Jamaican Reggae and Dancehall Music

Recently, a woman from overseas made a video that has gone viral speaking on the changes in Jamaican reggae and dancehall music which in her opinion have lost their real intentions since the music has gotten more derogatory and is showing the Jamaican artistes and people in a different light. Yes, the music has changed due to the new generation of reggae and dancehall artistes who are slowly shoving the veterans of the genre out. I will not deny that some derogatory lyrics have always been in the music then, but it was not overly prominent, and only implied in a form where it was able to play on the radio without causing a stir.

Back in the 80s when King Yellowman was once the ruler of dancehall; his music had contents that my parents would have deemed vulgar and not fitting for airplay. The 90s also saw the trend of songs getting more vulgar causing it to not get the airplay on the radio as the cleaner dancehall music did; however, it was still popular at house parties and dancehalls across Jamaica and overseas. Even though the music was vulgar and disparaging to women, it still was not as vulgar as the music now, and since dancehall artiste Vybz Kartel began to encourage women to participate in certain sexual acts with men, and demand that his music with Spice “Rampin Shop” play on mainstream radio without being edited. Sadly, we are in an “Ensure” sexually explicit world with these upcoming dancehall artistes who are now drawing younger school children into performing sexual acts on each other which have gone viral. The woman further stated that she was tired of the sexually explicit and gun lyrics in the music which is degrading the culture, the women, and the overall music genre. She explained in not so many words that the real purpose of why tourists like her come to Jamaica is to enjoy the people, the environment, the food, the culture, and most of all the music, and is encouraging Jamaican artistes to revert to the music that once made Jamaicans and the island special.

Frankly, many Jamaican people are fed up with the state of the music, and many are now reverting to the older music of reggae and dancehall by veterans such as Buju Banton, Morgan Heritage, and even Sean Paul for their listening pleasure. The current state of the music has left a sour taste in our mouths and our artistes are becoming unimportant when a non-Jamaican group can be given the Grammy Award for best reggae album. This is a sure defeat in a category that was filled with true Jamaican artistes who lost out on what should have been theirs. Thank goodness for reggae artiste Koffee for her music; her music can be heard in both reggae and dancehall genres and has garnered love from President Obama who included her song “Rapture” in his playlist. It is quite clear that he had been listening to what is quality music from a younger artiste who is steering her music to a different level, and one that will keep her relevant for a long time. Her music may just be the savior for both the reggae and dancehall genres.

Sadly, none of the artistes whether current or veterans have come out in support of trying to get the artistes to quell the gun and sexually explicit music that is gracing the airwaves and seems to be fueling the molly-popping generation to kill intellectually. I guess because they fear losing their fan base or not profiting from it why they have not interjected. Not only is the music degrading, but now sexual acts (daggering) are played out on the music stage and actual sexual acts are now a part of the dancehall scenes for the world to see; recently, a woman won a trophy for her condom cup at a dancehall scene. This has shown the level to which women in Jamaica have reduced their standards and what they put up with as women in society. Dangerous so-called dance moves have seen men diving into women’s crotch and vice versa from rooftops and other dangerous heights, and women climbing scaffoldings to excite the crowd which is equally dangerous if a slip occurs. The entire reggae and dancehall scene has become a den of vipers and ill-begotten people with no moral fiber and decency for themselves. The Jamaicans are blessed people who have lost their way and will feel the domino effect of what is to come. Sadly, Jamaica may never return to the culture of decency and class as it once was.