Dancehall Music

While I can appreciate almost any genre of music, my favorite genre is dancehall reggae. Without going into a lengthy history, Dancehall music is the modern off-shoot of Reggae music. Dancehall, like reggae, is a Jamaican creation.

The Genre

Wheras Reggae music emphasises live, acoustic sounding instruments, Dancehall is primarily a sequenced, sampled, computer-based sound, much like modern day hip-hop. Dancehall is considered by some to be the Caribbean version of hip-hop (or vice versa). However, there are many differences between the two. Primarily, what makes a song a dancehall song is a Jamaican dancehall performer. Take a hip-hop beat and put a dancehall singer on it and it qualifies. But there is much more to the genre than that.

Unlike Hip-Hop where each song is recorded on it’s own Instrumental track, Dancehall producers create a ‘riddim’, and many artists perform different songs for the same instrumental. This makes dancehall some of the best club-music in the world. A DJ can seamlessly mix between songs on the same riddim. The result is a live DJ medley that flows from one song to the next. Have you ever been in a club and a song comes on with a wicked beat, and before you know it, it’s gone? Not so with dancehall. The riddim plays on while the selector juggles songs. Aspring artists that have a song on a hit riddim get more exposure than someone just making singles.

The Sound

Dancehall is a very experimental sound. Because the accent and style of the singer is so important to difining the genre, the riddims vary wildly. Precussion is the basis of most Dancehall riddims and it maintains a characteristic off-beat timing that I can only describe as Africanized. This deeply rooted sense of rhythm is translated to digital synths, samplers and drum machines. Some musical purists may say that dancehall is not art. Simple, repeating melodies and basslines are the norm. There is little use of live instruments, except when used as a sample. But the art is in the sum of the parts. The African beat is given new instruments, new forms of expression. For fans of beat-driven music, dancehall offers a huge creative pallet.

There are dancehall riddims that sound like fast reggae. Some that sound like Salsa. Some that sound like Techno, RnB or Hip-Hip. Some that borrow from rock, country/western. Some that incorporate African drums as well as Asian and Middle Eastern musicial styles and instruments. Yet somehow, there is a vibe in the rhythm that is still dancehall.

My Musical Journey

As a child, my first exposure to music was Bob Marley. Even before I had a real appreciation for music in general, Bob Marley’s songs played in our house often. My father was at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica when Bob Marley was a young singer who used to perform on campus. My dad said that boy would make it big. He then proceeded to collect several Bob Marley albums over the years.

The first songs that I remember listening to over and over again were “Axel F” (the theme of the Movie Beverly Hills Cop) and “Bad Boy Tune” (An early dancehall/dub song). Axel F is a techno instrumental with an infectious melody and ‘Bad Boy Tune’ had a futuristic, synthetic sound that I liked. As a teenager, I went on to listen to C & C Music Factory, Black Box, Snap, and other such techno/hip-hop groups as well as dancehall greats like Shabba Ranks, Cutty Ranks, Buju Banton, Super Cat, Tiger, Papa San, etc.

Around that time, we were able to get a decent computer to replace the decaying one, and I ordered a sound-card for it. In my deep explorations of free shareware software (not pirated. . .free), I came across .mod files. These were songs created by using instrument samples and note sequence data. Before long, I had downloaded a .mod creator program and I started playing around. It’s not easy to compose music by numbers, but my expereience with computers made it less of a chore. I created all kinds of weird, dark, techno-ish creations. It remained a hobby for years to come.

In college, I picked up the habit again due to the amount of young rappers on campus. Every so-often I’d come across a group of guys ‘free-styling’ on the corner. Rapping without written lyrics. I played around with making hip-hop beats for a while, but school and the other responsibilities of life made the phase a short-lived one.

Lyrics

Much later I moved back to St. Kitts and out of sheer boredom, I started playing around with the latest software. I found a program called ‘Fruity loops’. It was like a .mod program on steroids! I made mostly Hip-hop beats, but found that they strayed from the genre often. Some friends and I decided to get together with the young, aspiring artists of St. Kitts. I realised that making authentic sounding hip-hop in the Caribbean was an uphill battle, so I decided to switch to making Dancehall riddims. I studied the genre carefully, listening more to Jamaican dancehall instrumentals than the songs produced on them.

We formed SoundCore Entertainment in the hopes of making something of our talents. Within our small island, we did a lot of work. We released a few songs on the local radio stations one of which “Sen it On” became a big hit on the island. We did an album for a talented local artist (Bamboo B) who became well known on the Island following it’s release. After a couple of years though, it became apparent to me that there was little to come of our work outside of St. Kitts. My career in network engineering was finally taking off, and I was unable to continue working on music.

