Dancehall Reggae - love it or hate it
April 23rd 2006 14:10
In Jamaica today, early forms of reggae and ska do not hold pride of place. Times have changed and dancehall is the number one genre amongst the youth. Roots reggae and dub still get a look in, but by far the most popular artists are those doing bashment. For those not familiar with dancehall, think of artists such as Sean Paul and even Shaggy as mainstream examples.
Dancehall has many detractors. Although there are similarities, dancehall seems quite removed from reggae in its traditional form. I myself am in two minds. I think there is very little quality control in dancehall. There is way too much being put out, very often with just different chatting over old rhythms. On the other hand, I have fond memories of going to sound system nights when I was just getting into ska and reggae and dancing the night away. In these younger days I tended towards certain artists such as Barrington Levy, Capleton and Sizzla. Some of my Barrington Levy records remain in my top song list, such as Here I Come or Black Roses.
The most redeeming aspect of Dancehall though is that some of the culture from the traditional forms of Jamaican music has stayed true to form. Take the sound system for instance. Big (big) speaker stacks with selecters and deejays chatting over the top of songs have been a big part of Jamaican music since the first half of the 20th Century. Also, that dancing is as important as the production of music is also something coming from the early days. Thousands of different dances have been invented and named to dance to reggae and the tradition is as strong as ever. In Jamaica today, there seems to be huge focus on dancing competitions, mainly amongst the females. To me, as someone who likes to have a dance to reggae, this is very important.
In the end though, dancehall just doesn’t have the same place in my heart as a good rocksteady or skinhead reggae tune.
For news and interviews on dancehall check out: rudegal.com
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Dancehall great Barrington Levy
The most redeeming aspect of Dancehall though is that some of the culture from the traditional forms of Jamaican music has stayed true to form. Take the sound system for instance. Big (big) speaker stacks with selecters and deejays chatting over the top of songs have been a big part of Jamaican music since the first half of the 20th Century. Also, that dancing is as important as the production of music is also something coming from the early days. Thousands of different dances have been invented and named to dance to reggae and the tradition is as strong as ever. In Jamaica today, there seems to be huge focus on dancing competitions, mainly amongst the females. To me, as someone who likes to have a dance to reggae, this is very important.
In the end though, dancehall just doesn’t have the same place in my heart as a good rocksteady or skinhead reggae tune.
For news and interviews on dancehall check out: rudegal.com
Why not bookmark this blog or add me to you RSS reader using this URL: http://www.reggae.net.au/rss/summary.xml ?
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Comment by Scott
Another speicalist music section - Awesome!
Just one question, was there any particular reason reggae started?
Scott
Punk Blog
Comment by Glen
Reggae
Comment by Trina
Hiphop
Confessions of a Serial Dancer
Competitions
Clubbing
Can you teach me some moves?
Hiphop Blog
Comment by Glen
Reggae
I can't teach you any moves - it's all about expressing yourself, don't you think?
Comment by Trina
Hiphop
Confessions of a Serial Dancer
Competitions
Clubbing
Hehehe hmmm so am I.
Sure, self-expression and physical interpretation of the music - but there's also basic moves and techniques, some with names (like the 'Bogal' or the 'Baddie Rider' for example) so that's why I asked.
Trina
Comment by Glen
Reggae
as all girls should be
I think it is different over here. Having classes over here to me is a way of bridging a gap because it isn't a natural part of our culture. The dancers in Jamaica from what I can tell, are just making up new moves continuously and naming them, as opposed to a structured way of learning. I appreciate people getting into dancehall that way over here though. And I will say, most of my experience of dancehall comes through listening to it - early reggae and ska or black american soul from the sixties is what I normally dance to and I just couldn't imagine classes in that.
Comment by Trina
Hiphop
Confessions of a Serial Dancer
Competitions
Clubbing
Yeah I know what you mean about classes - I teach freestyle/hiphop which has always been natural to me, and about interpreting the music; but it's not always so natural to most people and they just wanna learn what you already know.
The dancehall classes I was talking about is held at a place called Dance Central and apart from the normal dance styles they also got booty dance, burlesque, tahitian and modern east african dance! So exotic...
Comment by Glen
Reggae
My friend is into West African dancing. Now you've got me interested as to whether she had lessons or just picked it up.
Comment by sum chick
Comment by Anonymous
tracey
Comment by Anonymous
anyone know where there are dancehall classes in Perth??
Comment by Anonymous
anyone know where there are dancehall classes in Perth??
Comment by Anonymous