riddim known as the Diwali Riddim, produced by then-newcomer Steven "Lenky" Marsden, and was the only song that never made the...
", "Temperature
Temperature (song)
"Temperature" was the third worldwide and the second American single from Sean Paul's The Trinity album. The song was produced by Rohan "Snowcone" Fuller and received a positive reception from music critics. The song was released as the second U.S...
" and "Baby Boy" (a duet with Beyoncé
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
).
Dancehall seems to be making a resurgence within the pop market in the late 2000s, namely Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...
's Woohoo
Woohoo
"Woohoo" is a song by American recording artist Christina Aguilera, featuring Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj. The song was written by Aguilera, Onika Maraj, Claude Kelly, Ester Dean and Jamal "Polow da Don" Jones, and produced by Polow da Don, for Aguilera's sixth studio album, Bionic...
, Robyn
Robyn
Robin Miriam Carlsson , better known by her stage name Robyn, is a Swedish recording artist, singer, and songwriter. Robyn became known in the late nineties for her worldwide dance-pop hit "Do You Know " from her debut album Robyn Is Here . She co-wrote the song "Du gör mig hel igen" for...
's Dancehall Queen
Dancehall Queen
Dancehall Queen is a 1997 independent Jamaican film starring Audrey Reid who plays Marcia, a street vendor struggling to raise two daughters.Detailed item informationDescriptionA street vendor discovers dancehalls and begins to live a double life....
and Swan Fyahbwoy.
VP Records
VP Records
VP Records is an independent reggae record label, located in Queens, New York. It is best known for producing Caribbean singers.-The foundation:...
dominates the dancehall music market with Sean Paul, Elephant Man, and Buju Banton. VP often has partnered with major record labels like Atlantic
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
and Island
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
in an attempt to further expand their distribution potential particularly in the US market.
Conscious ragga
In 1992, the international backlash to Banton's violently anti-homosexual "Boom Bye-Bye", and the reality of Kingston's violence which saw the deaths of deejays Pan HeadPan Head
Pan Head was a ragga/dancehall deejay.-Biography:...
and Dirtsman saw another shift, this time back towards Rastafari and cultural themes, with several of the hardcore slack ragga artists finding religion, and the "conscious ragga" scene becoming an increasingly popular movement. A new generation of singers and deejays emerged that harked back to the roots reggae era, notably Garnett Silk, Rocker T, Tony Rebel
Tony Rebel
Tony Rebel is a Jamaican reggae deejay. He was initially a singer, appearing as Papa Tony or Tony Ranking in local talent contests and on sound systems including Sugar Minott's 'Youth Promotion'...
, Sanchez
Sanchez (singer)
Sanchez is a Jamaican Reggae and dancehall singer-Biography:Jackson was given the nickname 'Sanchez' due to his football skills - a reference to a footballer of that name. After working with several Kingston sound systems he began recording and had his first hit with "Lady In Red", recorded for...
, Luciano
Luciano (singer)
Luciano is a Jamaican second generation roots reggae artist and poet....
, Anthony B
Anthony B
Anthony B is the stage name of Keith Blair , a Jamaican musician and member of the Rastafari movement....
and Sizzla
Sizzla
Sizzla Kalonji, or simply Sizzla in are de reggae musician. He is one of the most commercially and critically successful contemporary reggae artists and is well-known for his above-average prolificacy...
. Some popular deejays, most prominently Buju Banton
Buju Banton
Buju Banton is a Jamaican dancehall, ragga, and reggae musician.Banton has recorded pop and dance songs, as well as songs dealing with sociopolitical topics....
and Capleton
Capleton
Capleton is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist. He is also referred to as King Shango, King David, The Fireman and The Prophet. His record label is called David House Productions...
, began to cite Rastafari and turn their lyrics and music in a more conscious, rootsy direction. Many modern dancehall Rasta artists identify with Bobo Ashanti
Mansions of Rastafari
Mansions of Rastafari are branches of the Rastafari movement. Mansions include the Bobo Shanti, the Niyabinghi, the Twelve Tribes of Israel, and others. The term is taken from the Biblical verse in John 14:2, "In my Father's house are many mansions."-Bobo Shanti:Prince Emanuel Charles Edwards...
.
