Get With It! Dancehall Rules!

Groundins

By: Charles H.E. Campbell

Sunday, June 14, 2009.

If one wishes to gauge the popular culture or determine the most influential stimulus driving it, consider this fact: Dancehall. We can bleat against the genre’s influence and popularity all we want, but as time passes, Dancehall music continues its penetration into our social and cultural life, gradually permeating many other cultural and artistic manifestations, traditional rites, rituals and even our psyche.
The reality is that, by far, the majority of the live events in Jamaica today could be described as Dancehall events. Once, parties played a range of music; from Calypso and Soca, Soul, Rhythm and Blues, Reggae. Now, the popular all–inclusive parties offer largely only Dancehall music and its derivatives (Rap and Hip-Hop), very much like a regular dance. The uptown young people have adopted the Dancehall styles and trends in their dress and even the Dancehall lingua franca.

Traditionally, set-ups and nine-nights were heavily reliant on Revival songs, Negro spirituals, church hymns- many times sung from the actual song book- and traditional Afro-Jamaican dance forms like Kumina, Etu and Dinki Mini. Some were complemented by professional roving bands that had mastered the funereal repertoire and were formed mainly to provide this service at these rites. More and more, the musical form and backdrop of these rites are now sound systems playing predominantly a diet of Dancehall music and what should be the consolation of the bereaved is essentially a big bashment, serving still, a deeper, social purpose.

Like those nine-night and set-up gatherings, in the last ten years, we have seen funerals gradually transform from being sombre, pious and solemn affairs, to being more closely akin to Dancehall-influenced celebratory bling bashes. From the top line vehicles, sometimes rented just for this occasion; to the modes of dress and attire- micro miniskirts, 4” and 5” hooker heels, sequined, tattoo-enhancing, cleavage-bearing blouses, frill tuxedos, jeans and outfits from internationally acclaimed designers; to the elaborate weaves and glue-on wigs in varying and sometimes psychedelic colours; and the other bling accessories- the images presented and represented in a funeral setting are a stark departure.

Even the material and the designs used for coffins have evolved from being simple, sober and elegant to being gaudy, extravagant and trophy-like, often featuring sprayed on and printed on images of the deceased. Come to think of it, the word ‘evolve’ in this context might be inappropriate. In a sense, this practice is not new, because our ancestors in Ancient Egypt, Kush and Nubia buried their dead in elaborately designed, richly painted, human-shaped coffins known as sarcophagi. This new trend might in fact, just be a throwback. But then, how do you explain the glass carriage towed by the hearse (replete with images again), blaring Dancehall songs like Mavado’s I’m On The Rock, the one that goes “to all my friends that pass and gone, it’s not good bye, it’s good over evil” (Dem Alone) or anything from Elephant Man’s extensive catalogue of ‘religious Dancehall’ songs; the Dancehall trademark of dancing in the middle of the street; or the champagne and Guinness libations in the church and at the graveside? Surely, this is indigenous stuff.

Admittedly, however, some events are merely inspired by the Dancehall. Many roots plays dramatise real life stories and controversies of Dancehall personalities.
Those of us who have been travelling around the island recently will notice the word ‘Gaza’ spray painted on many a wall across the country, from the Kingston Metropolitan Region to Bluefields and Savannah-la-Mar. Gaza is the colloquial reference for the physical space (in Portmore) of Vybz Kartel and the Empire. The widespread graffiti symbolises his influence over whole communities in the on-going lyrical, infernal feud between himself and Mavado and his Gully (Cassava Piece) camp.

After some initial resistance from the traditionalists, the musical genre has also made significant in-roads in penetrating the hallowed halls of especially the charismatic churches. The adaptation of Dancehall music and dance styles epitomised by the relative success of Lt. Stitchie and Papa San, followed by the heavy bling mode of dress promoted by some of the younger gospel deejays like Prodigal Son and DJ Nicholas, is testament to the growing acceptance of the Dancehall culture among all sections of the population.

Surely the time has come to recognise- not just the trend, its implications and ramifications- but the potential for good, inherent in the very creativity that is at its core, along with its other redeeming qualities and features. By so doing, as a nation, we may begin to harness those essentials, in a drive to help us achieve our desired goals in education, national unity, social cohesion and the erosion of the political tribalism that has stymied the development of our country for so long.

Email: che.campbell@gmail.com