Covers of albums which were Reggae Grammy winners by Shaggy and Shabba Ranks
Leighton Williams, Staff Reporter
WHEN Shabba captured the Reggae Grammy in 1991 with Raw As Ever, he became the first dancehall act to do so. However, 10 years and 10 Grammy awards later, there are no hardcore dancehall nominations for the 2001 Reggae Grammy.
After Shabba's second and final Grammy award for X-Tra Naked in 1992, Beenie Man's Art and Life was the only raw dancehall act to nab the award, doing so last year. Shaggy won in 1995 for Boombastic.
For some industry players, the main reason for the absence of hardcore dancehall acts from the nominations this year is because the music is not up to Grammy standards at present.
Producers such as Ce'Cile, Jack Scorpio and Mikey John believe that the standard of the music has fallen, especially since the era of Shabba's greatest popularity, because the topics are largely limited and deejays sometimes copy the hip-hop acts.
"The topics are too limited. We bash homosexuals, talk about guns and the number of girls we are sleeping with or want to sleep with. Some of the production is not up to scratch and some people sing off-key," explained Ce'Cile who, along with Skatta, produced the 'Martial Arts' rhythm.
Reggae Grammy chairman, Roger Steffens, is of the view that the dancehall acts are not ready for Grammy honours. Mr. Steffens believes that modern dancehall music doesn't make the world a better place, nor is it reggae. Mr. Steffens believes that a distinction is needed and said that based on how the songs are written and shaped they were not up to Grammy standards.
Although Mr. Steffens and Ce'Cile share similar sentiments, deejay Sean Paul disagrees with them both. "Every music has its own time to grow. It takes time to do everything. You will find that dancehall doesn't have a category for itself at the Grammys, so that's why more songs don't get nominated. I think the music is up to standard but it takes time to get used to it," Sean Paul pointed out.
Though Sean Paul believes that the genre will take time to grow, producer Jack Scorpio thinks that some players in the industry are not spending enough time to allow the music to mature.
"Some people are not putting the lyrics together properly. Some people think that the music is just a money-making venture," said Scorpio.
Scorpio believes that all persons involved in the industry must go back to the days when Shabba and other dancehall acts of that era produced good music.
In fact, for the first time since the mid-1990s, no hardcore dancehall performer has been nominated for a Grammy award this time around.
"Back in Shabba's time things were up to standard. The man dem nah create original lyrics. Dem a use hip-hop topics in their songs. A few of the artistes are using original things, but not everybody," said Mikey Johnson, who is known for his production of the 'Zion Gate' rhythm.
The nominees for this year have been largely singers, a possible reflection of the Jamaican recording scene in 2001, where singers proved dominant over deejays for most of the year.
The albums by Jamaicans that were nominated for the Grammy Awards 2001 in the reggae category are Music Is Life by Beres Hammond, Many More Roads by Ky-Mani Marley, Half-Way Tree by Damion 'Junior Gong' Marley and A New Day by Luciano. In addition, the Hawaiian compilation set Island Warriors is also in the runnings.
Ironically, the last hardcore dancehall album to take home Grammy honours was Beenie Man's Art and Life, which captured the prestigious award for 2000. However, this year the tide has changed with Junior Gong's Half-Way Tree being the closest project to a hard-core album.
Cecile believes that another reason for the non-nomination of dancehall is due to largely to the language barrier. The singer/producer, who is known for her hit song Changez, believes that most deejay songs do not have at least a hook that is easily understood. Consequently, that has been the biggest stumbling block to dancehall songs winning the Grammy or reaching further internationally.
"We're not supposed to give up our uniqueness, but we're the only people who understand us. We need to give them the hook that they can understand," CeCile pointed out.
While her point may seem strange, a look at the albums that have won the Grammy for the past 17 years show that most have been done in English (for example, Black Uhuru's Anthem (1984) or Burning Spear's 1999 winner Calling Rastafari), or broken but comprehensible to a non-Jamaican English. Jack Scorpio pointed out that some of the dancehall acts are not taking time out to make themselves understood.
"Some people are not pronouncing the words properly. Everything must be good. If the lyrics is put together properly, then people will buy. We need to do the work the right and proper way. Look at Shaggy, for example. He has done well. We must take that as an example and see what needs to be done," Scorpio pointed out.
For now, the producers believe that dancehall can dominate the Reggae Grammys. However, for that to happen, they believe that the focus must change.
"The youths singing about Bentley and other cars. It won't make it if we continue. It has the potential to win the Grammy regularly, but we need originality," Mikey John pointed out.
