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roots rot

So dancehall is getting popular, eh? Just a few more steps towards the rotting of roots music or simply an underground surge to overground that marketing is trying to cash in on?

Following the recent merger between Warner/Atlantic and VP Records (America’s largest distributor of Jamaican music), Warner/Atlantic have agreed to promote, market and distribute reggae on a worldwide basis – all VP has to do is provide them with music. The deal means more videos and radioplay for dancehall. It’s the first hint that major labels are about to inject mega money into dancehall music.

More troubling quotes are available from the bashmentvibes.com news article: “With the advent of better made videos and collaborations with US artists, I do believe that dancehall can compete with the other styles of music that are popular in the urban scene.” And: “Canadian rapper, Kardinal Offishall is also an enthusiast of the reggae hip-hop fusion … The first single to be released from his album is Belly Dancer, a Neptunes production which MCA predicts will be the next big crossover rhythm.” Make it all overproduced and glossy you ultra-hype effects wizards.

The success of Sean Paul and Wayne Wonder is perhaps the clearest indication that mainstream audiences are bored of hip-hop and r&b. Dancehall provides a refreshing alternative to fake gangster rappers and industry-packaged boy bands whose music seems tame in comparison.

Can’t wait till we get heaps of stale ass dancehall crossover artists acting all shiny for Clearchannel.

Source: Dancehall Hits The Bigtime (I doubt this is a permanent link.)

20 June 2003, 01:14 ::

stop being so damn elitist, you elitist, you.

— linhchi 2003-06-20 23:31 #
yeah. I’m a hoser. Some lame white guy complaining about black music artists selling out. Who doesn’t want to get paid? Do I really complain that interest in skateboarding has spread so much that skateparks are showing up everywhere? If I can listen to dancehall all the time I should just shut my stupid mouth. Considering the glossy, thuggish rap song I heard on the radio last night that seemed entirely dedicated to the glories of packing and using a handgun, maybe what we need is a force of dancehall artists toasting about the stupidity of pistols in your waist and Johnny-Too-Bad’s etc.

— jmmygoggle 2003-06-21 09:59 #
I believe I caught Wayne Wonder on Saturday Night Live—maybe he appeared with Sean Paul. Whoever it was, I really liked one of the singers and the song, and I’d love to have some Sean Paul cat jack the spotlight from Sean “SuperConsumer Icon” Combs.

Yeah, we can expect too much shine on this stuff when the wave hits the beach. Lamentable, but unavoidable. I mean, who knew that some unassuming fool fiddling the knobs on a TB-303 back in the ‘80s would spawn a million sterile, studio-produced techno tracks for automobile and energy-drink commercials. Sigh.

— John Wayne Whitey 2003-06-25 09:34 #
You know, fusion is not always a good thing. Take the possiblity of full fusing R&B or rap with dancehall … you remember what the shelf life of the rap/metal thing (pre-Limp Bizquick) was? Does the name Biohazard ring a bell? Try watching one of their music videos today. Maybe that whole Anthrax/Public Enemy thing wasn’t as cool as some people remember it.

Is the human race getting taller or shorter as time goes on? I forget. Anyway, I know that our resistance to consumer schlock has completely disappeared in the last twenty years. Need proof? People who wear Hard Rock Cafe merchandise, drive LL Bean-edition automobiles, eat at Joe’s Crab Shack …

— John Wayne Whitey 2003-06-25 09:48 #
j.w.whitey and googlygoggles,

that PE/Anthrax thing was as cool as i remember it, and who can forget RunDMC/Aerosmith doing “walk thissa way”??? “crossover” should be a (w)hole new section of the megamusicstores.
dig up some Supercat and freak out babydarlin’s…

— rmckaggis 2003-06-27 06:24 #

commenting closed for this article

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