By Shaun Cain
 |
| Dancehall artiste, Vybz Kartel |
Vybz Kartel and Pop Caan are two of the biggest casualties of the recent Grammy announcement. Pop Caan subsequently took to social media and vociferously vented his disappointment. The comments that Pop Caan and others have posited in the public domain reveal a haemorrhaging wound that is both wide and deep.
Dancehall music is arguably at a crossroads and the indicators are signalling that some degree of introspection is required going forwards. This would mean that the practitioners in the genre might need to make some changes to the way the music is created, packaged and presented for our consumption. The main apparent flaws in the current model of what we have come to know as dancehall music surround what appear to be the only issues that our artistes seem to have eyes for.
 |
| Dancehall artiste, Pop Caan |
In a Gleaner Online article published on November 30, it was reported that a post by the person in charge of one of Vyzb Kartel’s social media accounts indicated that Kartel might be planning to record a reggae album. The Gleaner article headlined, 'Dancehall yet to get respect in Jamaica - PR Specialist', further added, “in another post, the account holder said the next album from the Worl’ Boss will be a reggae album called Kartel Marley and will feature ‘Rasta Pop Caan’.”
Have you noticed how the language has shifted? I don't know about you, but I can hear the tone changes. Let's examine what this might mean, in terms of Jamaican popular culture. Everything about the proposition is loaded and might be more earth shaking than the Grammy announcement itself. The word ‘Reggae’ has clearly supplanted the term ‘Dancehall’. Did you detect that seismic shift? If not, I hope you have been more discerning in spotting the trademark dreadlocks with his guitar in hand! Yes, that is what I am alluding to. Marley has been drafted in - Kartel Marley. I suspect this inclusion is a strategic move either to guide the selection of themes that will shape the project or simply to heighten the target market's expectations of roots, culture and righteousness from the promised new collection of music. Better yet, could it mean that the 'Kartel Marley' album might be hoping to draw some winning inspiration from whatever it is that has made the name, Marley, one of the most frequently occurring on the Grammy's Best Reggae Album Award’s list of winners? Whatever the reason, the idea must have emanated from a mind that is on a mission to blaze a trail that could transform the course of history.
What implications would this strategy have for the original Vybz Kartel brand of music? Could this move signal a shake-up that might reconfigure the current status quo in Dancehall? Could the Kartel Marley project strengthen the global image of dancehall music, so it might be repositioned as the Greenpeace of social and economic justice for the human race? Who is better to lead the charge than the experienced 'teacher'? Wake up every artiste, no more sleeping in dancehall. Wake up 'mi' teacher, time to teach a new way.
A number of readers commented on a recent post on my blog captioned, "Dancehall needs to haul and pull up and fix up” - a Wake up Call? Some of the critics argued that the absence of dancehall representation from among the Best Reggae Album nominees is no wake-up call to our artistes, as the Grammy organisers have always been like that. In order to reinforce my point, I have decided not to ignore this flippant utterance by the critic. I cannot seem to find any evidence to support it. Shabba Ranks took the Best Reggae Album award twice, in 1992 and 1993. Shaggy was victorious in 1996 and again 2019 [the latter with Sting]. Beenie Man in 2001 and Sean Paul 2004 have also had their names etched among the winners. Although he did not win, Bounty Killer received a nomination in 2002. Therefore, Shabba Ranks, Shaggy, Beenie Man and Sean Paul's victories have negated any claim that 'the Grammys have always been like that' [overlooking dancehall music and artistes as worthy winners of the enviable award].
Despite this revelation, I will still give the benefit of any doubts that might still be lingering to anyone that does not wish to embrace the position I have presented. While Kartel Marley could, in essence, be an experimental strategy to invoke the Grammy voting panel, it is a necessary one. It could provide valuable insights into the problem of dancehall music's apparent lack of global appeal and influence, but equally so, it could worsen the seemingly negative vibe that the aggrieved Dancehall artistes feel toward the Grammy decision makers. If Kartel Marley manages to grab a nomination, and go even a step further to win the award for the Best Reggae Album, then a new day would have dawned in the dancehall kingdom.
 |
| Vybz Kartel |
Let us compliment Vybz Kartel for having allegedly proposed a solution. While he might be busy thinking of a way to surmount the apparent snag in our dancehall artistes’ way to the Best Reggae Album Grammy Award, most of his contemporaries are simply sulking. In fact, they are violently tossing their toys out of the pram and kicking frantically at the air with lips pouted, arms folded and faces grimaced. I will end by paraphrasing a line from one of Konshens’ songs, “Mi no like oonu style, oonu too spoil.”
___________________________
Shaun Cain is a journalist, author of the Reggae Larger than Life Fun and Games Book, voiceover talent and producer/presenter of the Star Gazing with Shaun Cain Interview Show on the Star Gazing with Shaun Cain YouTube channel.
Check out the channel today. Please remember to subscribe, like, share and leave a comment.
https://m.youtube.com/results?search_query=stargazing+with+shaun+cain
