Dancehall


Dancehall

Dancehall is a genre of music that was formed and developed in Kingstown, Jamaica. It is an offshoot of the genre Reggie and first came to the fore in the late 70s. The meaning of the name dancehall is literally its namesake, as in halls for stage dancing in. It was created during a time of political and social change in Jamaica due to the rivalry of the two dominant political parties, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the People‘s National Party (PNP). Jamaicans were being cut out of welfare due to the shrinking state and was forced to fight off poverty. Themes of social injustice, repatriation and the Rastafari movement were initially touched upon in early dancehall music, however, these themes were soon overtaken by lyrics about dancing, violence and sexuality (mainly from the male perspective).

Dancehall themes and lyrics are usually based on the lives and ideals of heterosexual, working class, male Jamaicans, these are expressed through the following themes:
  • Guns (lyrics are violence/war based) – This is a dominant topic in dancehall. It usually celebrates the use of weapons and violent behaviour, keeping up the gender stereotype that men should be strong, powerful and a “badman”. 
  • Gyal (lyrics are based on sex/sexuality) – This is when the topic revolves around the glorification and sexualisation of the female body. It is an expression of male heterosexuality that projects ordinary women as beautiful sexy and desirable. 
  • Ghetto (lyrics based on gully/garrison/poverty) – This theme is meant to portray the poverty of inner-city’s in Jamaica, in which many Jamaicans feel there is no escape from. 
  • Gays (lyrics based on anti-male homosexuality/deviants) – This is used as a way to undermine, and polarise homosexuality. The tone of the lyrics can range from “funny” to threatening. This behaviour is displayed because homosexuality is perceived to be an explicit threat to the hardcore heterosexual male identity. 
  • Ganja (lyrics about weed/high grade/ chronic/marijuana) – This is a constant theme that runs through dancehall music. Marijuana is seen in Rasta culture as a natural herb that heals, protects and promotes the development of wisdom. Dancehall lyrics can also portray an anti – drug stance on drugs seen as unnatural such as cocaine. 
  • God (Lyrics based on Jah/Jesus/Selassie) – Another theme of dancehall draws from Jamaica‘s religious frameworks to help celebrate and spiritually identify with God through references to Jah/Jesus/Selassie. 
  • Competition/ clash/rivalries – Another element of dancehall is its competition/rivalry element. This competition element was usually displayed in the early days of dancehall, at events called sound system clashes, a crew of DJ’s used to compete against their rivals to prove who could provide the better performance. Whether it be the quality of the lyrical performance, or style and versatility the D.J (who would try keep the audience guessing by changing the style and pattern of the riddim being played). This was performed in a back and forth manner until a winner was declared or an opponent could not respond. Sound system clashes are not performed as much in modern dancehall. 
  • Money/bling/materialism. – This element of dancehall is a way for the artists to boast and display material wealth (bling-bling in Jamaican slang).

A picture of an early sound system used in Dancehall.

This picture shows a ‘clash’ between Thunder First and Redd Man, in Luton.

A lot of these themes can be deemed controversial because of its promotion of violence and hate towards certain social groups (often referred to as slack lyrics). Which goes against core fundamentals of roots Reggie, which tries to promote love and social progress. In modern dancehall, some of the extreme elements have usually been toned down or eradicated as social integration and progress has been made over the years.

Dancehall is known for its use of technological equipment to create and output their music. Along with the sound and style, the technology used in dancehall has advanced over the years for example in the 70s when the genre was at its begging, a typical performance set up would involve large sound systems (containing mixing decks). Performances usually involved a crew to operate and perform dancehall music such as the DJ, who’s role it was to ‘toast’ (speak or sing in rhyming verse) over Jamaican reggae instrumentals (often labelled dub tracks), and ‘selectors’ whose role it was to spin and mix the vinyl’s on the decks. Additional vocalists could also be used as well during a performance. Sound characteristics of this era featured a notable four to the floor, with the bass drum accenting on the first count of the beat, and a sharper sounding, snare drum that combining with the bass drum on the third beat of the bar, which produces the traditional Reggae style rhythm. Syncopation was also a notable feature in dancehall that was occasionally used in early dancehall music but was a more prominent feature in later dancehall music.