Reggae fusion
Reggae fusionReggae fusion
Reggae fusion is a fusion genre of reggae that mixes reggae or dancehall with other genres, such as pop, rock, hip hop, R&B, house, jazz & drum and bass....
is a mixture of reggae or dancehall with elements of other genres, such as hip-hop, R&B, jazz, rock and roll, Indian music, Latin music, drum and bass, punk rock or polka. It is closely related to ragga
Ragga
-Origins:Ragga originated in Jamaica during the 1980s, at the same time that electronic dance music's popularity was increasing globally. One of the reasons for ragga's swift propagation is that it is generally easier and less expensive to produce than reggae performed on traditional musical...
music. The term is also used to describe artists who frequently switch between the dancehall and reggae genres and other genres, mainly rap and r&b. It originated in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and first became popular in the late 1990s.
The culture of dancehall
Donna P. Hope defines dancehall culture as a "space for the cultural creation and dissemination of symbols and ideologies that reflect the lived realities of its adherents, particularly those from the inner cities of Jamaica." Dancehall culture actively creates a space for its "affectors" (creators of dancehall culture) and its "affectees" (consumers of dancehall culture) to take control of their own representation, contest conventional relationships of power, and exercise some level of cultural, social and even political autonomy.Kingsley Stewart outlines ten of the major cultural imperatives or principles that constitute the dancehall worldview. They are:
- It involves the dynamic interweaving of GodGodGod is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
and Haile Selassie - It acts as a form of stress release or psycho-physiological relief
- It acts as a medium for economic advancement
- The quickest way to an object is the preferred way (i.e., the speed imperative)
- The end justifies the means
- It strives to make the unseen visible
- Objects and events that are external to the body are more important than internal processes; what is seen is more important than what is thought (i.e., the pre-eminence of the external)
- The importance of the external self; the self is consciously publicly constructed and validated
- The ideal self is shifting, fluid, adaptive, and malleable, and
- It involves the socioexistential imperative to transcend the normal (i.e., there is an emphasis on not being normal).
Such a drastic change in the popular music of the region generated an equally radical transformation in fashion trends, specifically those of its female faction. In lieu of traditional, modest "rootsy" styles, as dictated by Rastafari-inspired gender roles; women began donning flashy, revealing – sometimes X-rated outfits. This transformation is said to coincide with the influx of slack lyrics within dancehall, which objectified women as apparatuses of pleasure. These women would team up with others to form "modeling posses", or "dancehall model" groups, and informally compete with their rivals.
This newfound materialism and conspicuity was not, however, exclusive to women or manner of dress. Appearance at dance halls was exceedingly important to acceptance by peers and encompassed everything from clothing and jewelry, to the types of vehicles driven, to the sizes of each respective gang or "crew", and was equally important to both sexes.
One major theme behind dancehall is that of space. Sonjah Stanley-Niaah, in her article "Mapping Black Atlantic Performance Geographies", says
Dancehall occupies multiple spatial dimensions (urban, street, police, marginal, gendered, performance, liminal, memorializing, communal), which are revealed through the nature and type of events and venues, and their use and function. Most notable is the way in which dancehall occupies a liminal space between what is celebrated and at the same time denigrated in Jamaica and how it moves from private community to public and commercial enterprise.
In Kingston's Dancehall: A Story of Space and Celebration, she writes:
Dancehall is ultimately a celebration of the disenfranchised selves in postcolonial Jamaica that occupy and creatively sustain that space. Structured by the urban, a space that is limited, limiting, and marginal yet central to communal, even national, identity, dancehall's identity is as contradictory and competitive as it is sacred. Some of Jamaica's significant memories of itself are inscribed in the dancehall space, and therefore dancehall can be seen as a site of collective memory that functions as ritualized memorializing, a memory bank of the old, new, and dynamic bodily movements, spaces, performers, and performance aesthetics of the New World and Jamaica in particular.
These same notions of dancehall as a cultural space are echoed in Norman Stolzoff's Wake the Town and Tell the People. He notes that dancehall is not merely a sphere of passive consumerism, but rather is an alternative sphere of active cultural production that acts as a means through which black lower-class youth articulate and project a distinct identity in local, national, and global contexts. Through dancehall, ghetto youths attempt to deal with the endemic problems of poverty, racism, and violence, and in this sense the dancehall acts as a communication center, a relay station, a site where black lower-class culture attains its deepest expression. Thus, dancehall in Jamaica is yet another example of the way that the music and dance cultures of the African diaspora have challenged the passive consumerism of mass cultural forms, such as recorded music, by creating a sphere of active cultural production that potentially may transform the prevailing hegemony of society.
