By Shaun Cain
Current, relevant and trending as they may be, not one contemporary dancehall artiste that emerged over the last decade and a half has made the Grammy nominations for the 63rd renewal of this prestigious global music event.
The nominations for the Best Reggae Album category were announced on November 24. The albums deemed worthy of the top prize are:
- UPSIDE DOWN 2020 — Buju Banton
- HIGHER PLACE — Skip Marley
- IT ALL COMES BACK TO LOVE — Maxi Priest
- GOT TO BE TOUGH — Toots & the Maytals
- ONE WORLD — The Wailers
The winner will be announced on television on Sunday, January 31, next year.
But the absence of a new age star from the list of nominees clearly shows that something is wrong with what is going on in the dancehall. Dancehall needs a massive 'haul and pull up'. The genre is bawling out for a revamp to save a significant aspect of our musical heritage. And, I don't think these artistes even realise what is happening, mi Genna.
They are miles out of touch with the mainstream market. There is a blinding mismatch of expectations, as the mainstream consumers are clearly rocking to a different tune. Dancehall artistes have fenced themselves into an almost infertile field where the thematic seedlings are confined to sex, drugs, violence and bad mind. Nothing else 'nah plant' and nothing else 'nah' grow 'inna' the dancehall space, 'yu zeet'!
Why is the mainstream market not feeling dancehall music? The issues addressed by dancehall music must encompass a much wider human, not just a Jamaican, experience. There is so much happening in our communities, but our artistes are just not interested in anything that is devoid of drugs, sex, violence and bad mind. For example, how many dancehall artistes were falling over each other to record a song to strengthen and extend the reach of the Black Lives Matter key campaign messages? Dancehall missed a massive trick there, mi G.
Our dancehall artistes are living in a bubble where they are constantly being motivated by the need to impress or, better yet, 'diss' their fellow entertainers. While such engagement might create a temporary hype among die hard fans, the approach is underpinned by chronic myopia. The needs of all the stakeholders must be met, so it is imperative that the artistes study the different situations with which they interact and identify the most important stakeholder at any given point in time. The aim is to prioritise the interest and satisfaction of that group. If the expectations of the mainstream consumers were being addressed, there would be more support for the genre at the very top of world music.
No amount of money pull up is going to reverse this debilitating trend and preserve dancehall from the pervasive lyrical and moral decay it is currently suffering. A different kind of haul and pull up is required, 'mi' general. The themes that have become staples in the dancehall must be broadened to connect the music with new international audiences. The universal human needs are love, unity and equality. In fact, this knowledge resonates so eloquently in the title of The Wailers' nominated album, "One World [One People]".
Maxi Priest shows he is on the same wavelength by driving home the point firmly. On his nominated album, he reminds us, and I presume this includes our dancehall actors, that after everything is said and done, "It All Comes Back to Love".
Why have these messages escaped dancehall music so badly? Their underrepresentation in that space is very alarming, 'mi genna'.
Some artistes complain that people with money are not investing in them. We all know that every investor goes after options whose risks are worth the gamble because of the chance of realising a significant return. So, if they are committing their investment money elsewhere, could that be giving a hint about the quality of dancehall's output and its ability to command widespread international support and consumption? To me, the biggest questionable dimension is the lyrical elements. Dancehall 'nah pree' love, unity and equality. 'Mi nah lie, mi G', if anything is true, dancehall is violating love, unity and equality.
Let us not forget the perennial argument that marketing is a limiting factor for the artistes. While I would agree that poor marketing or the lack thereof can be a barrier to the success of any product or service, social media 'bun dung nuff a de' barriers that kept dancehall music out of the mainstream, 'yu zimmi'.
Many dancehall artistes have hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, yet the popularity and influence of their music is not blaring on a global scale. If we love the music, we must haul and pull up dancehall and put it right,'mi G'. 'Fling weh' the 'tings' that are undermining the music, so the genre can shed the excess baggage, fly freely across the world and perform the role it was originally intended to do. That is, delivering hope, peace, love, unity and our cultural heritage to mainstream music consumers.
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Shaun Cain is a journalist, author, voiceover talent and producer/presenter of the Star Gazing with Shaun Cain Interview Show on the Star Gazing with Shaun Cain YouTube channel.
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Up!
ReplyDeleteIt is not just the emptiness of the lyrics even though that is absolutely an important part of the weakness of dancehall, it is also in the lack of groove, the shallow, emptiness of the beat. As a lover of the rich drum and bass line-led one drop rhythm of roots reggae, I must say that the dancehall music between the late eighties and today has done a great deal of harm to the reception and popularity of reggae music internationally. All the hard work of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, Don Carlos, Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown, The Mighty Diamonds, Black Uhuru, The Wailing Souls, Culture and even deejays like U Roy, I Roy, Dillinger, etc., has almost been ruined by the hollow, r&b-inspired slackness of dancehall. I recommend a complete return to the social commentary, as well as the drum and bass inspired tradition of roots reggae. Period!
ReplyDeleteGarvey, thanks for your comment. I am so glad to learn that I am not the only that sees the current state of Dancehall this way. The work put in by the elders to champion the cause of the marginalised among us is being eroded by the nonsense that's being called dancehall music nowadays. Dancehall needs to return to the social commentary when it dealt with real issues affecting our people. There's too much hustling in the music. The present dancehall actors do not understand to their role and responsibilities as custodians of our musical heritage. Let's keep talking. Hopefully they will hear us.
ReplyDeletei totally the whole production tree needs to revamped we need well baked riddims and artists jumping on same riddims it brings good competition,and stop idolising slackness,and another thing lets not lose focus by wanting validation from the Grammy's lets make good music grammy or no grammy
ReplyDeleteBless up! We have to keep uplifting the artistes and producers. A who colt the game? We need to mash up the game and start again. If we don't, even the table and the dominoes a go mash up and then we won't have anything at all to play. No fun nor anything to advocate on our behalf.
DeleteI love the point about seeking validation from the Grammys. The artistes don't need that. They only need to keep their heads down and make music that reaches the soul of humanity. Upliftment everytime!