Germaine Smith, Staff Reporter
DESPITE THE scorn and scourge poured out on dancehall music over the years by elements within the society, the genre continues to breed new life into itself. It constantly evolves, generates debate and discussion, while attracting new fans worldwide at a fascinating rate.
A striking testimony to the profound pulling power and influence that the dancehall music and culture posses is 31-year-old Camillo Gonsalves. Gonsalves is a 'Jamerican', a former newspaper journalist and attorney qualified to practice in the United States and soon to be qualified to practice in Jamaica.
Apart from hopping between the US, Jamaica and St Vincent, where his father is from, he uses precious spare time to run a website and magazine dedicated to dancehall music. Gonsalves, known outside of the courtroom as Milo, is the publisher of Reggaematic, a glossy dossier of the fast-paced happenings inside the world of dancehall music.
DISTRIBUTION
Its distribution has moved from mainly in the United States to sections of Europe and Asia. As the name suggests, the magazine reels out rapid-fire features, music reviews, artiste profiles and dancehall history lessons, among other dancehall related items.
It is brutally honest. At times it unrepentantly blasts weak albums and lashes the stage shows which fall below par, yet it delivers with a sense of humour which only mature dancehall pundits can understand. A licensed attorney who hovers over dancehall like a possessed fan places Milo into a rare group. Moving out of the norm of those who ply his profession, Milo sees dancehall as more than mere entertainment.
SERIOUS ART
He considers it a serious art form with its own rules, behaviour code, identity and direction. His journey to this point began as a child born to a St Vincentian father and Jamaican mother.
He attended the Priory and Wolmer's Boys high schools in Jamaica, Temple University in Philadelphia, USA, and the George Washington University Law School.
Somewhere among these leaps he spent time in St Vincent and Barbados with family members and between the contrasting worlds of rural Jamaica and Kingston.
"I fell in love with dancehall from very early. When I was too young to go out I listened to the cassettes and studied the music," he recalls. "I listened to the lyrics and took them to school to deejay them, so the love affair started even before I left Jamaica."
"In the US the class barriers associated with dancehall music are stripped away, so the music becomes a Caribbean thing and not a class thing as in Jamaica.
In the US, dancehall is novel. Beenie Man at a show in the US is an event and not a regular thing as in Jamaica, so people appreciate it much more," Gonsalves said. Working in what is considered an elitist profession, Milo considers himself an understudy of dancehall music and claims that the genre is worthy of greater support, study and attention. He kicked off his website as a university student in the early 1990s and watched it grow in support until the magazine was launched earlier this year.
Reggaematic operates in an environment saturated with dancehall/reggae websites and magazines, yet Milo expresses joy at the obvious competition. "I am very happy that there is all this coverage right now. I never approached my magazine as something that is to dominate the field or to crush the competition," he states.
Hearing a man whose profession is, on the face of it, so far removed from dancehall speak like that would make many parents roll their eyes in disgust.
HEALTHY UPLIFTING HOBBIES
Why not develop healthy uplifting hobbies that other lawyers have? Why subject yourself to the denigrating decibels of the dancehall where nothing good ever comes from, they may ask. "People who make comments like that are ignorant of dancehall.
They really don't understand what dancehall is, or even listen to it," he responds. "Dancehall is a cultural manifestation of Jamaicans. Specifically it has a great deal of Jamaican identity in it. It is almost like CNN to certain classes in the society; this is where they get their news from, this is where they are told things."
His passion for dancehall aside, the journey to launch Reggaematic was no walk through the park. He remembers earlier years when as a fresh attorney in the district of Maryland, overpowering workloads caused him to not see the sun for weeks, as he sped into the office early in the mornings and dragged himself home after dark.
These moments, however, were not half as frustrating as those he has had more recently. These pressures now come from balancing editorial independence with profitability. "There are so many (moments), but one of the main ones is that when you are doing a website, more so a magazine, it costs money.
You have to print and you have to distribute it; there are a number of hidden costs," he explains. "It is difficult at times to raise the capital you need and a lot of what happens also in dancehall and entertainment generally is that people want to have a lot of control over what is coming out, so if you are getting an advertisement from certain companies they want to know that if they advertise with you you will give them a positive review.
But maybe because I had a journalism background, the editorial independence of the magazine is the most important thing to it" In the magazine, Milo and other contributors cut down albums which they feel do not make the mark and they do not sugarcoat the egos of dancehall acts.
He sees this blunt honesty as necessary. "They (artistes) want to be painted in a certain light. They think they know your job better than you and sometimes they want to tell you how to do it. "You have to be honest and I think people should appreciate that."
MESSAGE
"Just like an artiste is going to put out an uncompromising message in the songs, he should be able to take an uncompromising message coming back towards him." With the same tone, he laments the present tussle dancehall artistes are having with gay rights campaigners overseas.
"I never thought dancehall should or shouldn't hit out against homosexuals," Milo notes. "That is something that was not created by dancehall; that was created by the society's impression of it."
"What I should say is that if they choose to do it, they should do it with their eyes open. Nobody is making anybody hit out against certain practices, but if you do it stick to your guns...Nobody made you do it, so if you are going to be a bad man, be a bad man all the way." There are bigger fish to fry.
"Dancehall is hitting out against injustice, corrupt politicians, gun crimes, drugs and it is a shame that it has become such a big issue. I don't have a problem, because I support freedom of speech. I don't think that it is anybody's job to censor them. People will listen to them and they will make their own
judgment.
OUTSIDE PEOPLE
I think that it is a shame that outside people are coming in and trying to change the messages that dancehall puts out. Dancehall hits out against a million things; they burn informers, etc, so it is a shame to take things out of their contexts."
"Not to say that I support it, but people should be allowed to say what they want. But if you decide that you want to get out and make a stance, don't back down when you face the fire; stick to your guns."
Coming from the professional podium, one would expect Milo's vision for dancehall music to be profound and broad, yet it remains surprisingly simple. "My vision for dancehall is not for me to have a vision for dancehall music," he jokes.
"Dancehall evolves constantly and there is always going to be a duality, with the cultural and conscious and the more party oriented." "Dancehall serves more than one purpose. One part of it comments on society, while another part almost makes you want to forget your troubles. Bob Marley said 'forget about your troubles and dance', while Elephant Man says 'Chaka Chaka'; it is the same forget your problems and dance theme."
"So my vision is that it will continue to increase in importance, but my fear is that in increasing in popularity it will lose its sense of self and independence."
His vision for the magazine also is arguably simple. He just wishes it to be available more to those who want it in whichever country they live.
