Tyrone Reid, Staff Reporter
THE records have shown, literally and figuratively, that dancehall music has successfully crossed over into mainstream markets - but only in part.
There are several instances where the technical side of the music has crossed over, that is, the production side of the business, which includes making the rhythm. One of the most striking recent examples is Sly and Robbie collaboration with the US group No Doubt for two tracks on their Rocksteady album, with Steelie and Cleevie chipping in on one song.
There are also cases where the artistic side has crossed over into the 'Ivy League', that is, the deejaying pattern and lingua have been used in songs that have crossed over but not on dancehall-driven rhythms. This is evident on the many collaborations that local acts have been doing with overseas artistes on foreign rhythms, such as Cobra and Toni Braxton (You're Making Me High Remix), Supercat and Sugar Ray (Fly) and Beenie Man and Mya (Girls Dem Sugar).
A major example of dancehall's musical aspect making the leap without the production mien is Shaggy's multi-platinum effort Hotshots, which has been widely scrutinised and poked at by many as not being a reggae album, but rather a pop effort. These criticisms stem from the fact that there are no tracks on the album that are of the dancehall variety but those who advocate the set as a reggae album point to the fact that the writing side, which includes the delivery of the songs, is of a dancehall persuasion. However, the unfortunate circumstance is that the artistic and the production sides of dancehall have yet to cross over simultaneously.
Therefore, the question is, can dancehall music have its own identity overseas? Or, to put it another way, can a local song on a dancehall-bred rhythm make it on its own into the big leagues, without any assistance from any other music genre?
Veteran deejay Cobra is numbered among the few deejays to have achieved Gold (more than 500,000 copies sold) and Platinum (more than a million copies sold) success in the USA.
Gold status came with his solo smash hit Flex which is another example of Jamaican music making it to prime time minus our Jamaican-bred music, as the song was recorded on a Rhythm and Blues-oriented track. The platinum effort was recorded in 1996 when he worked with Toni Braxton on the remix of You're Making Me High.
In an interview with The Sunday Gleaner, the deejay was optimistic that dancehall music has the legs to make the jump into the big time, as he thinks the bar is clearable. "It is possible, but the network, how dancehall is marketed, it nuh market right. Anytime we start market the music right and value it the way we suppose to, then we will see the true potential of the music, cause people love it," emphasised Cobra.
Managing director of XL Agency and artiste manager, Mrs. Brenda Sutherland, was not as optimistic as Cobra, but at the same time she did not deny that the possibility for the music to switch gears exists.
"The possibility exists, but because of the way the industry is structured I don't know if it will happen anytime soon. As a matter of fact, I don't think it will happen right now, because for one, we don't have the capital like other genres. For example, the videos that we do are not up to par with those being aired on the mainstream television stations and if they are not of a certain calibre, MTV and BET are not going to even look at it," pointed out Mrs. Sutherland.
The way forward
Renowned producer Donovan Germaine told The Sunday Gleaner that the feat is attainable, but dancehall music has just not found the right song just yet. However, he added that the move can be simplified with a 'FINSAC-like' bailout from overseas.
"We can't make it into the American market from Jamaica. We have to get help from a major company in America, because they have the infrastructure to assist us with what we need. The major companies have to invest in reggae and promote it properly, give it the same treatment they would give to any other genre of music," Mr. Germaine said.
He continued: "Ultimately, we need the commitment from a major company in America. We need mainstream airplay straight across the board, not just on specialist programmes. You can't just go and sell your product to the major record stores just like that, you have to have a link. Look how long VP and RAS dem been trying to do it," he said.
In order for dancehall music to have its own identity, like the other genres, Mrs. Sutherland thinks that above par writers are desperately needed. "We need some good writers in the business, that can write some good songs, that as people hear it they will go out and buy it," she said.
This viewpoint was reiterated by Mr. Germaine. "We really need some good songs that have universal appeal, that will catch the interest of people outside of Jamaica," he said.
While emphasising the need for good writers, Mrs. Sutherland told The Sunday Gleaner that the greatest barrier dancehall music faces is in the area of finance. "There is a lot of music that is capable of crossing over, but they don't get the push from marketing to get them there. We don't have that kind of money either. Shaggy got there because he had the financial backing from MCA," reasoned Mrs. Sutherland.
She added: "There is no structure in the music business. It's a 'crab eat crab' kinda thing. Nobody not going to invest in that. We need to go to the table and have some discussions, sort out and implement some rules and guidelines as to where we want to take the music. We have the manpower to do it, so we just need to come together and make it more attractive so that people will want to invest in it," she said.
This point was bolstered by Cobra, who thinks that the present atmosphere surrounding dancehall music needs a little alterating. However, contrary to the school of thought that the constant feuding between leading deejays is having a negative impact, Cobra thinks that it is neither here nor there.
"The business need some more unity, businesswise that is. The personal aspect nuh really matter, cause nobody nuh live bad like the rap artiste dem and dem still a sell platinum and dem thing deh, so dat nuh have nutten fi do wid it," expressed Cobra
In backing up his claim, the deejay pointed to the current feud in the rap arena between Nas and Jay-Z and pointed out that they are two of the hottest selling acts right now within that genre.
At present, many view dancehall music as a watered down version of hip-hop and according to those people, in order for the music to crossover it needs its own seal of approval, that is, as it is heard, one can say undoubtedly that that is 'music straight from yard'.
This was accentuated by Cobra, when he pointed out that the tables have turned. "We need to step away from the monotony. Everybody ah seh di same ting, because everybody involve in the piracy. The hip-hop artistes used to try to be like us, but is like ah dem ah lead we now, cause we nah create nutten dung yah," he said.
Cobra, without remorse, continued: "Yuh can count pon yuh finga the few weh ah create. They have adopted the mentality of taking and not creating. Who want to vex, mek dem vex. Some ah dem need fi start put adopted on dem record, cause that's all they are doing."
