I dare to substitute here, ―Dancehall Music‖ in the place of Dancehall,

―Black Theology‖, because inherent in it is a similar

May this seminar provide us an opportunity to face the away from their actual social positioning.
challenge to listen more attentively to the Spirit of God
moving in our midst and revealing to us in diverse ways a way
of life, a spirituality, more in tune with the pursuit of truth,
justice and compassionate love as we struggle to follow
in the footsteps of Jesus of Nazareth.

Dancehall: Origins, History, Future

Introduction
This paper is a synopsis of dancehall music culture, where it
comes from, some of its important themes, and how these
themes resonate with Jamaican society and culture.
Dancehall is perceived by many as a loud noise and space
that is bothersome and loaded with many themes that are
problematic. For others, it is a place of many sounds, songs
and themes that tell a great deal about the lives of mainly
working class Jamaicans who are struggling to create
fantasies of self that they can articulate and utilize to project
themselves.
Dancehall’s Early Antecedents and King Stitt (the Ugly One) - the first true Jamaican
Dancehall is a component of a trajectory of music cultures Deejays that began to speak a few words over the
in Jamaica that brokers on the early drumming and fife instrumental sides of vinyl records. Other successors
playing activities of plantation slave societies, and then include U-Roy in the late late 1960s to 1970s, I-Roy and Big
borrows from all the forms of Jamaican music that preceded Youth.
its development including - Mento, Ska, Bluebeat, Dub,
Rocksteady and its primary antecedent Reggae. As a component of the development of the Deejay one
should note that King Stitt, the Ugly One, utilized the
Jamaica‘s early Sound Systems of the 1950s-60s are a direct moniker ‗the Ugly One‘ because of his facial malformation.
and primary antecedent of dancehall culture. Important In this regard, Dancehall, as a component of Jamaican
examples include Duke Reid‘s Trojan and Coxsone Dodd‘s popular music, is renowned as a place that recreates and
Sir Coxsone‘s Downbeat sound systems that were in strong reimages individuals, especially men, away from their actual
competition with each other, sometimes utilizing violent social positioning. As such, ugly men are transformed into
clashes. This suggests that the development of what famous kings and other royalty, and individuals who are
becomes Jamaica‘s music industry within the working class often social pariahs are provided with an opportunity to
spaces of Jamaica has been characterized by intense recreate their identities within the space of the music
competition, rivalry and clashes of various sorts since its early culture. In this instance, King Stitt and Count Matchuki/e
days. are regal titles utilized as a part of a thrust to reimage self
into that kind of identity – a social upgrade brokered on
Dancehall also owes its origins to Dub music which one‘s prowess in the music culture that is a consistent
developed by utilizing the instrumental version of a vocal thread running through dancehall culture.
song, with the vocals on the A-side and the dub on the B-
side of the vinyl record. Dub evolved as a distinct genre In addition, I wish to note that King Stitt‘s 1960s deejay hit,
and has a clear link to what becomes known as Dancehall. ―Lee Van Cleef‖, is an early ―Badman Tune‖ which
Engineer Osborne ‗King Tubby‘ Ruddock‘s manipulation of highlights the value or use of North American, Hollywood
acetates and removal of vocals created ‗versions‘ that paved themes that still resonate in Jamaican popular music. Lee
the way for development of Jamaican Deejays, long before Van Cleef was a popular American film actor who played
digitization and the ability to create and proliferate multiple prominent roles in Hollywood western and action films. It
riddims. is said that King Stitt took his moniker, ―The Ugly One‖,
from the film, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly in which
The first round of Deejays developed in Jamaica in the late Van Cleef appeared as a villain. In this song, King Stitt
1950s with the most prominent being Count Matchuki/e identifies himself as ―the Ugly One‖, outlining his stance in
the song‘s intro in classic western Hollywood ―Badman‖ within, and then emerging from, the structural adjustment
style thus: era. These included intense political rivalries between
Jamaica‘s two dominant political parties, the Jamaica Labour
This is the days of wrath Eastwood, I am the Ugly One, If you Party (JLP) and the People‘s National Party (PNP). The
want me, meet me at the big gundown, transformations that had taken place in the society coming
I am Van Cleef, Die Die Die! out of structural adjustment, including the shrinking of the
state and welfare activities, meant that many ordinary
Another King Stitt hit, ―Herbsman Shuffle‖, highlights a persons were cut loose to fend for themselves with the
discussion with marijuana which stands as a major reduction of welfarist activities that would have provided
component of Jamaican working class life in the several them with opportunities for survival in an earlier era. In
forms of Jamaican popular music, such as rocksteady, addition, there was the out-migration of many to North
reggae, and dancehall. America coupled with the intense pressures faced by many
family members who remained in Jamaica. Where the
At this juncture, I wish to note the distinction between the actual music culture is concerned, some theorists identify
Jamaican and North American use of the term Deejay/DJ. the death of Bob Marley in 1981 as a watershed point in
In Jamaican popular music and dancehall culture Jamaican music which opened the gates for a new form of
Deejays/DJs are the individuals who do the toasting, mike music that was radically differentiated from its predecessor,
chatting and articulates the lyrics across particular rhythms. Reggae music.
