In one of his regular commentaries on Sunday, July15, published in the Gleaner, Mr. Edward Seaga restated the well known historical fact that Jamaica is not a literary society; it is an oral one, passing on information by the spoken word". In reference to the political platform (stage show) he says, "language has to be tailored to the level of understanding of the people. This means using catch phrases, buzz words and street language." In the music industry, many artistes, including Bob Marley and Tanya Stephens, provide us with excellent examples in their works. Later in his article, Seaga adds, "songs are also used to liven campaign meetings (stage shows), based on the lyrics, melodies and rhythms."
If I may use a bit of literary licence without quoting him out of context, I wish to deliberately juggle the sequence of some other profound statements contained in the rest of Seaga's article, so as to substantiate my viewpoint on the subject of today's commentary. I do this because upon reflection, after reading the article, I thought that they offer incisive insights into the Jamaican cultural landscape and could be applied to the music fraternity by providing useful lessons to a young lyric writer embarking on a career and wishing to succeed in the Reggae/Dancehall market. For this purpose, although I do not intend to confuse you I have put some alternate words in brackets, so while reading this, starting from the top, if one were to replace the words electioneering with lyrics, campaign message simply with message, political/campaign meetings with the words stage show, electoral system with consumers and electorate with people whenever they appear, I am sure you will quite easily agree with me.
The following six quotes are also taken from Mr. Seaga's article. "Each social class group in Jamaica has its own cultural preference as to how they understand and what they understand. These differences make up the cultural mix of our electoral system (consumers)." He also says, "Of course it is partly because of class snobbery why those who can handle the written word sneer at the alternative methods used by others who digest information in a different manner." Could this explain the source of many of the criticisms of Reggae/Dancehall lyrics? Again, Mr. Seaga says "many persons who are generally from a background where information can be appreciated and understood without mixing it with entertainment or reducing it to slogans or catch phrases, condemn this type of electioneering (lyrics) and form of communication. They are undoubtedly ignorant of the power of popular culture." I think Mr. Seaga gives those groups too little credit, and that the reverse is closer to the truth. After all, our most successful local marketing experts have exploited that fact for decades to effectively promote their clients products. No, I rather think that contemptuously they wish to keep the real political debate above the heads of the ordinary citizen, because there is this continuing belief of the middle class in Jamaica that they are the natural masters of the freedom and independence that was fought for by all our heroes and that the only legitimate culture is that which springs from them. As Mr. Seaga states therefore, "the most effective means of transmitting any (here Mr. Seaga has the word campaign) message is through music and slogans". He goes on, "perhaps this is a good reason for keeping the electorate (people) ignorant." No two people have the same luck. When I said on June 24 (Sunday Observer, Trivialities and Banalities) that our leaders are "keeping the masses ignorant of their proud heritage and persisting in the perpetuation of their mendicant mentality which plays right into the hands of the politicians", both sides of the political divide were upset. However, if fish come from river bottom and seh it go so, if it nuh go so, it nearly go so. Seaga concludes, "If the people are ignorant of issues, they can easily be duped into misplacing their support by entertaining and enticing them into 'feel good' situations which have a short-term impact." Now I ask, isn't this exactly what some misguided Dancehall artistes are so often accused of doing? That is, the promotion of instant gratification, and are- to a large extent- guilty of. But yet, as in all election campaigns since 1983, we are now seeing and hearing from the various political platforms, the same trite messages from many of the same persons who stigmatise everything coming out of the Dancehall.
In her article on homosexuality (Sunday Observe, July 8), Petre Williams quoted sociologist Dr. Orville Taylor "when you take on the Dancehall culture, you take on almost an entire population. And it is the Dancehall population that wins and loses elections. And the politicians know this." As a cautionary note to the PNP, conversely or consequently, you ignore Dancehall at your own peril. I have been listening to your advertisements that have now begun airing and I find their music slightly tepid. While they portray positive and patriotic images, in some, the music sounds like it is more appropriate for some English election campaign. Your other ads are supposedly buttressed by what essentially is rehashed Mento background music that harkens back to the 70s. I suggest that someone in charge of your promotional campaign review the tapes of your Half Way Tree rally so as to compare the response of the live audience to your new campaign tunes with the overwhelming cheers and singing the moment Mavado's music began playing from the public address system for a clear example of my point. While it is very obvious to me that you are specifically targeting Christians, with those religious strains in your music, and no doubt, based on some initial feedback, this will be effective for those groups, you should know that the G2K has produced some very effective ads using the Dancehall genre, especially the one with an artiste that sounds just like Shabba Ranks. These are the songs that I seem to hear being sung most frequently by people in general and youths in particular, all over the country.
But don't take my word as gospel, just look at the difference in public support now being generated by the newly formatted JCDC popular song contest- starting last year, and obviously further fine tuned this year. This contest had slowly become irrelevant because it got stuck for some time with the Mento rhythm long after it went out of vogue. However, the approach was revamped to incorporate new (Dancehall) rhythms and styles and is beginning once again to reclaim its lost status in the entertainment circuit. I watched the Portland leg of the competition on tv recently, and it was like a breath of fresh air. I was impressed with the excellent talents and developed skills of the contestants, and even more so with the visual presentation and orchestration including the introduction of standardised backing harmony vocals, produced by JCDC. The lesson here is, do not get stuck in the past. This is a very dynamic industry and you must remain current to maximise your national appeal.
Before closing, I must also comment about the results of the new focus on singers of this year's Rising Stars talent competition. The competition has exposed an extremely gifted set of contestants. With what has been unearthed so far, the judges jobs will be a pleasant one this year.
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