By Alicia Roache, Staff Reporter
'What a splendid year it has been for reggae music! And what a tropically heated climate the sub-genre of ragga/bashment (known to the young and unwise as dancehall) has found itself in?'
Melissa C Sinclair (DJ Cameo) editor/publisher of Gargamel Magazine, 2003.
THE JAMAICAN representative of Gargamel, Ra-Umi Alkebulan, in a footnote on the 'Sting 2003' debacle, again attempts to convince that "reggae music's trendiest and ultimately controversial sub-genre known as ragga (in the U.K.) and bashment (in the United States of America and Jamaica), but too often incorrectly referred to as 'dancehall' and continues the propaganda. Statements like these from people who claim to know about reggae/dancehall music is what results from allowing others to record the history and culture of our music.
Gargamel Magazine has been in print since 1999, yet it is presumptuously dubbed 'The International Word in Reggae Music'. It is a bold and obviously inaccurate assumption, since the nuances of the language which typify the culture of the dancehall seem to escape them.
One can accept that dancehall could be termed 'ragga' in a magazine published in England and primarily aimed at that market, but when it is brought to Jamaica, the origin of 'dancehall music' (not 'ragga music') and sold as 'bashment' to a public that ought to know the difference, then something is just wrong.
Dancehall refers to both the place/venue where the event takes place and the type of music that is played there. It is like the term DJ. In Jamaica it has multiple meanings, depending on the context in which it is used. It can refer to the artiste, the man who spins the record on the turntable and the style of delivery that is used.... by the DJ. Sure, the term 'bashment' is used in Jamaica, but I have only heard it used in the dancehall to refer to a type of action or feeling - 'excitement' - generated by the music, or the hot clothes.
IRONY
In addition, the irony in the fact that the purveyors of dancehall music - the artistes, DJs and producers - call it 'dancehall music' seems to escape the Gargamel crew. After such sustained blunders on the part of the magazine it is hard to trust their judgement on other aspects of the genre. Since its inception in 1999 the quality of the magazine has improved, but just marginally. There is more gloss, the pictures are better (both in print and artistic quality) and the focus of the magazine is more varied. In addition to dancehall, Gargamel features R&B, hip-hop, soca, African beats and gospel. However, the concentration remains on reggae/dancehall music.
Full length feature articles are written in a question and answer format using large, easy-to-read print. The magazine seems, at the moment, to be focused on representing artistes. There are lots of profiles, interviews, and reviews, all aimed at "focusing total(ly) on the positive elements."
No points for journalistic integrity here, but then, Gargamel does not purport to be a journalistic magazine. Instead, it resides more on the side of public relations/marketing, with a few well-written features in the mix. Gargamel magazine will be officially launched in Jamaica in October this year, but is now available on news-stands.
