Sanaa Magazine l Politics & Analysis

“Every man’s got a right to decide his own destiny”. The words of a man so enigmatic, yet so charismatic. Most people hear of reggae music and thoughts instantaneously drift to the great icon Bob Marley, a man with as much influence on global consciousness during the latter 20th century as the musical legacy he would give rise to after his death. Jamaican dancehall initially began in the late 1940’s and at the time was simply a gathering of people in large halls where music was played and everybody well, danced. As time passed, the term became synonymous with the popular Jamaican music of the late 60’s and 70’s and eventually came to represent it as the name of the musical genre itself.

Social and political changes in the latter half of the 1970’s Jamaica reflected a movement away from the more widely known roots reggae, which as a subgenre of reggae dedicated its style more to portraying the life of persons living in the slums, spirituality, black pride, racial oppression and African repatriation, to more a style dedicated to the focus on dancing, violence in the slums and sexuality.

Initially as we mentioned, dancehall, with Marley at its helm, served during the 60’s and 70’s to bring much awareness to the issues faced by Africans on the continent battling the effects of colonialism and the legacy of colonialism, to Africans in the diaspora battling the legacy of slavery and racial oppression. The music of artists like Bunny Wailer, and others helped give voice to thousands of people suffering in ghetto and slum conditions stretching from Los Angeles to Johannesburg.

With the death of Marley came a major shift in the positive feel good vibe of the music coming out of Jamaica. A quote by Dub Poet Mutabaraka can best sum up this shift when he states, “If the 1970’s reggae was red, green and gold, the decades that followed were mainly focused on gold chains”. This new style was undeniably far removed from the genre’s gentle roots and certainly more violent. With this new style, came a new wave of artists like, Buju Banton, Shabba Ranks, Capleton and Bounty Killa whose lyrics focused more on the violence, sexual promiscuity and day to day struggles of urban youths in Jamaica and around the world. If Beres Hammond was singing about the love experienced on the island and around the world, these young artists decided to focus on the pain found in that world.

Following the decade of hardcore lyrics, came a return to the conscious reggae roots of the early years. This return stemmed from a backlash against artists like Buju Banton, whose violent and highly anti-homosexual track “Boom bye bye” and the escalating violence in Kingston led artists to take a look at the way they’re music was causing concerns and raising issues in various societies around the globe.

As the 1990’s progressed, dancehalls influence on Jamaican life and the lives of people living in various highly urban communities continued to grow immensely. The artistic genius and political force of its artists and poets dominated the clubs from Jamaica to Brooklyn, Dakar to Lagos, even traveling to Europe and Asia spreading the wisdom gained and the pain felt by many a forgotten people. It began to give rise to various subcultures in the form of the Spanish Caribbean’s reggaeton sound, the ragga music coming out of Lagos, Nigeria’s Ajegunle and dancehall deejays in Tokyo throwing all night parties heavily dominated by its sounds. It also served to introduce new generations of youths around the global community to the words of social justice and awareness laid down by great men and women who lived not too long ago, creating a new breed of revolutionaries.

Jamaican Dancehall >

A look at the influence of Jamaican dancehall music & culture on global consciousness.

Sanaa Magazine

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Image 1970's Dancehall scene, Jamaica

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Seun Joshua is a writer/designer based in New York, NY and Washington D.C. When not writing for Sanaa, he works in the fields of architectural design and urban planning. For inquiries please write to shay@sanaamagazine.com