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Jamaican music is clearly one of the most powerful and influential popular cultural forces on earth.
In terms of pop music, Jamaican music, along with genres indigenous to the USA and Britain are the only forms that have true global appeal. Other forms are limited in appeal to this or that region.
This global cultural resource is truly something to be celebrated, nurtured and protected for the common good of Jamaicans and indeed all mankind.
Like other forms, Jamaican pop music has various subsets which most here are familiar with. Our music, the most authentic of it, springs mainly from one source... the poor and dispossessed among us.
So called "Culture" music (even before the term became popular in the 1980's) has traditionally emphasized themes of love, unity, African liberation and generally strident resistance to oppression at home and abroad (and a likkle weed of course).
These are themes that have resonated globally and are the main reasons for the Jamaican music's global influence... feeding an anti-establishmentarian ideal or counterculture, attractive to people interested in struggling against or seeking escape from real or perceived oppression.
These are also themes that are useful in addressing and improving Jamaica's social relationships, the repair of which I believe is indispensable in nation building.
Over the past two decades there has emerged a new form of Jamaican pop music which has become dominant.
Even within this dancehall format of course there are different strands... culture (powererd by Rastafari), a lite, international chart-friendly variety (Shaggy, Sean Paul etc) and a stridently self destructive (but 100% authentic) form typified by artists like Kartel, Mavado etc.
This may be a somewhat simplistic analysis as there may be other strands and also artists that move easily between the different sub genres.
Unfortunately (to me) the sub genre that has the most influence in Jamaica .. is also the most self destructive. This is music that both reflects and reinforces personal and societal disintegration.
Music whose main themes include: glorifying the gun culture, infama (and his family!) fi dead, acquisition of money at ANY cost, conspicuous consumption, gratuituous sex, degradation of women and a clownish self aggrandizement.
This Vulture music type has hundreds of thousands of young, impressionable Jamaicans in its thrall and a compliant media in attendance.
The fact that it generates huge amounts of cash may be seen as a positive.... but this is fool's gold.
Culture can easily multiply whatever is earned by such self destructive garbage.... and promote positive values in the process.
With Jamaica one of the murder and corruption capitals of the world and mired in social friction and economic decay... such music and its associated value system is a huge and unaffordable negative for the country and its prospects.
To the extent that Jamaicans embrace a negative and self destructive value system... to that extent we are taken further away from the possibility of social and economic progress.
Those who claim both to be concerned about Jamaica's sorry condition of violence and poverty and also support such self destructive values are living in a fool's paradise.... and don't even know it.
In terms of pop music, Jamaican music, along with genres indigenous to the USA and Britain are the only forms that have true global appeal. Other forms are limited in appeal to this or that region.
This global cultural resource is truly something to be celebrated, nurtured and protected for the common good of Jamaicans and indeed all mankind.
Like other forms, Jamaican pop music has various subsets which most here are familiar with. Our music, the most authentic of it, springs mainly from one source... the poor and dispossessed among us.
So called "Culture" music (even before the term became popular in the 1980's) has traditionally emphasized themes of love, unity, African liberation and generally strident resistance to oppression at home and abroad (and a likkle weed of course).
These are themes that have resonated globally and are the main reasons for the Jamaican music's global influence... feeding an anti-establishmentarian ideal or counterculture, attractive to people interested in struggling against or seeking escape from real or perceived oppression.
These are also themes that are useful in addressing and improving Jamaica's social relationships, the repair of which I believe is indispensable in nation building.
Over the past two decades there has emerged a new form of Jamaican pop music which has become dominant.
Even within this dancehall format of course there are different strands... culture (powererd by Rastafari), a lite, international chart-friendly variety (Shaggy, Sean Paul etc) and a stridently self destructive (but 100% authentic) form typified by artists like Kartel, Mavado etc.
This may be a somewhat simplistic analysis as there may be other strands and also artists that move easily between the different sub genres.
Unfortunately (to me) the sub genre that has the most influence in Jamaica .. is also the most self destructive. This is music that both reflects and reinforces personal and societal disintegration.
Music whose main themes include: glorifying the gun culture, infama (and his family!) fi dead, acquisition of money at ANY cost, conspicuous consumption, gratuituous sex, degradation of women and a clownish self aggrandizement.
This Vulture music type has hundreds of thousands of young, impressionable Jamaicans in its thrall and a compliant media in attendance.
The fact that it generates huge amounts of cash may be seen as a positive.... but this is fool's gold.
Culture can easily multiply whatever is earned by such self destructive garbage.... and promote positive values in the process.
With Jamaica one of the murder and corruption capitals of the world and mired in social friction and economic decay... such music and its associated value system is a huge and unaffordable negative for the country and its prospects.
To the extent that Jamaicans embrace a negative and self destructive value system... to that extent we are taken further away from the possibility of social and economic progress.
Those who claim both to be concerned about Jamaica's sorry condition of violence and poverty and also support such self destructive values are living in a fool's paradise.... and don't even know it.
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