The Selector, on the other hand, chooses and spins records
and dictates the pace of the music on a sound system, or at a As noted earlier, dancehall music culture is rooted in the
dance or party or club scene. With convergence in today‘s sound systems of the 1950s and 1960s and the early ―toast‖
dancehall Selectors have also become DJs/Deejays, for or ―talk over‖ style credited to Sir Coxsone Dodd with early
example, Selector Tony Matterhorn with his popular hit DJ precursors – King Stitt, Count Matchuki/e (1950s-60s) -
song ―Dutty Wine‖ in 2006. However, in North America, and secondary DJ precursors – U-Roy, I-Roy, Big Youth
the Deejay/DJ spins the records or plays the music. (1970s). The original meaning of dancehall was literal – ―a
hall for staging dances‖ or a dance hall and this precedes the
form that dancehall culture took in the 1980s. One should
Dancehall’s History: A Synopsis note that some discussions, such as Norman Stolzoff‘s
Dancehall music and culture took shape and form in late work, identify Jamaican music in its entirety as a literal
1970s to early 80s in Jamaica. In my book Inna di Dancehall I dance hall from slavery to present; however, my work
speak of the type of social, political and economic tensions speaks to dancehall as a genre of Jamaican music that takes
that characterized Jamaican society at a time when it was
shape and form and comes to prominence in the early 1980s currently the only space in Jamaica where the traditional
and is characterized by deejays ―toasting‖ over a rhythm. sound system clash format has been preserved, albeit a
In my work I state that ―Dancehall culture is a space for the much modulated form of the traditional sound system clash.
cultural creation and dissemination of symbols and The development of the selector clash television series,
ideologies that reflect and legitimize the lived realities of its Heineken Green Synergy, on local television in Jamaica, is a
adherents, particularly those from the inner cities of tightly controlled and watered down version of the
Jamaica‖ (Hope 2006, p. 27). Dancehall speaks to us traditional hardcore sound system clash used primarily as a
predominantly with a voice from Jamaica‘s most vehicle to promote the alcoholic beverage and secondarily
marginalized spaces, particularly Kingston‘s inner cities and to showcase the prowess of individual and aspiring
now with the out-migration of the urbanization that we selectors.
have seen over the last fifteen years in Jamaica, dancehall
speaks with the voices of individuals who wrap themselves Dancehall‘s development has also been driven quite
in this inner-city ethos and symbolize their lives through the significantly by new technologies such as the explosion in
various themes that resonate very particularly in dancehall media, digital and sound technology as well as computers
culture. These themes have become very pervasive in together with the increasing access that Jamaicans have to
Jamaica, particularly with the rise of new media, the these forms of technology. The democratization of access
continued thrust for liberalization, and the wave of market to these forms of technology means that dancehall has
capitalism that has overtaken Jamaican society. expanded quite significantly along these avenues as ordinary
individuals have been able to utilize these multiple methods
Dancehall has also been driven by sound system culture to develop and promote their dancehall products.
