50. Dancehall Music is Absurd, and We love It

The Rasheed Griffith Show

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Nostalgia can be a powerful force. This is extremely evident in the musings of our discussion on Jamaican Dancehall. Join us for a tea-time chat on Reggae’s vulgar, and culturally rebellious cousin.

Dancehall is a rather vibrant and colorful subgenre of Reggae rooted deeply in Caribbean culture, but the similarities are surface-level at best. The genre is criticized for its overt vulgarity, hypersexualization, and at times, problematic lyrics which have exported varying levels of lawlessness from Jamaica to its neighbors and beyond.

Besides its lasting impact on language through the introduction of crude and derogatory terms like “Chi Chi Man” to the greater Caribbean, Dancehall has also been a potent vector for homophobia and other forms of discrimination throughout the region.

Are we bashing it? Yes. Will we stop singing it? No. Herein lies the great contradiction. Despite the criticisms leveled above, dancehall is recognized as an enduring and significant part of Caribbean identity and is firmly entrenched in contemporary depictions of “Caribbeana.” In this episode, we explore if it is possible to reconcile these attributes, and the genre’s ironic transition from a tool of oppression, to a tool of protest against itself.