History
The dance hall owes its name to the dance halls (in Spanish, "dance hall") common in Jamaica, where Jamaican folk music was played by local sound systems. These began towards the end of the 1940s among people from different neighborhoods of Kingston, Jamaica, who had no means to go to the halls of the affluent areas of the city. The social and political changes of the late 1970s in Jamaica were reflected in the musical displacement from the roots reggae with a clear international vocation towards a style more focused on local consumption, and in line with the music that Jamaicans experienced when the sound systems played live.6 When the socialist government of Michael Manley was replaced by the right-wing politician Edward Seaga3 the themes of social injustice, repatriation and the Rastafari Movement were replaced by letters about dance, violence and sexuality.
Musically, the old rhythms of the late 1960s were recycled, with Sugar Minott credited as the originator of this trend since he began putting his new lyrics on old Studio One rhythms in the studio sessions, where he worked as a session musician At the same time, producer Don Mais was reworking old rhythms at Channel One Studios, with the band Roots Radics.6 This group would work with Henry "Junjo" Lawes on some of the first dancehall recordings, among the that were those that turned Barrington Levy, Frankie Paul and Junior Reid into reggae stars.6 Other singers that emerged in the early days of dancehall were Don Carlos, Al Campbell and Triston Palmer, while other established names such as Gregory Isaacs and Bunny Wailer successfully adapted.3
Soon different sound systems like Killimanjaro, Black Scorpio, Gemini Disco, Virgo Hi-Fi, Volcano Hi-Power and Aces International capitalized on the new sound and introduced a new wave of deejays The old toasters were replaced by new stars like Captain Sinbad , Ranking Joe, Clint Eastwood, Lone Ranger, Josey Wales, Charlie Chaplin, General Echo and Yellowman. This change is reflected in the album produced in 1981 by Junjo Lawes, A Whole New Generation of DJs, although some went to U-Roy for inspiration. The deejay albums were made, for the first time, as important as the albums in which singers sang.3 Another trend that prevailed was that of the sound clash albums (in Spanish, "sound battles"), which showed rival deejays or sound systems competing face to face for the appreciation of A live audience. Some of the underground cassettes that were distributed also showed the violence that sometimes broke out in these competitions
Two of the deejay stars of the first era of dancehall, Yellowman and Eek-a-Mouse, chose humor and not violence. Yellowman became the first Jamaican deejay to sign for a major American record company, and for a time he enjoyed recognition in Jamaica that rivaled that of Bob Marley The early 1980s also saw different female deejays emerge in Dancehall music, such as Sister Charmaine, Lady G, Lady Junie, Junie Ranks, Lady Saw, Sister Nancy and Shelly Thunder.
The dancehall also brought a whole new generation of producers, such as Junjo Lawes, Linval Thompson, Gussie Clarke and Jah Thomas
dancehall and ragga
The hit "(Under Me) Sleng Teng" published in 1985 by King Jammy of Wayne Smith, with a totally elaborated riddim, caused an earthquake in the dancehall reggae. Many credit this song as the first to include a digital rhythm in reggae, having composed its rhythm with a Casio MT-40 keyboard. However, this is not entirely correct, since there are previous examples of digital production, such as the single "Sensi Addict" (Ujama) by Horace Ferguson produced by Prince Jazzbo in 1984. [citation needed] The rhythm of "Sleng Teng "was used in 200 subsequent recordings. This theme, directed by the song of deejay and intensely synthesized with musical accompaniment, moved away from the traditional conception of Jamaican folk music.
The poet dub Mutabaruka said, "If the reggae of the 1970s was red, green and gold, in the following decade they were gold chains." He quickly moved away from the friendly culture and roots of reggae, and began an important debate among purists about whether that music could be considered an extension of reggae.
This new change in style saw another generation of artists emerge, such as Buccaneer, Capleton and Shabba Ranks, who became the biggest ragga star in the world. A new group of producers also gained prominence, such as Philip "Fatis" Burrell, Dave "Rude Boy" Kelly, George Phang, Hugh "Redman" James, Donovan Germain, Bobby Digital, Wycliffe "Steely" Johnson and Cleveland "Clevie" Brown ( aka Steely & Clevie) who threatened Sly & Robbie's position as leaders in making rhythms in Jamaica. The deejays were increasingly focusing on violence, with Bounty Killer, Mad Cobra, Ninjaman and Buju Banton becoming the main figures of this subgenre.
To complement the harsh deejay sound, a vocal style known as "sweet sing" (in Spanish, "sweet song") emerged from roots reggae and R&B. It was characterized by the falsetto and female intonation, with proponents such as Pinchers, Cocoa Tea, Sánchez, Admiral Tibet, Frankie Paul, Half Pint, Conroy Smith, Courtney Melody, Carl Meeks and Barrington Levy.
In the early 1990s, songs like "No, No, No" by Dawn Penn, "Mr. Loverman" by Shabba Ranks, "Worker Man" by Patra and "Murder She Wrote" by Chaka Demus and Pliers became the first megahits of dancehall in the United States and abroad. Tanya Stephens gave a female voice unique to the genre during the 1990s.
The early 2000s saw the success of a whole new wave of groups and artists such as Elephant Man and Sean Paul.
Ragga conscious
In 1992, the international reaction to the violent and anti-homosexual "Boom Bye-Bye" of Banton, and the reality of the violence in the city of Kingston that led to the death of deejays like Pan Head and Dirtsman, brought about a new change, in this case towards cultural themes and Rastafari, with several of the toughest ragga artists finding religion, and turning the scene of "conscious ragga" into an increasingly popular movement. A new generation of singers and deejays emerged, such as Garnett Silk, Rocker T, Tony Rebel, Sánchez, Luciano, Anthony B and Sizzla. Some popular deejays, such as Buju Banton and Capleton, began citing the Rastafari movement and took their lyrics and music to a more conscious line and back to their roots, "roots."
