Modern dancehall = No creation

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Q Mastah

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Hi,
I think that most of the dancehall release nowadays are disappoitning. They pretty much all sound the same. I'm tired of hearing those riddims over and over again with meaningless slack lyrics. I mean there seems to be no more creation in the music anymore as well as cultural attachment to the tradition of Jamaican Music. Maybe I will upset some people in this forum. Let me know what you guys think.
Q mastah

ps: Lee Perry and King Tubby forever!
 
Q Mastah said:
Hi,
I think that most of the dancehall release nowadays are disappoitning. They pretty much all sound the same. I'm tired of hearing those riddims over and over again with meaningless slack lyrics. I mean there seems to be no more creation in the music anymore as well as cultural attachment to the tradition of Jamaican Music. Maybe I will upset some people in this forum. Let me know what you guys think.
Q mastah

ps: Lee Perry and King Tubby forever!
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I think a lot of the reason things are the way they are is because of the economy of jamaica right now. I don't think its a lack of creativity i think its more a case of giving the youth the entertainment that they want. its all about going to a session and having fun and forgetting how weak the dollar is and how much the government a tax you for the little that you get. Plus i feel that dancehall and roots are two different genres of music and can't be directly classified as one (jamaican music) thats like calling rap and r&b black people music and critiquing them as "black music" when really and truely the only constant link between them is the fact that the majority of the musician in the genre are black......same as "jamaican music"
 
Respect to both posts!

I understand Q Mastahs concerns and Required Audios knowledge of undercurrents.

Musical and lyrical states are always a reflection of social undercurrents (trends). Required Audio hit it by identifying the current trend as a denial type

As a producer and artist and human being it is important to see where and who current trends are failing

Current musical and lyrical trends in many genres leave so much room for producers and artists with more relevant ideas.
 
Hi,
Thanks to you guys for replying to my post. I really do agree with Required Audio's point that the evolution of the music reflects the aspiration of the public and more specifically, the youth. This crave for mass entertainment has always been at the root of any music qualified as "popular". This is even more true for Jamaican music where early Sound systems and Yard Parties were a way for the people to forget their poverty and actually enjoy themselves. The fact is that every music has two different indissociable aspects to it, a cultural side and a commercial side. What I think is unfortunate in Danchall right now is that It seems to me that the commercial aspect of it is taking over the cultural side resulting in a certain loss of identity of the music. As an example, I was reading a Sean Paul interview yesterday where he said that he tried to improve his accent because his jamican patois was a barrier to his succes in the United States.
As wonpeace mentioned, everyone should determine where "current trends" fail. As far as i'm concerned, I think it is important to identify the origin of musical undercurrents as well as understand it beyond its trendy side. This, of course without loosing sight of the main purpose which is having fun!
 
roots and conscious reggae is still there and lively but its simply not what america wants to hear right now and unfortunately when it comes to the music industry, america is the dictator. Sean paul is no where near the spokesperson for dancehall, reggae or jamaica. Sean paul is a chiney jamaicain uptown bwoy who can chat patois. nothing more nothing less. The real heads no where the real music is.

I can honestly say that conscious riddims are dropping nearly as frequently as the dancehall riddims. ie the campo riddim just bust this week with luciano and some other heads on it.

You still have cats like sizzla, luciano, capleton, buju, anthony b, ras shiloh and even shabba dropping tunes on a regular basis. Your problem may lie in where you are looking for the music and who is dictating what music reaches your ear.

also keep in mind just because one man dj about high grade, session and girls while another man sing about oppresion and ghetto survival doesn't mean that one is more creative than another it just means two man have two different perspective on the same painting.

1 love
 
Required Audio said:


also keep in mind just because one man dj about high grade, session and girls while another man sing about oppresion and ghetto survival doesn't mean that one is more creative than another it just means two man have two different perspective on the same painting.

1 love
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definately!

Required Audio and Q Mastah: what are your relationships to dancehall? what would you like them to be?

vibes, love and thanks to you both for sharing top ideas and perspectives!
 
I'm a born and raised west indian so the music is an irrevocable part of my culture. but i want to go from consumer to provider and i will.
Mi wan follow wha mi heart say whether its conscious or Bling bling.
Mi could all sing about my moms or chat bout gyal inna g string
Mi coulda producer or a dj, its all about the bass
Come in like matlock cause mi dehpon di case
and no man caant judge mi, me a mi own ras jury
is just another for of oppression to feed the lion fury.
True mi hair long but mi nah rock dreads
Mi nah rastaman but conscious ideals in mi head
right now mi a dj but mi have riddim pon di shelf
if uno intrested link me, i'll let you see for yourself.

1 love
 
Required Audio said:
roots and conscious reggae is still there and lively but its simply not what america wants to hear right now and unfortunately when it comes to the music industry, america is the dictator. Sean paul is no where near the spokesperson for dancehall, reggae or jamaica. Sean paul is a chiney jamaicain uptown bwoy who can chat patois. nothing more nothing less. The real heads no where the real music is.

I can honestly say that conscious riddims are dropping nearly as frequently as the dancehall riddims. ie the campo riddim just bust this week with luciano and some other heads on it.

You still have cats like sizzla, luciano, capleton, buju, anthony b, ras shiloh and even shabba dropping tunes on a regular basis. Your problem may lie in where you are looking for the music and who is dictating what music reaches your ear.

also keep in mind just because one man dj about high grade, session and girls while another man sing about oppresion and ghetto survival doesn't mean that one is more creative than another it just means two man have two different perspective on the same painting.