In the mid-80s digital technology changed the sound of Dancehall. Digital Dancehall (ragga) started to be composed at a faster tempo than the older dancehall style. Digital technology also changed the way dancehall was recorded and performed. It also made it easier for artists to sample and mix music from other artists without the need for live musicians. And with the advancement of synthesisers and drum kits, sound engineers could create more densely textured rhythms. Dancehall also began to use other musical influences other than Reggae in their music. For example, some dancehall artists took African-Jamaican ceremonial rhythms such as Kumina and Pocomania and used musical forms, such as Mento and Buru. This produced a distinctive drum sound that would serve as the bedrock for tracks, that generally featured, two harmonically simple chords and melodies with electronic overdubs.

This picture shows Daddy Colonel and Papa Levi, of the Saxon Studio International (one of the first UK Dancehall, Reggae sound systems from London) performing at the Club Lewsey during the Luton Carnival.

In more Morden dancehall music, special effects and manipulation of the voice are prominent features, for example, auto-tune is a commonly used effect this allows the Deejay’s voice to match the melody of the instrumental. Another common characteristic of modern dancehall is its similar use of a pop song structure, this involves repeated choruses, melodic tunes, and hooks, as well as its use of less controversial lyrics such as sexual content and swearing.

A picture of modern Dancehall being performed during the Luton Carnival in 2016.

Another essential element of dancehall involves dancing, a lot of the moves invented for dancehall are now mainstream in western society. Back in the early days of dancehall dancing was stereotyped as a female only activity and for a male to be seen dancing was to go against the “badman” image of working class Jamaica. However, since the turn of the millennium male dancing has been excepted into dancehall culture, this was due to an explosion of male dancers and male dancing troupes. Traditional dancehall dancing moves include the following: "Like Glue", "Bogle", "Whine & Dip", "Tek Weh Yuhself", "Whine Up" (a mix of various genres), "Boosie Bounce", "Drive By", "Shovel It", "To Di World", "Dutty Wine", "Sweep", "Nuh Behavior", "Nuh Linga", "Skip to My Lou", "Gully Creepa", "Bad Man Forward Bad Man Pull Up", "Keeping it Jiggy", "Pon Di River","One Drop", "Whine & Kotch", "Bubbling (Similar to twerking) ", "Tic Toc", "Willie Bounce", "Wacky Dip", "Screetchie", "One Vice" (an underground dance) and "Daggering".

Dancehall is an extremely popular form of music played in Luton that is played and enjoyed by young and old Afro-Caribbean’s. This is due to the high population of Afro-Caribbean’s (4% of the town’s populations is ‘Black Caribbean’ and 1.9% are ‘mixed’ Caribbean) living in areas of Luton such as Lewsey farm, Sundon Park and High Town. Old school and modern dancehall music, as well as its dance moves, can be regularly heard and seen in nightclubs in these areas of Luton such as Club Lewsey and The Five-O Club. However, Dancehall performances have also attracted some form of controversy in the past, as it is believed it encourages anti-social behaviour and live shows in the have been cancelled on police orders. Dancehall is also prominently heard in festivals in Luton such as the Carnival of Luton where it is used to celebrate the large community of Afro-Caribbean’s in Luton’s past and present.

A promotional poster for a Dancehall event that was held at Club Lewsey in 2016.  


Recommended Watching

1980's Dancehall (Ragga)

  • Music and Deejaying

  • Recording




Modern Dancehall

  • Music, Deejaying, and Dancing





Further Reading

Statistics 

History of Dancehall

Music of Dancehall

  • http://michelconci.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/defining-dancehall.html
  • Stolzoff, N. C., 2000. Get Up Stand Up The Dancehall in Post-Independence Jamaica. In: N. C. Stolzoff, ed. Wake the Town & Tell the People: Dancehall Culture in Jamaica. London: Duke University Press, pp. 97-107. [Online] Available at: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Ph8TBR6LErQC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

Location: Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

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