Contradictions in dancehall culture
Despite dancehall culture's ability to challenge social inequality, it is a hybridization of American aesthetics and the hardships of Kingston, Jamaica. Kingsley Stewart writes that the "Jamaican cultural model or worldview" has been very influenced by that which it was arguably created to oppose, namely Babylon or the Western influence.This is seen, in the more obvious sense, in the use of gun talk by artists like Buju Banton
Buju Banton
Buju Banton is a Jamaican dancehall, ragga, and reggae musician.Banton has recorded pop and dance songs, as well as songs dealing with sociopolitical topics....
and Capleton
Capleton
Capleton is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist. He is also referred to as King Shango, King David, The Fireman and The Prophet. His record label is called David House Productions...
, or the sporting of bling-bling
Bling-bling
Bling is a slang term popularized in hip hop culture, referring to flashy, ostentatious or elaborate jewelry and ornamented accessories that are carried, worn or installed, such as cell phones or tooth caps....
by "Gangsta Ras" artists like Mavado
Mavado (singer)
David Constantine Brooks , better known by his stage name Mavado, is a Jamaican musician, actor, DJ and music producer.- Biography :...
and Munga. The term Gangsta Ras, which seeks to reconcile thuggish imagery with Rastafari is an example of how in dancehall, "the misuse of Rastafari culture has diluted and marginalised the central tenets and creed of the Rastafari philosophy and way of life".
What Kingsley regards as the "socioexistential imperative to transcend the normal" is exemplified by artists like Elephant Man
Elephant Man
Elephant Man, also known as the Energy God, born O'Neil Bryan on September 11, 1975 in Kingston, Jamaica, is a dancehall musician.-Career:...
and Bounty Killer
Bounty Killer
Bounty Killer is a Grammy nominated Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay. He is the founder of a dancehall collective known as The Alliance.-Early life and career:...
doing things to stand out, such as putting on a synthetic cartoonish voice or donning pink highlights while constantly re-asserting one's hypermasculine attributes. The need for one to be different and to be a superstar, as opposed to merely being talented, is a relatively new phenomenon which can be said to have started with western celebrities and rock stars. Donna P. Hope argues that this trend is related to the rise of market capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
as a dominant feature of life in Jamaica, coupled with the role of new media and a liberalized media landscape, where images become of increasing importance in the lives of ordinary Jamaicans who strive for celebrity and superstar status on the stages of dancehall and Jamaican popular culture.
Another point of dissension of dancehall from reggae, and from its non-western roots in Jamaica, is on the focus on materialism. Prominent males in the dancehall scene are expected to dress in very expensive casual wear, indicative of European urban styling and high fashion that suggest wealth and status. Since the late 1990s, males in the dancehall culture have rivalled their female counterparts to look fashioned and styled. The female dancehall divas are all scantily clad, or dressed in spandex outfits that accentuate more than cover one's nakedness. In the documentary It's All About Dancing, prominent dancehall artist Beenie Man
Beenie Man
Anthony Moses Davis , better known by his stage name Beenie Man, is a Grammy award winning Jamaican reggae artist. He is the self-proclaimed "King of the Dancehall".-Biography:...
argues that one could be the best DJ or the smoothest dancer, but if one wears clothing that reflects the economic realities of the majority of the partygoers, one will be ignored.
Anti-gay lyrics
Since the popularizing of Buju Banton's dancehall song "Boom Bye Bye" in the early 1990s, dancehall music has come under criticism from international organizations and individuals over anti-gay lyrics in a few songs. In some cases, dancehall artists whose music features anti-gay lyrics have had their concerts canceled. Various singers have been investigated by international law enforcement agencies such as Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
, on the grounds that the lyrics incite the audience to assault homosexuals. In 2003, the British LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
rights group OutRage!
OutRage!
