Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
Deejay Kiprich (left) with members of TOK at the launch of his debut album at the Asylum nightclub in November. TOK has seen the reach of dancehall in their travels.
Teino Evans, Staff Reporter
The appetite for reggae music in its original form, both locally and internationally, may be dwindling, as the craze of dancehall, an offspring of reggae has been on the fast track for some time now and is breaking new barriers internationally.
The current generation of Jamaican young persons has seemingly replaced the genre that gave birth to dancehall with the relatively young upstart. And while reggae music still enjoys respect, it may have failed to attract young persons on a large scale.
"Right now is all about Ele Kartel, Beenie, Bounty an dem man deh, an di artiste dem weh successfully cross over, like TOK, Sean Paul and others and yuh done know, Shaggy always deh deh same way. Nuh young person nuh really a 'pre' di reggae, rocksteady ting more dan suh," 25-year-old 'Dre' explained. "Is jus' a different type a music a run di place yah now fi suit a different generation."
The latest data from some of the local and international charts support this view, as on the Atlanta top 20 Reggae Week, ending December 9, 2005, the majority of songs were actually from dancehall artistes, with Buju Banton and Anthony Cruz in the number one spot, with Too Bloody. Other artistes in the top 20 were TOK, Sean Paul, Left Side and Esco, Fantan Mojah, Sizzla, Turbulence and Sasha, Busy Signal, Elephant Man, Damion 'Jr. Gong' Marley, Morgan Heritage, Junior Kelly, Jah Cure and Gyptian.
Best Seller
The Tower Records Japan '2005 Best Seller' Reggae/Reggaeton Chart had T.O.K.'s Unknown Language (VP/JVC VICTOR) sitting in the number one spot, followed by Sean Paul's The Trinity (VP/WARNER JAP).
"The difference is when you go to certain places like Europe and Japan, they still love it (reggae music), but no matter what people want to say roots, rock was for the generation of the past and right now dancehall is what everybody wants to hear. Yuh still have roots, rock artistes weh tour, but dancehall a di ting fi the younger generation of people in these countries, a it dem waan hear. My Crew My Dog, for example, a run Japan fi bout five years now," Flexx from TOK said.
"Dem love di roots rock inna Jamaica to, but dancehall a jus di ting, yuh caan ignore it," he added.
However, for founding Wailers member Bunny Wailer, despite accepting this reality, it is important to preserve roots, rock reggae and ensure its continuity.
"People want to know what is happening to roots and culture coming out of Jamaica, as dancehall has taken some dominance, but the roots and culture is the foundation and I an I is here to show that roots and culture is here to stay," Wailer said at the recent launch of his reggae double CD Tek Set Volumes 1&2 in Half-Way Tree, St. Andrew.
In an interview with The Sunday Gleaner Wailer admitted that things and times had changed, as it was a new generation accepting musical expressions in a different way.
"This is a new generation, and dem have dem message fi declare. They have moods and they are expressing their own thing and I an I haffi look pon dat wid a open mind. I also absorb it, but I couldn't declare it how dem a do it. Reggae music feed whole heap a people worldwide and that is what the Wailers did stand for originally," Bunny Wailer said.
The reggae music that Bunny Wailer speaks of, found its roots in Jamaican musical styles mento, ska and rocksteady and took shape by the mid-1960s.
Do the Reggay (1968) by Toots and the Maytals was one of the earliest appearances of the genres name in a song. Jimmy Cliff became the first reggae performer, however, to achieve international popularity, largely because of his lead role in the motion picture The Harder They Come (1973), for which he also performed the title song.
mainstream recognition
Reggae superstar Bob Marley, followed quickly after as one of the most prolific and influential reggae artists internationally, as he and prominent members of his band the Wailers, openly embraced the 'rebel' image that their music acquired over time. Marley gained mainstream recognition with his 1975 album Natty Dread and by the time of his death from cancer in 1981 had won worldwide respect for their music.
Despite reggae making a mark and helping to put Jamaica on the worldwide map, the crave for dancehall music and its combination with pop genres has led to some major developments. Among these are the formation of Reggaeton, the signing of more local artistes to overseas record labels and producers (for example Sizzla being allied with Damon Dash) and also the combination of hip-hop and pop artistes with hardcore dancehall performers to create major international hits, such as Sean Paul and Beyonce with Baby Boy, Bounty Killer and No Doubt with Hey Baby and Beenie Man and Janet Jackson's Feel It Boy.
Still, the influence of roots reggae is quite visible in dancehall music today, as seen with rhythms like Don Corleone's Drop Leaf, with Jah Cure's Longing For among the very popular cuts. And Sizzla's album Da Real Thing was a tremendous roots reggae rhythm based hit in 2003.
So not all is lost for roots reggae, as a few younger artistes, such as Richie Spice and Bushman, have emerged in more recent years, dedicated solely to the one drop sound..
Richie Spice says he 'livicates' himself to roots reggae because it is the original music that brings positive messages to the youth.
"I livicate myself to music, reggae music, because is the first born music. A di roots; every other music come from reggae music, so that's why I stick to the root, because without the root there couldn't be a branch. Reggae music a di music weh me deal wid, because it uplift di youths dem in this time an teach dem how fi unite an if dem 'ova stand' it den it can even grow dem inna life," Spice said. "If yuh a guh sing music an it nuh mek nuh sense den it nuh mek sense mi talk it."