The Jamaican Music Industry

Now that I am in Jamaica, the bug is biting again. While my job demands most of my time, it is difficult to listen to the radio and hear a new riddim every day and not want to create. Although Jamaica is the home of dancehall music, getting into the industry can be very difficult. There are so many aspiring artists and producers here that it boggles the mind. It is described as cut-throat and very competitive. I’ve been asking around about the industry, and have learned a great deal so far. I have seen many big dancehall artists in passing around Jamaica. I Just need to know the right people. I don’t know anybody yet, but time will tell.

The Calm before the Storm.

Today was a glorious Caribbean day in Jamaica. Hot and sunny! The prefect day to go to the beach or for a long drive in the country. A little more traffic than usual, but a very pleasant day. But instead of going to the beach, Jamaicans went to the supermarket and hardware store in droves. Plywood, flashlights, bottled water, canned foods, people were stocking up on everything. Dean is coming and somebody’s pissed him off!

It’s hurricane time again. Somehow every year, the Caribbean seems like a set of bowling pins, waiting to be flattened by a ball of wind. This one, Hurricane Dean has his eyes set on Jamaica. This isn’t a good time for a hurricane (if ever there was a good time). Election fever is in the air and the destabilizing effect of the hurricane may spark violence.

The weather reporters are looking at this storm almost in awe of it’s physique. It’s a powerful storm that will do quite a bit of damage. Forecasts predict that the eye will reach us at about 2:00pm tomorrow (Sunday August 19th). I have been selected as part of the response team for my company. We will be bunkered in a hotel waiting for the storm to pass.

The Violence of nature Versus the violence of Man.

Jamaica is a violent place. The thugs are stone cold and have no fear. But tonight, every bad man hopes that Dean, the Don, will have mercy. There’s nothing like a hurricane ripping through your country to put things in perspective. By far the most affected will be the poor people of this country and one can only hope that mercy is granted even for their sake alone.

Fame in Jamaica.

I had the opportunity to go out on Friday night with a couple of famous Jamaicans. I won’t say why they are famous because if I did, every Jamaican would know who I’m talking about. Let’s just say that they sing and have had plenty of local TV coverage.

It was an eye opening experience. Never before have I seen so many random women introduce themselves. Everything from “hi! Can I get a hug?” to “My 14 year old daughter LOVES YOU!”

And these women are the cream of the crop in Jamaica. Like the Lord himself took a blob of sexy and went wild with sculpture. Unfortunately, being a nobody in their presence isn’t as much fun. The girls have tunnel vision.

It was an interesting education in social dynamics. I’ve never been an overly image conscious person. Never felt the need to seek fame, but damn! Its like a different world. Before these guys hit it big, they were just regular guys, nothing special. In some ways I can relate.

For years I was without a car in St. Kitts. And as a result, I didn’t get that much attention from the ladies. Then I bought a ridiculously sexy car. Lo and behold, women who never gave me the time of day were all over me. Call me crazy, but it was a turn off. The car wasn’t me. I was the same person. I felt like these women were totally superficial and I was disappointed.

I stuck to the girl I had before I got the car and she was the only one I felt worthy of sitting in it. All the super fine women who no saw me as attractive became ugly to me. Likewise, I was happy to see that one of these famous Jamaican guys stuck to his old girlfriend who loved him before Jamaica did. Not as attractive as the ‘give me a hug’
girls, but with a sweet personality.

Sometimes I still miss my car though. 🙂

First Post! – About TheSexyGeek

Okay. What’s this blog about? It’s just another personal blog from someone you probably don’t care about. But, who knows, you might find something interesting.

About Me:

I’m a born geek from the Caribbean. People ask me why I call myself a geek since I don’t look or behave like the stereotypical geek, but trust me, it’s there. Here’s an attempt to define the word geek. I don’t use the word to mean socially inept brainiac, but as someone who is passionate about computers and technology.

I was born in Barbados and lived in St. Kitts from Age 12 onward. I was introduced to computers in England at age 5 and was fascinated. I was fortunate enough to have parents who invested in my interest and got me a Commodore Vic-20 at age 8. That has led to my current profession as a network engineer. It’s been an exciting journey.

My most satisfying hobby is computer music production. Dancehall Reggae is my genre. Those who are unfamiliar with Caribbean culture may not know of it, but it’s the hip-hop of the Caribbean. If you’ve heard of Bob Marley (who hasn’t) then you know reggae music. Dancehall is the new age, electronic, club oriented descendant of reggae. Best club music in the world IMO. I have recently moved to Jamaica, the birthplace of Reggae and Dancehall music. I actually started this blog as a diary of my experiences in Jamaica, but I plan to write about anything and everything.

This blog is mainly for my friends to keep track of what I’m up to, but it’s open to anyone to comment or contact me. I want to share the real experience of life in the Caribbean since the place is so admired yet misunderstood by the rest of the world. I hope you find it interesting.

One Love,

TheSexyGeek