Collective Responsibility

There is an old saying that goes "it takes a village to raise a child." In my view that is still the case and is needed now more than ever. The days when the lady down the street would reprimand a child she isn't related to are long gone. In some cases people just don't care and would rather focus on their own problems, or are afraid of being "re-reprimanded" by relatives of that child.  The take over of the "see and blind, hear and deaf" culture is what I find to be one of the major factors contributing to the deterioration of the moral richness of where I like to call "the conservative's haven." In the western hemisphere I considered Jamaica along with Cuba, the last of this kind.

People like to down play the "americanization" of Jamaica. Whether the americanization  (yes I think Jamaica has been) is good or bad remains debatable. What have we taken, the I'm a star lifestyle and an I don't care what the next man is doing attitude,  but what about the good traits of America? The traits I refer to are family values, for instance both mother and father being the backbone of the household and also holding people accountable for their actions. The  "informer fi dead" doctrine needs to be abolished. It's become obvious that many individuals actually believe that certain bad things will never happen to them.  We sit and watch the news night after night and the horrible things we see go in and out of our minds. A policeman kicks down someone's door and takes advantage of his power but guess what? It isn't us or someone we know personally so we just say, "dem wicked eeh" and move right along. This has been the case in almost every aspect of our society, including our music.

I must admit I have been a fan of some lewd and violent songs and am still a fan of a few. However, I think  it ridiculous to believe that music has no effect on people's minds. If one can listen to a love song and feel like its talking about your relationship  puts you in a loving mood, why don't we think a song based on violence wouldn't have an effect on individuals who find being a badman attractive? When music fans start requiring more creativity from musicians, only then can we get a wider range of song topics. Black people love instructional songs, bend over, point pon a gyal, gun hand in the air, and the list goes on. Check out most popular dancehall songs and you will find some form of a directive in it, directly or indirectly, and most times its never anything uplifting. 

I think if everyone would first hold themselves and people they associate with to higher standards then extend these expectations to people they may come across this would become the psyche of our people. Parents must stop co-signing crap their children do because they want to be their friends and be seen as the cool mom or dad. I may get some flack for this, but I think these nowadays young mothers are the main contributors to the downward spiral of the moral fiber in society but lets not go in too much, not yet anyway. Lets save that for Mother's Day (lol). Love you Mom! In any case men are most times more morally inclined than women (when it comes to children), with that said they are also major contributors to the ills of society. By not being in the home and just being fathers that drop off lunch money or stopping over to say hello every now and then, the moral fiber of our society continues to diminish. We can either agree or agree to disagree, but the fact remains you are your brothers keeper.

Dancehall: Who's Got Next

Dancehall, like any other music genre or business entity needs a good sense of direction, therefore requires an excellent driver. Over the years the genre has been steered by 'Kings,' 'Gods,' the good, the bad, and more than ever ugly. Derived from humble beginnings and becoming the foundation of what would later become hip hop, dancehall throughout her young life has seen major worldwide accomplishments, most notably Shabba's back to back Grammy's, Shaggy's diamond, and Sean Paul's platinum successes, but has never managed to remain a staple on a mainstream level. Maybe the most hard core genre  in the world; dialect barriers, embedded homophobia, work ethic, the light skin syndrome, and lack of long term goal setting by the major players are just some of the reasons that have been argued as to why dancehall hasn't achieved half of what it's offspring hip hop has.




Like football to Brasil so is dancehall to Jamaica, yes there is reggae, dancehall's beloved sibling, but in Jamaica dancehall is far more dominant and the head honcho. Unlike football in Brasil there is no government help, no effective association or organization of peers, and no respect from the upper class inhabitants. Inhabitants who would rather import and promote musical genres from other lands, namely soca, calypso, and hip hop, but prostitute already popular dancehall practitioners to sell their goods and services to the lower and middle class. A perfect example of the lack of support for Jamaican oriented music is recently published information that the Jamaica Jazz and Blues event that has based its entire marketing campaign  around headliner Celine Dion garnered $60 million in support while plans for Reggae Month, which is celebrated annually in February, has only received 1.2 million in funding. 


Dancehall also has internal issues. One such issue which is not often highlighted but is a definite back-breaker, is the promoting of payola by radio disc jocks and selectors. This practice has lead to the stifling of many great songs over the years, from both producers and artistes that couldn't afford to or weren't willing to pay for play. It must also be noted that Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley's 'Welcome to Jamrock' never went to number one in Jamaica. All these factors continue to occur and under. mine the upliftment of Jamaican created music, while Nicki Minaj and Drake flourish on Jamaican airwaves withouht paying a cost.


 Jamaica has no shortage of talent, Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, Chris Gayle, The Norman Manley Law School (who recently retained their title beating its Ivy League counterpart Yale in the World Human Rights Moot Court Competition), Christopher Coke (great organizer and money maker just bad with phones), along with countless youths in every community with worldwide musical dreams. Unfortunately without help these aspirations will go no further than the island's 4,411 square miles, Jamaican communities in Canada, UK,  America, and a few spot dates in Europe and the Caribbean. 






Dancehall needs a new star. This time not just a melodious performer with captivating lyrics and rich imagery but someone to take charge and use the popularity they have to carry an entire genre on their back. A superstar that's not only neutral but welcoming  no matter how hardcore he or she might be. Shabba Ranks, who I think is still dancehall's biggest star to date, is the only individual to come anywhere close to the leader dancehall ultimately needs. He represented Jamaica with no apologies, always spoke favourably of his peers on the rise, and had an international hit with an upcoming Jamaican artiste. He took the time to make sure the song  wasn't hidden on an album or with artistes he knew had no real chance of going any further than the song they did.

However, what Rexton Gordon lacked was knowledge of the business side of the music industry which the next dancehall superstar must possess.  I am never of the belief, that an artiste should be his or her own manager but they must have the know how to strategize every move, from a song to a shirt, who he or she associates with and when and where to be seen. The Jamaican music industry has more damagers than managers, more hustlers than business minded people, therefore such a superstar has to be on the ball no matter the experience, accomplishments, or power a chosen caretaker of your career might have, so as to be a partner at all levels and not just a pawn. 

I am in love with dancehall, from being 12 years old at Sting 1992 and a weekly resident at House of Leo for years starting in 1993 to being on tour with King Yellowman. Now presently in my thirties my dancehall life so far has been nothing short of amazing. I consider myself a musicologist of everything past 1990 and I am not so patiently waiting on goose bump inflicting artistes  to be proud of and argue about.  So who's got next? 

 




We don't need another Buju, Bounty, Beenie, Shabba, Saw, Patra, or Spragga. They have worked hard to carry this still young music genre, and will forever be loved and respected but have peaked. The baton must be passed onto someone with bigger aspirations than Weddy Weddy or the Grammys. The man with the trailer load of girls, opened the flood gates back in the early 90s, when major labels where signing every dancehall artiste they could get their hands on, but no one could repeat Shabba's success. Record labels in that era didn't know how to market dancehall artistes, leading to poor sales and the gradual decline of Jamaican stars at the fore front of international music; this is where the next superstar has to be able to contribute to how he or she is supposed to be marketed. It's time for the gifted one, ready to again open the flood gates, permanently this time. 

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Track One: Intro

 "Pull up selecta,' and play it again ! High energy, important topics, with open mined, controversial, and honest views. This blog intends to inform and highlight the Jamaican experience, be it the people, the music, politics, sports, or just playing dominoes on the street corner. 

 Life's a beach and Jamaica has no shortage of those, so lets catch some sun and keep up with the views of a world traveler that has come to realize how unique his beautiful island is.  

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