moving from the early origins with sound systems like Duke
Reid‘s Trojan and Coxsone Dodd‘s Sir Coxsone Dodd‘s Transformations in the media
Downbeat to a proliferation of sound systems, particularly As such, we can look at the rise of Digital Riddims
in the 1970s through to the 1980s and beyond. Some early (rhythms) which provided significant impetus for dancehall‘s
and popular sound systems include Stone Love (the development and the proliferation of dancehall songs with
Immortal) which entered the dancehall business in 1972, the Sleng Teng riddim produced by King Jammys/Bobby
Aces, Inner City, Metro Media, Killamanjaro, African Star, Digital standing as dancehall‘s first and most popular
Stereo One, Renegade, Silver Hawk, Super Dee, Travellers, digital riddim. Dancehall‘s first popular hit sung over this
among many others. One should note that sound systems digital riddim, Wayne Smith‘s Under mi Sleng Teng, is a
are different from party or club sounds. Sound system treatise to marijuana which, as noted in the foregoing, is a
culture was driven by sound system clash which is a dying component of the huge cache of Jamaican popular music
art in Jamaican culture. The summer event, Fully Loaded, is that pays tribute to and celebrates marijuana.
One common thread in this thematic sub-genre is clearly Jamaica has borrowed from developed neighbours like
articulated in Under Mi Sleng Teng thus:- ―weighing my North America.
brain, no cocaine, I don‘t wanna go insane‖. This
polarization between marijuana and cocaine where This transformation in the local media industry includes the
marijuana is natural and good and cocaine is artificial and increase in local television stations moving from the sole
bad is very popular and develops more explicitly in successive television station JBC to TVJ, CVM, and LOVE as the
dancehall and reggae songs as Jamaica feels the impact of the three free-to-air television stations in Jamaica, along with
transshipment of cocaine from countries like Colombia on its PBSJ, RETV, HYPE as local cable TV stations. In the early
way to the USA. The growing visibility of and familiarity days the sole television station JBC (now TVJ), whose fare
with the kind of evils cocaine wreaks on Jamaican lives and included some local programming and a high percentage of
the bodies of people who are involved in the drug trade foreign programming, would sign on at 6am and sign off at
and use illegal drugs is documented in various ways in the midnight. The introduction of cable television from the
music. USA (e.g., BET, MTV, etc.) and, in the late 1990s, the move
to rationalize and organize the ad hoc, informal cable TV
In a related vein, dancehall has benefitted from and been industry that developed in Jamaica (now known as
flung forward by the rise of Jamaica‘s liberalized media Subscriber Television) is a part of this development. The
industry. To date, there are now over twenty-three (23) Subscriber Television providers are mandated, among other
radio stations in Jamaica, moving from an era when there things, to make available local channels with local material
were only two options – the JBC and RJR. Since the late and many provide access, sometimes for an additional fee,
1980s, Jamaica‘s radio stations have developed into free- to Dancehall Channels in their entirety. This allows
market liberalized private entities. As such the rate of individuals who may not visit the dancehall but are curious
competitive activity in this sector and the kind of avenues or wish to find out what is happening in dancehall to have
that have been created for the opening up of spaces for access to ongoing televised feed of some of the displays,
dancehall music and artistes is unparalleled in the history of activities, actions, themes that are part of dancehall culture;
Jamaica. What is noteworthy is that Jamaica‘s early music in so doing, they are able to identify some of the key players
forms did not benefit from that kind of ―earplay‖ or in contemporary dancehall culture.
―eyeplay‖ in Jamaican society but were seen as unfit for
public dissemination on the radio stations that then existed. Stage show culture was also an important component of
Therefore, dancehall has benefitted quite significantly from an dancehall culture‘s historical development. In this regard,
unprecedented access to media, public media, because of the the Boxing Day, hardcore dancehall stage show, Sting, now
rise of market capitalism and the liberal ideas that remains the longest-surviving of its genre having celebrated
its 27th staging in December 2010. Others in this genre
include now-defunct stage shows like Reggae Sunsplash, Gardens, aided in his rise to fame and iconic status as a
Ram Jam and Border Clash. Stage show culture continues to male dancer in an arena and era where male dancing was
proliferate with multiple Community Peace Dances and seen as feminized and the antithesis of the Badman image
Birthday Bashes, Beach Bashes, British Link up Dances, that was the epitome of male identify in the dancehall.
