The style is characterized by a deejay singing and rapping or toasting over raw and danceable music riddims.The rhythm in dancehall is much faster than in reggae, sometimes withdrum machines replacing acoustic sets. It may be the predecessor of Hip-Hop.In the early years of dancehall, some found its lyrics crude and bawdy("slack"), particularly because of its sexual tones, popular amongyouths in Jamaica. Like its reggae predecessor it eventually made inroads onto the world music scene.
This deejay-led, largely synthesized chanting with musicalaccompaniment departed from traditional conceptions of Jamaican popularmusical entertainment. Dub poet Mutabarukamaintained, "if 1970s reggae was red, green and gold, then in the nextdecade it was gold chains". It was far removed from its gentle rootsand culture, and there was furious debate among purists as to whetherit ought to be considered some sort of extension of reggae music.History
Dancehall, the musical genre, is long considered to be the creation of Henry "Junjo" Lawes in 1979 and further refined by King Jammy in the early 80's during their transition from dub to dancehall and original attempts to digitize "hooks" to "toast" over by Jamaican deejays.
King Jammy's 1985 hit, "(Under Me) Sleng Teng" by Wayne Smith,with an entirely-digital rhythm hook took the dancehall reggae world bystorm. Many credit this song as being the first "Digital rhythm" inreggae, leading to the modern dancehall era.[2] [3]However this is not entirely correct since there are earlier examplesof digital productions; Horace Fergusons single "Sensi Addict" (Ujama)produced by Prince Jazzbo in 1984 is one.
[edit] Major artists/milestones
Dancehall emerged in the 1980s, most of the creative output can be credited to studio musicians Steely & Clevie along with the handful of producers they collaborated with. They created the music for many of the riddims that the genre was based on. The decade saw the arrival of a new generation of deejays, most distinct were the harder edged, such as Ninjaman, Flourgon, General Trees, Tiger, Admiral Bailey, Supercat, Yellowman, Tenor Saw, Shelly Thunder, Reggie Stepper, Shabba Ranks, Johnny P, Peter Metro, and Papa Santo name a few. To complement their sound, a "Sweet Sing" vocal styleevolved out of roots reggae and R&B, marked by its falsetto andalmost feminine intonation, with proponents like Pinchers, Cocoa Tea, Sanchez, Conroy Smith, Courtney Melody, Carl Meeks, and Barrington Levy. It is important to note that a lot of established reggae singers like Gregory Isaacs, Militant Barry, Johnny Osbourne and U-Roy transitioned into dancehall.
In the early 90s, songs like Dawn Penn's "No, No, No", Shabba Ranks "Mr. Loverman", and Chaka Demusand Pliers' "Murder She Wrote" became some of the first dancehallmegahits in the U.S. and abroad. Various other varieties of dancehallachieved crossover success outside of Jamaica during the mid-to-late1990s. Tanya Stephens gave a unique female voice to the genre in the 90s.
1990-1994 saw the entry of artists like Buju Banton, Bounty Killer, Shaggy, Spragga Benz, Capleton, and Beenie Manand a major shift in the sound of Dancehall, brought on by theintroduction of a new generation of producers and for better or forworse, the end of Steely & Clevie's stranglehold on riddimproduction.
In the late 1990s, many practitioners like Buju Banton and Capleton returned to the Rastafari movement and changed their lyrical focus to "consciousness", a reflection of the spiritual underpinnings of Rastafari.
The early 2000s saw the success of newer charting acts such as Elephant Man and Sean Paul.
Currently, Sean Paul has achieved mainstream success within the United States and has produced several Top 10 Billboard hits, including "We Be Burnin'", "Get Busy", "Temperature" and the 2006 single "Give It Up To Me".
VP Records dominates the dancehall music market with Sean Paul, Elephant Man, and Buju Banton.[4] VP often has partnered with major record labels like Atlantic and Island in an attempt to further expand their distribution potential particularly in the U.S. market.
[edit] The culture of dancehall
Dancehall owes its name to the space in which recorded popularJamaican music was consumed and produced by the DJ. Dancehall is notjust recorded speech with musical accompaniment therefore, but a spaceas well as an institution or culture in which music, dance andcommunity vibes merge.
Dancehall also developed in Jamaica as a result of varying political and socio-economic factors. [citation needed]Reggae as a style of music was heavily influenced by the ideologies ofRastafari and was also spirited by the socialist movements in theisland at the time. Dancehall, the evolution of reggae, was birthed inthe late seventies and early eighties. This is when many had becomedisenchanted with the socialist movement and the harsh economicrealities that it brought to bear on the island. It is during this timethat neo-liberalist ideologies and materialism started to factor intothe lives of many Jamaicans, and into the new entertainment form.
Dancehall lyrics have been criticized by pockets of Jamaican societywith little or no state endorsement. Dancehall has also come to facescathing criticism from the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendercommunity, as they claim that it perpetuates violence against GLBT people in Jamaica.
[edit] Homophobia in dancehall music
Dancehall music has come underincreased criticism from Jamaican and international organizations andJamaican journalists, like Ian Boyne,[5] for homophobiclyrics. Such lyrics have been described by J-FLAG, a Jamaican gayrights organization, as one aspect of "widespread Jamaican culturalbias against homosexuals and bisexuals". A Human Rights Watch report has also outlined the widespread existence of homophobia in Jamaica.[6] Homosexual activity is still illegal in Jamaica, as it is in most former British colonies in the Caribbean (see LGBT rights in Jamaica).
In some cases, dancehall artists whose music features homophobiclyrics have had their concerts cancelled. Various singers have hadinternational travel restrictions placed on them, and have beeninvestigated by international law enforcement agencies such as Scotland Yard on the grounds that the lyrics incite the audience to assault homosexuals. In 2003, the British LGBT rights group OutRage! called for the arrest of Elephant Man for inciting the killing of gay men in his song lyrics. However, he was not arrested.[7]Many of the affected singers believe that such legal or commercialsanctions are essentially an attack against freedom of speech.[8]
Dancehall dances
Dancehall has energised Jamaican popular music because it hasspawned dance moves that help to make parties and stage performancesmore energetic. Many dance moves seen on hip-hopvideos are actually variations of dancehall moves such as the popularButterfly, The Bogle, The Heel and Toe, The Blazay-Blazay, The Pon theRiver, Pon the Bank, the jook, the spongebob, hot fuk and the dutty wine.