THERE is a feeling that lyrics which glorify slackness have been making way for those which are uplifting.
Evidence of this change can be seen as the number of X-rated songs have been declining over the years.
Artistes like George Nooks, Glen Washington, Stevie Face, and Beres Hammond have been outshining those who specialise in hard-core lyrics.
Jack Scorpio of Scorpio Records is one record producer who strongly supports this view.
"People are fed-up with the slackness. I have done some recent songs on live rhythms and the response has been quite surprising. At least people are getting value for their money," Scorpio said.
He added that he has been getting good response from songs recorded on his label because these are uplifting. Examples are like Pinchers' Wasted and Frankie Paul's Love Me Baby.
Producer Fatta feels that based on the position of uplifting songs on the charts and the virtual absence of hard-core songs, there is the suggestion that good music is in demand.
"Apart from TOK's Chi-Chi Man there are are no true hard-core songs which dominate the place. Sizzla's Give It To Them and Get To The Point are songs which were carried over from last year," Fatta said.
Record producer/manager Vasco Carney, agrees that hard-core reggae seems, to some extent, be dying.
"When it comes to music, people are seeking international products. So, very often, hard-core music sells only for a short time. The cultural ones do better most of the time," he said.
Entertainers like Tony Rebel feel that X-rated lyrics have not been as dominant as before. Even if the slackness is not dying, the style in which this was done is. In the past, it was disrespecting women but because it was new at the time people gravitated towards it. Now people are shunning that type of lyrics as demeaning.
"The three-letter word, sex, has been exhausted and these artistes are not saying the right thing about sex because they don't know how much sex is sacred. They make sex look casual so the novelty of sex is gone forgetting that mankind came about through sex," Tony Rebel replied.