Stone Love Birthday Bashes and Reggae Sunsplash‘s Since the turn of the millennium, dancers, particularly male
successor, Reggae Sumfest. These events continue to dancers and male dance troupes, have exploded within
provide a stage for the showcasing of multiple forms of dancehall culture and is now an accepted component of
talent, including that of the most prominent dancehall dancehall‘s hype and income generating activities. What is
actors, the artistes or Deejays. also noteworthy is that some dancers have transcended this
sphere and become artistes as is demonstrated by Bogle‘s
Moving from the early Deejays, in the 1950s through to the early foray and the efforts of others like Ding Dong (of the
1970s, dancehall of the 1980s and beyond is propagated Ravers Clavers dance group) and the RDX dance group.
through the lyrics and style of its predominantly male
Deejays/DJs who disseminate the themes, sounds and Dancehall has also developed and continues to develop its
songs of the dancehall. Some early and popular artistes of own cache of dances that are given names that speak about
the dancehall genre include King Yellowman, Shabba Jamaican society, its people and dancehall culture. For
Ranks, Ninja Man, Daddy Lizard, Flourgon, Supercat, Sugar example, the ―Cool & Deadly‖ suggests the underlying
Minott, Red Dragon, Patra, Major Mackerel, Tiger, Sister theme of violence and aggression and ―the Butterfly‖ was a
Charmaine, Josey Wales, and Lady Ann, among hundreds of very popular, erotic and sexy female dance. ―The Bogle‖,
others. (A paper of this nature cannot begin to capture the by the dancer of the same name, was a popular and
multiple monikers of the men and women who energize this energetic male dance, while ―the Urkle‖ drew its name from
category of Jamaican culture.) the then popular Steve Urkle of Family Matters sitcom.
―The Log On‖ developed at the turn of the millennium
Dancers and Dances when many ordinary Jamaicans were gaining increasing
Another important category of artiste activity in dancehall, access to internet technology and were therefore able to
particularly in contemporary dancehall is that of dancers ―log on‖ in a real sense to the internet. ―The Dutty Wine‖,
who have now become very prominent and dominant in as the name suggests is the ―dirty wine‖, a very erotic dance
dancehall culture. Spaces for dancers have opened up in a that was developed for the female. Another popular dance,
way that was unprecedented in early dancehall and the late ―Daggering‖, sparked intense discussions in and out of
Gerald ‗Bogle‘ Levy stands as one of its most famed Jamaica. For many Daggering is a revamp of a similar type
dancers. I argue that Bogle‘s affiliation with the Black of dance that has existed in dancehall culture and Jamaican
Roses Crew led by Willie Haggart, a Leader in Arnett popular culture for a very long time. The pelvic thrust
prominent in this dance is present in many forms of dance very famous in dancehall in the late 1990s for their fashion
activity such as African-derived religious forms, e.g., Revival and costumes. They were also designers who created
and Kumina. Some argue that this pelvic thrust and fashions for dancehall in the late 1990s. The Ouch Crew
simulation of sex is a reflection of the African reproductive eventually faded from the forefront of dancehall culture
ethos, others that it is an erotic display of sexual activity, because, like many dancehall actors who traverse the
while others argue that it is just a way of having fun. migratory spaces, they moved to the United States of
America and, as happens with many actors in the dancehall,
The proliferation of riddims is a component of how they faded from public view.
dancehall produces and disseminates its music and resonates
with the movement of the lives of individuals in dancehall Dancehall Themes
culture. Dancehall moved from having a staggered flow of Dancehall is also oriented around particular themes that are
very distinct and clear riddims that were easily identifiable brokered predominantly on the lives of men in the
because of the intermissions between the release of each dancehall. Here, where working class men in particular
riddim (e.g., Sleng Teng and Taxi) to a proliferation of discuss that which is problematic, celebrate what is
riddims on a weekly and monthly basis. This is due to the considered as important and identify their desires through
rise of internet, media and computer technology, and the the music which includes the six Gs, among others - gun,
democratization of access to these technologies. As such, gyal, ghetto, gays, ganja, God. In general the themes run the
riddims producers churn out multiple riddims in the hope gamut as follows:- (gun) violence/war, (gyal) sex/sexuality,
that their riddim will get a big break. Examples of some (ghetto) gully/garrison/poverty, (gays) anti-male
popular riddims of this era include Diwali, Coolie, High homosexuality/deviants, (ganja) weed/high grade/
Society, Movie Star, Facebook, Outbreak, Bad Temper, My chronic/marijuana, (god) Jah/Jesus/Selassie, competition/
Cup, Picante. In early dancehall a riddim like the Taxi clash/rivalries, and money/bling/materialism. Let us
riddim would be ridden extensively for several months before examine some of these themes briefly.
