The fact that reggae is getting exposure to a younger audience is wonderful -- it's hard to tell whether some of the old roots acts or deep 70's dub would be able to capture the high school crowd that is driven primarily by fast and furious rhythms. Unfortunately, the music in general, lyrically and productionwise, has been dumbened down in the process.
The early days of dancehall saw a relatively close imitation of the live Roots and Lovers styles of the 70's, except with a technological base. Prince Jammys' roots were in Roots. Listening to many of the singles running through the dancehalls today is a tad overwhelming: fast-paced, furious riddims (without the creativity seen in drum-n-bass) combined with Mase-like lyricism equaling overall originality of Puff Daddy. Not much a gwaan between pen-to-paper and master-to-duplicates.
Granted, there are some dancehall artists today that are raising the bar a bit -- Beenie Man and Mad Cobra provide halfway thought-provoking lyrics and Philip Burrell has had a couple hot riddims as of late, but the positive side of dancehall is what is most remarkable. Even while we have Lady Saw's slackness gaining the attention of the video cameras, incredibly talented and spiritual individuals like Anthony B and Sizzla are enthralling crowds from Kingston, Jamaica to Jamaica, Queens with their conscious vocals and roots-inspired riddims.
It's hard to tell whether we'll just hear more recycled melodies and sloppily-programmed rhythm tracks, or whether singers like Anthony B will continue to channel the spirit of the fallen soldiers like Garnett Silk and still manage to grab the attention of the club-going audience. The industry may drive what kind of dancehall is released, but I am just hopeful (naive?) enough to believe that positive vibes will ultimately prevail, returning dancehall to its roots.
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