Effects Of Dancehall Music

The music industry has played a vital role in the development of the Jamaican society, it has taken the voices of Jamaican’s all over the world, persons such as the great Bob Marley, Shaggy, and Shabba Ranks to name a few, however, just like any other thing within this life it has its pros and cons. Though Reggae music gave Jamaica a face, the development of Reggae music into Dancehall music has left Jamaica in a sticky situation in regards to the social issues in which we are facing today. There are several things that one could point a finger at to say that is responsible for the social issues that we face in society today, but has dancehall music evolved into a negative influence on the children of tomorrow? Has entertainment been taken

Dancehall music is, in its most basic form, a deejay toasting (or rapping) over a riddim. Dancehall is also known as bashment, a term which can refer to either the music itself or a large party where dancehall music is played. Dancehall got its name, predictably, from large halls or street spaces where deejays were setting up their sound systems. As the idea of toasting, rather than just playing pre-recorded songs, became popular, many of the best deejays became household names in Jamaica and eventually throughout the music world. Some of the more popular early deejays were King Jammy, Shabba Ranks and Yellowman. During this era dancehall music was solely based on sound selectors clashing each other to be seen as the top ranking selector in Jamaican, the beginning of dancehall music was considered as being a friendly rivalry and was easily recognized because of the sharp lyrics which would be used to lyrically destroy another sound system or selector on the dance floor, surprisingly, over the past few years dancehall music has been well developed and many people are now arguing that it is a cause for concern because of the negative effects in which it has had on our society, especially our

Despite the positive effects Dancehall music might have on our young people, it has become more a pathway for moral degradation with our young people. One would be surprised by the acrobatic stunts which both the males and females of this generation perform on a daily basis. A popular Jamaican artiste by the name of Radijah released a single in January 2014 entitled ‘walk like a dog cock up and piss’ which had females both young and old doing exactly as the song had suggested, furthermore, another dancehall artiste by the name of Demarco released a single titled ‘puppy tail’ which also had females, young and old walking around and dancing as if they were animals. Dancehall music is so influential that it has the females of our society acting as if their animals, I often wonder, why is it that they fail to see that these artiste are only using them to promote themselves?, while they are showing little or no self-respect for themselves. Many people also argue that the issues in which we are experiencing now has to do with the morals that were not properly instilled in most of these persons who participate in these dance sessions as a child, and that poor parenting skills plays an essential role in how easily our youths are influenced by