another would take its place but now we are in a fast- paced
era marked by intense competition and disposable products, Gun (violence) has been and remains a dominant theme in
which is replicated in dancehall. dancehall culture with local debates and discussions
questioning its motive as celebratory, promotional or
Dancehall‘s fashion and costumes is another important objective social commentary. Yet, for my work, it is clear
component of dancehall culture and its development. For that the places from which dancehall draws it strength and
example, dancehall men like deejays Shabba Ranks and the main proponents of this genre (particularly of early
Pinchers were lauded in the 1980s for their fashionable dancehall) talk with and talk through gun violence as a point
linen costumes. The female group, the Ouch Crew, became of departure based on their social, geographical and physical
relationships with this problematic. In Chapter 3 of my initiation of this discussion with female bodies and female
latest work Man Vibes (2010), I examine the role of aggression identity in Dancehall. Dancehall Queen contests now exist
and violence as a symbol of Jamaican male identity drawing all across Europe – in Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Spain,
on the society‘s gendered and deeply patriarchal Germany, and Austria - as well as in the USA, especially
structures. Here, a man should be ―bad‖ and where Jamaican diasporean spaces are popular.
―strong‖ if he is to be powerful, particularly if he has a
limited grasp of other facets of Jamaican male identity. This foregoing theme of gyal just is related to and polarized
against the anti-male homosexual theme (gays) in dancehall
The Gyal theme or the discussion on sex and sexuality is that utilizes various discussions from the funny to the fatal
another dominant component of dancehall‘s discussions. to negate male homosexuality which is perceived as an
Here, particular songs, accompanied by dances, posturing and explicit threat to hardcore heterosexual male identity.
other activities resonate around the female body and how it In addition, the ghetto or inner cities, i.e., the place from
used and positioned metaphorically and sometimes literally which dancehall gains its energy and its strength and from
to elevate, identify and celebrate male identity, as well as to which its main proponents emerged, resonates as a theme
project ordinary women as beautiful sexy and desirable. The and a lived reality in dancehall culture. In today‘s Dancehall
Dancehall Queen in particular highlights the ways that the multiple discussions resonate about the
female body is used in dancehall culture as a site of ghetto/gully/garrison/trench – all synonyms for the same place
promotion of male identity and also to celebrate what is – the inner city as a place in which many individuals find
beauty and what is not beauty. The Dancehall Queen was themselves locked in poverty out of which they see no true
immortalized in the 2001 Island Films movie, Dancehall escape. Many songs and discussions in Dancehall carry the
Queen. Carlene Smith, the Original Dancehall Queen, strands of pain and deprivation that is part and parcel of
became the woman who cemented that identity as a part of this existence.
the projection of female sexuality as valid and validated and
the erotic posturing of female sexuality, particularly light As discussed in the foregoing, ganja or marijuana is a
skinned women, as an important part of early dancehall consistent theme of dancehall culture as it was in Rasta
culture. The globalization of dancehall culture resulted in a Reggae culture and Rocksteady, where marijuana is seen as a
female from Japan, Junko Kudo, being crowned Dancehall natural herb that heals, protects and promotes the
Queen in 2002 at the Dancehall Queen competition development of wisdom. One popular local myth discussed
organized since 1999 by Brian Martin‘s Big Head in some songs is that marijuana is the weed of wisdom
Promotions. The competition takes place in Montego Bay because it was found on King Solomon‘s grave. Dancehall
every August. One should note that Carlene did not also gives credence to a spiritual side and draws from
participate in any such competition but stands out as the
Jamaica‘s religious frameworks to identify God in multiple fantasies of wealth are useful in the theatre of the dancehall,
manifestations as Selassie, Jah and Jesus. many of these can prove problematic in the long run when
coupled with the limited amount of real resources that are
The clash motif resonates throughout Dancehall because of actually available to many of the individuals who operate
the role of competition and the benefits accruing to the within the spectrum of the Dancehall.