OutRage! is a British LGBT rights group that was formed to fight for equal rights of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people in comparison to heterosexual people. It is a group which has at times been criticised for outing individuals who wanted to keep their homosexuality secret and for being...
called for the arrest of Elephant Man for allegedly inciting the killing of gay men in his song lyrics. He was not arrested. Buju Banton
Buju Banton
Buju Banton is a Jamaican dancehall, ragga, and reggae musician.Banton has recorded pop and dance songs, as well as songs dealing with sociopolitical topics....
's 1993 hit "Boom Bye Bye" allegedly advocates the murder of homosexuals by shooting and/or burning ("like an old tire wheel"). Many of the affected singers believe that legal or commercial sanctions are essentially an attack against freedom of speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
. Some artists eventually agreed not to use anti-gay lyrics during their concerts in Europe and the United States, although some artists, such as Capleton, continue to have their concerts canceled due to the Stop Murder Music campaign.
Donna P. Hope argues that dancehall culture's anti-homosexual lyrics form part of a masculinist discussion that advances the interest of the heterosexual male in Jamaica, which is a fundamentalist Christian and deeply patriarchal society. Even while contemporary dancehall culture in Jamaica sports images of men in pseudo-gay poses and costumes, the cultural, religious, social and gendered imperatives of the society advances and promotes the ideal man as macho and heterosexual and men who are homosexual are identified as inadequate and impure portraits of true masculinity. Dancehall music has played into and with this divide in an extreme and lyrically graphic fashion that has been rendered politically incorrect in many places globally but remains culturally relevant in Jamaica.
Dancehall dances
The popularity of dancehall has spawned dance moves that help to make parties and stage performances more energetic. Many dance moves seen in hip-hop videos are actually variations of dancehall dances. Examples of such dances are: "Like GlueLike Glue
"Like Glue" is a song recorded by Jamaican dancehall artist Sean Paul, from his second album Dutty Rock . The song was produced by Tony "CD" Kelly, and written by Kelly and Sean Paul. Lyrics from "Like Glue" were originally the intro to "Gimme the Light" until Sean Paul expanded it and made it into...
", "Pon de floor
Pon de Floor
"Pon de Floor" is a song by Major Lazer, which is made up of Diplo and Switch. It was released in 2009 by Mad Decent and Downtown Records as the second single from Major Lazer's first studio album, Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do . The duo wrote the song and produced it with Afrojack, while...
", "Pon de Replay
Pon de Replay
"Pon de Replay" is a song recorded by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna, from her debut studio album Music of the Sun . The song was made available to download via iTunes on August 26, 2005, released as the album's lead single. The song was written and produced by Carl Sturken, Evan Rogers and...
", "Tek Weh Yuhself", "Whine Up
Whine Up
"Whine Up" is a song by Dominican-American pop/R&B singer Kat DeLuna, released as her debut single from her album 9 Lives. The song features Elephant Man. It was believed that Ivy Queen was featured, but Kat herself provided the rap, rapping at a lower register...
" (a mix of various genres), "Boosie Bounce", "Drive By", "Shovel It", "To Di World", "Dutty Wine
Dutty Wine
"Dutty Wine" is a head dance. There are several Dancers in Jamaica who claim they were its creator. Although there is proof in a video with one of the crowned Dancehall Queens named Mad Michelle first performing the dance in front of a crowd...
", "Sweep", and "Daggering
Daggering
Daggering’ is a form of dance originating from the Caribbean which incorporates sexual and other forms of frantic movement.- History :The activity of 'daggering' has been present in Jamaica's dancehalls for many years, but just recently accepted the name of 'daggering'. Some argue that it's roughly...
" amongst many others.
External links
- DanceHall: From Slave Ship to Ghetto by Sonjah Stanley Niaah
- Dancehall Riddims
- Dancehall: the rise of Jamaican dancehall culture
- Dancehall Reggae Songs
- RUDEGAL.COM Dancehall Reggae Resource
- Dancehall at the Open Directory ProjectOpen Directory ProjectThe Open Directory Project , also known as Dmoz , is a multilingual open content directory of World Wide Web links. It is owned by Netscape but it is constructed and maintained by a community of volunteer editors.ODP uses a hierarchical ontology scheme for organizing site listings...
- The Origins of Dancehall Reggae
- Reggae Music Fm
- Dancehall Queen Competition
- home of dancehall and reggae music
- Jamaica Banning Danchehall Music!
- Murder Inna Dancehall: homophobia in dancehall music
- Reggae Cocial Unity All about Russian dancehall culture.