Most Americans can’t understand any of the lyrics they hear in contemporary dancehall music. Just ask any of the millions of American fans that have purchased a Sean Paul album what exactly Mr. Paul is talking about. They will assuredly answer you with “I dunno” or the always safe “weed.” Obviously, Jamaican Patois is not being taught as a foreign language in American High Schools. But I still think that an informed dancehall fan should try to understand, at very least superficially, what they are listening to. Sometimes I can’t understand half of what’s being said the first time I listen to a dancehall song, but it’s always a learning experience and challenge that I’m willing to tackle.
Jamaicans, on the other hand, do understand the lyrics, and they are raw, sexual, filled with images of crime and drug use, and no holds barred. For some, it’s gotten to be a little too much, and their collective cringe has turned into a rally cry against what they perceive as dancehall’s corruption of the country’s moral fabric. Recently, some conservative groups and individuals stood up against what they saw as perverse and violent lyrics in dancehall music. Their lobbying efforts paid off, and earlier this year Jamaica banned all explicit lyrics from being played on the radio. But it’s not just about the lyrics, you see. It’s about the culture of dancehall, what it stands for, and how much influence it yields on the youth. Just last week, the government also banned the display of “daggerin’” on public television.
What exactly is daggerin’? Well, in America we have something similar, and the kids call it dancing. Some young adults might call it “bumpin’ and grindin’,” and some older folks would just call it dry-humping. Daggerin’ is a little more intense than your typical American-style “booty dancing,” though. It’s more like pretending to have sex with your clothes on and in a really over the top kinda way. If you would like to see some colorful daggerin’, see Major Lazer’s Pon De Floor video or just Google “daggerin” (NSFW!!!).
So… all this political/cultural clashing brings up a bunch of interesting questions that I am not able to address on this blog due to my limited knowledge, etc. That’s what we have the internet for. Check the following video and this article for some more enlightenment on the Jamaican culture wars surrounding dancehall music.
One island, two Jamaicas and a whole heap of difference:
Much respect to Lisa Biagiotti, Micah Fink and the Pullitzer Center for Crisis Reporting for making this informative piece.
This was a very intresting read. I come from the UK and most of the dancehall fans over here follow the gansta and slackness trend they pick up from jamaican music. But there is a new recording label over here called Hotstepper Entertainment who don’t deal in negative dancehall lyrics but lyrics to uplift and inspire.
New RocStar Riddim
By Hotstepper Entertainment 2010
Bingiman & Tenna Star – Hold On Me – RocStar Riddim
Bingiman
18 Nov 09 at 6:11 am