champion. Therefore, if it is an artiste-to-artiste clash the
artiste who emerges the winner benefits quite significantly, Defining Dancehall, therefore
in terms of visibility, access to real resources, access to Drawing from the preceding discussion, Dancehall can be
publicity. In a similar vein, the dancer who wins a dance defined and described as: (a) ―A cultural stage where
clash or the sound system who wins a sound system clash creators and adherents mainly from inner-cities & working
benefits quite significantly in terms of recognition, visibility classes narrate self-conceptions and parody and perform
and material rewards. Verbal clashes remain an important self-images‖ or as (b) ―A late 20th century Jamaican music
part of the thematic dialogue that ordinary Jamaicans have culture characterized by deejays, sound systems, stage
with respect and power based on one‘s dexterity with the shows, club scene, dancehall queens and divas, dancers and
spoken word. As such if you are able to level your energetic dances‖ or finally as, (c) ―Hype, bashment, bling
opponent lyrically you are superordinate. This underlies the and excitement!‖ And now what of dancehall‘s future?
desire of many dancehall adherents who attend stage shows
like Sting to celebrate lyrical prowess. Dancehall’s (Immediate) Future?
Dancehall‘s immediate future is characterized by some
Finally, dancehall is also defined by themes of bling, bling identifiable themes. First, Dancehall developed as and
bling or intense materialism which has overtaken dancehall remains highly competitive particularly because of the ways
culture quite significantly, as much as it has overtaken that resources are floating around today in Dancehall
Jamaican culture and Jamaican life in the 21st century. culture. Now, more than ever before in any of our music
Many of these themes do not emerge from the dancehall cultures in Jamaica, contemporary Dancehall is a place
they are emerging within the society and dancehall culture where large fortunes are and can be made.
inflates and renders them very graphic and very extreme
within the dancehall and through the dancehall into the Second, Dancehall is now a cultural/creative industry
wider society. Jamaican has benefitted from a huge thrust underscored by a strong business ethos. The Entertainment
for market capitalism and its attendant materialistic ethos and, and Cultural Enterprise Management programme in my
correspondingly, dancehall culture has become a place where Department at the UWI is in great demand. A large
bling bling and the fetishization of consumer products percentage of the students who are getting a university
has reached a significant high point. While the education are also actively working in the music industry as
promoters, PR assistants, sound system owners and spokespersons have staunchly denounced all that is
operators, artiste managers, publicists and some are artistes dancehall culture. One striking result of this recent swirl of
or aspiring artiste. This UWI Student cum music industry cash and kind is that in today‘s dancehall and Jamaican
entrepreneur or aspirant arises today because of music industry there is an erosion of the role of the
developments in Jamaica‘s music industry, in particular traditional promoter. Today, there are three remaining
Dancehall, and its transformation into a space for more legitimate promoter stage shows in Jamaica – Sting, Reggae
than just fun or to talk about gun-gyal-ghetto-gays but also Sumfest and Rebel Salute, with all other major stage shows
to talk about earning a good living and to actually engage in being organized and staged by corporate entities that use
this activity. them as vehicles to showcase their products to Dancehall‘s
adherents and supporters.
This is related to another the third point – the incursion of
educated middle-class youths into dancehall culture. This The fifth theme in Dancehall‘s immediate future is the
means that dancehall culture now becomes less of an open erosion of traditional sites of earning such as album sales,
place that young men and women from the inner cities can local stage shows, and the impact of visa restrictions.
enter without any qualifications to earn a living and become Digitization has resulted in significant global reduction in
celebrated icons, but more so a place where tertiary traditional album sales, while the erosion and reduction in
educated, middle class youths have moved into as traditional stage shows has reduced the local opportunities
entrepreneurs and have added higher levels of for earning. Visa restrictions (especially to the USA) have
professionalism while working with and through some of been placed on many artistes and individuals who are
the themes that have been problematic for Jamaican society. involved in the music industry and this has also reduced
opportunities for some to travel abroad for promotional
Fourth, there is the rise of ‗new‘ relations with corporate tours and to earn from performances.