1 love
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In response to all of this:

Jamaican music has ALWAYS had slackness. I have mento records from the 50s that were, by the standards of that day, as slack as anything out today. Second, there has always been crappy reggae, as well as good reggae. You just don't hear the crap from back in the day cause no one plays it anymore. Third, the riddim thing dates from the 60s in Jamaican music and is perhaps the most integral part of the musical tradition. Fourth, as was pointed out, there is lots of conscious music and lots of "other" music today, just as there always has been. The popularity of the different styles with Jamaican music just rises and falls periodically. Capleton, Sizzla, Luciano, etc are not heard as much now in the dancehall (IMHO) because they have gotten a little stale, lyrically and compositionally. RIght now the upbeat riddims are running things, maybe in a year the rootsy riddims will return- it has always been like this and probably always will be as the music continues to re-invent itself and evolve (and yet stay the same in many ways).
 
New Dancehall.....

There are plenty of new conscious artists out.....Warrior King, VC, Prez. Brown, and of course the usual suspects.....anybody check Buju's or Sizzla's latest.....those are hot!

The problem isn't a lack of tracks....its that most Americans don't like repetition. You can't run rhythms, here......and thats half the fun of spinning dancehall.

Ain't nothing wrong with slackness....slackness doesn't necessarily equate with a lack of consciousness. Certain tracks are just too rude, and some are silly. That can be good....Remember the Joyride rhythm? Frisko Kid's rubbers track is a great, and its pretty damn slack, but in a harmless kind of way. ....I just played that tonight and people went off. I'd forgotten about it until someone asked for it....

Dancehall will never grab the masses the way a mindless 4/4 techno rhythm will.....its not fast enough or hard enough....its just the way it is......You have to mix in some house, jungle or hip hop sounds to get the people's attention.....
 
Required Audio said:
Sean paul is a chiney jamaicain uptown bwoy who can chat patois. nothing more nothing less.
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What is a "chiney Jamaican" ? By uptown, you mean a rich kid?

Anyways, I'm from the States and I was wondering how guys like Sean Paul and Beenie Man are recieved in Jamaica. Is Sean Paul more famous up here?
 
Can i say Something

ahm, how much a uhnuh inyah is jamaican?

promoting songs like how sean paul did will make other artiste want 2 do it too. besides, it only took the man one video to bus, with one song that nobody down here was'nt even paying no attention 2, not until them c it on BET and say, yeh, da chune deh bad!.

trust me if we mi nuh wrong my yute wheh seh we need more substance inah we lyrics cause a bare f*ckery most man chat sometime and if we fi promote songs like those, it nah go do jamaican music, nor jamaica itself any good.

music is a ting like this: yuh have to accept what u c on tv. put it this way:
what if there was no hip hop/rRnB videos and only pure dancehall/Roots reggae being broadcasted on our tv's(BET & MTV). what would be the outcome: people of all foreign countries will grow to apreciate the music/culture /and the language they c. ( know the reason i was drawn to hip hop was b/cause of the sexy girls and hype cars/ clothes an houses i c in the videos.)

u just wait till jamaican music explode, as bob marley say, time will tell




artiste i think deserve (more) international videos:




wanye marshal
vibes cartel - if him change im lyrics little bit
elephant man
killa
T.O.K
and assasin
 
I actually think that then dancehall of the last 2 years is great compared to what was made 7 years ago (maybe, i wasn't into it much but it never amazed me because back then it all sounded the same) But many riddims sound different nowadays and are more complicated than before.....If you want bad riddims then go to SPANISH REGGAE which has the old basic beat on every song and 1 more instrument many times to try to differentiate the songs.....now that is bad, they are wising up a bit and mixing up the "ReeGGaetOn" better lately
 
Hasn't most dancehall ALWAYS featured the same riddims? Modernism has nothing to do with it.

Anyone in here from NYC? Please....that sh!t's been the same since God knows when.
 
i agree to the phrase Modern dancehall = No creation when it comes too all those tracks that feature the same claping pattern (i.e sean paul get busy, wayne wonder, lumidee ect.)
 
Cameleon said:
i agree to the phrase Modern dancehall = No creation when it comes too all those tracks that feature the same claping pattern (i.e sean paul get busy, wayne wonder, lumidee ect.)
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people been saying that ****e for the last 20-30 years about reggae/dancehall...

the diwali riddim was very creative in the context of dancehall.

big up all di yard crew, esp. all my George's old boys, yuh done know say North St run tings!
 
vibz

metaphors are creative but sometimes the excessive use of it (esp. when he uses the same rhiming style and ending thru the whole song) can get a little boring. he got skills tho
 
that what i was trying to say, using the same riddim gets boring when u have 4 or more singles out there with it! make people think that this is all dancehall has to offer.
 
Cameleon said:
that what i was trying to say, using the same riddim gets boring when u have 4 or more singles out there with it! make people think that this is all dancehall has to offer.
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i am very sorry but that IS the essence of dancehall, and to a large degree, reggae in general.

If you don't get that concept you are missing the whole thing.

Now, people could debate whether this is a good thing for dancehall in the larger scheme of things, and that debate will never be settled, but I can say that the use of riddims goes much deeper than you think; there are cultural, social and many many economic issues behind this phenom. Reggae would be very different without it.
 
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