Krista Henry and Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writers

Cooper

In the high-definition sight and sound era, reading ranks very lowly on the noise level totem pole of exciting activities. The experience is not only personal, but also totally cerebral, gasps and laughter at twist of the plot and glorious manipulation of language the sole evidence of the reader's delight.

Of course there is, also, the rustle of a page turning, whether a book is good or bad.

In dancehall, though, things are almost always a little louder than expected, so when the genre turned a page with the launch of Who Am I? The Untold Story of Beenie Man at the Devonshire, Devon House, in early July it came with the thumbing of drum and bass and many a flash of fashionable leg.

However, guest speaker at the event, Professor Carolyn Cooper of the University of the West Indies, Mona campus, heard the rustle above the din of the music and the celebrants. "Dancehall culture is now developing a new profile," Cooper said; noting that Macka Diamond had already done the first dancehall novel, Bun Him and now Milton Wray's book on the self-styled 'King of the Dancehall' was dubbed the first dancehall biography.

And Michael Grant of publishers Great House Omni Media says, "Who Am I has created a touchstone, something people are going to refer to for a long time."

The biography on Beenie Man comes on the heels of the fictional work by dancehall's money goddess Macka Diamond. Bun Him is young, hip and deeply embedded in the dancehall culture. Striving to set herself apart from other female entertainers, Macka surprised the entertainment community with her new career path. While she utilised a co-writer, Macka says that the ideas in the novel were all hers and she has plans to continue the saga.

In a society where cultural tastes are often an indication of class, dancehall and literature do not readily 'Gully Creeper' in sync, the former firmly positioned in the ghettoes it originated from even if it has long spread north of Half-Way Tree. Sting, the annual year-end concert at Jamworld in Portmore, St Catherine, and the late May annual Calabash International Literary Festival in Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth, simply do not attract the same audience.

The cover of Macka Diamond's 'Bun Him'.- Contributed

trouble

The schism applies not only to audience but, Wray opines, subject matter. Speaking at the launch, he says "There is just one caveat. I have got myself in trouble because of one simple belief I have, that truth must always take precedence.

"There are those who would rather wait until Beenie Man is dead; some will turn up their noses," Wray says about the critics who would question that the deejay is worthy of a biography.

"It stems from the deep, deep classism that we have. It is a social discrimination," he said, pointing out that many of the people, who would be generally considered worthy of a biography are hardly known outside of Jamaica. "This classism has long rejected dancehall because it is from the ghetto. It is the music of the poor person."

Wray says that he wants Who Am I? The Untold Story of Beenie Man "to star of the debate on our discriminatory social classism. It is divisive, it is counterproductive because it stifles talent and potential. Let's make it a real issue and do something about it."

Whether or not that happens remains to be seen.

Macka Diamond with a copy of her book, 'Bun Him', at the launch, held at Weekendz on Monday, September 17, 2007. - Colin Hamilton/Freelance Photographer