Jamaica which I find in some instances to be quite
hypocritical. Dancehall culture problematizes many social Male colonization of all public spaces in dancehall is the
and political themes in Jamaica; it ruptures many notions of sixth theme that has become a dominant component of
the society as equitable and fair. This has created a huge dancehall‘s immediate future where dancehall as a male
social backlash against the genre and its adherents and dominated place has always left a little opening for women
supporters. Yet, at the same time, because it brings to the to have an opportunity for women to be visible in the
corporate world and to those who have products to sell a videolight as dancers and erotic posers. Now men are
willing audience en masse, there has recently arisen new figured in dancehall events, at stage shows and in music
relations with corporate Jamaica where big money is being videos dancing and posing for the videolight, while women
pumped into dancehall culture by many entities whose are often left to scramble for some modicum of visibility.
This use of the body had been a distinctly female activity in music is now in what I describe as an Intermission, an
early dancehall culture, with the female encouraging the intercessory period that precedes transformation and
male gaze through the video camera and through the transition to a new form of Jamaican music - which will
adulation of the fans. This is related to the next theme, the arise from Jamaica‘s working classes. Today‘s dancehall is
erosion of traditional (male taboos). significantly different from dancehall that evolved in the
early 1980s- with some similarities but simultaneously
The erosion of traditional (male) taboos is related to the intense differences. For example, in terms of how
foregoing aspect of male colonization. In early dancehall, dancehall‘s artistes, adherents and participants project
many practices and behaviours would have been seen as themselves and the opportunities that now exist for them to
feminized and taboo for hardcore heterosexual dancehall suggest ways of being Jamaican, and more particularly ways
men, including the lightening of the skin with cosmetics of of being a real hardcore Jamaican man in the 21st century.
various sorts. As such, the public discussion and even At the same time, dancehall has been, at least in the early to
confirmation of men using skin lighteners is part an erosion mid-stages, an important place where individuals who are
of male taboos that was once a component of a consensus seeking information about the lives of ordinary citizens, can
as to what is and what is not acceptable for individual men pick themes, learn about some of the social and political
in the dancehall and among the working classes of Jamaica. challenges in Jamaica, where these challenges emanate and
how they resonate through the lyrics, music and the slang
Conclusion that are an important component of dancehall culture.
In concluding, I point to the notion of contemporary Dancehall culture has been and remains a storehouse of
dancehall as a ‗watered-down version of hip hop‖ amongst information of Jamaican life and society.
some members of its European audience. There is a
growing debate as many music and popular culture Select Bibliography
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hip hop, a watered down version of hip hop, because of the London: Rough Guides Ltd., 1997.
cross fertilization and general sampling of multiple sounds,
themes and music that is now possible and available. Hope, Donna P. ―High Grade Forever: Popular Music
Discourses of a Jamaican ‗Weed Mecca‘‖, Paper presented at the
36th Annual Caribbean Studies Association Conference, World
My perspective is that we are indeed at the end-stage of
Trade Center, Curacao, May 30-June 3, 2011.
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the classes and groups (e.g., middle classes, corporate . Man Vibes: Masculinities in the Jamaican
Jamaica) with whom dancehalls main adherents have Dancehall. Kingston: Ian Randle Publishers, 2010.
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McKenzie, Clyde. ―Is Dancehall Dead?‖ in the Sunday Observer,
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Stolzoff, Norman. Wake the Town: Dancehall Culture in

Dr. Donna P. Hope is Senior Lecturer in Reggae Studies at the Institute of Caribbean Studies,
University of the West Indies, Mona.
She has authored two books - Inna di Dancehall,
Popular Culture and the Politics of Identity in Jamaica (2006) and Man Vibes: Masculinities in the Jamaican Dancehall (2010), produced multiple journal
articles, academic papers,
conference presentations,
and engaged in local and international media discussions on Jamaican music, dancehall culture and popular culture.