Reggae And Dancehall Are On Fire

We catch up on the biggest reggae and dancehall moments driving the culture forward, from arena milestones to legacy reunions and festival conversations that demand more respect. I also share the albums I have on repeat and why intentional full projects feel like a real shift right now. 

• Masicka’s Barclays Center performance as a full circle career moment 
• Vybz Kartel and Mavado reuniting and the power of catalog on stage 
• Reggae Jam’s controversial art installation and the exploitation debate 
• The need to distinguish reggae from dancehall in how events are marketed 
• New albums from Yaksta, Dre Island, Buju Banton, D’yani, Kelissa, Runkus, and Masicka 

Transcript

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Why The Culture Feels Energised

Mikelah 0:10

Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of the Styling Vibes Podcast with yours truly Michaela. If you are new to the family, welcome family. If you are returning, welcome back, family. And today is a solo episode. I feel like a lot has been happening in reggae and dance hall. So I wanted to kind of catch up with, you know, just me and you guys. I'm talking albums, major performances, festivals, and moments that really give the culture the energy weight need. So we're seeing so many things happen for the music and the genres in particular. And it's coming from not just established artists, but also newer artists, modern generation. There are current generation and older generations having a really great run from a festival standpoint. Additionally, artists are releasing bodies of work catalogs, which we definitely love. And uh to see multiple generations really thriving in reggae and dancehall right now is particularly really nice to see. So I wanted to take a moment and kind of just taught the things them, you know?

Masicka’s Barclays Win And Smart Timing

Mikelah 1:24

So I think a really great example of that is Massica and his Barclays moment. I mean, uh, we've had a great run at Barclays uh in Brooklyn with Cartel. We've had a run with Budju. So I think we're seeing a really great moment with Maseka and his performance at Barclays, and that's really coming off the backs of Vibes Cartel, Budji Bantan, really doing those big shows in those big arenas. And what I think it is proving is that younger artists can also command the stage. Although I don't really consider Massica a young artist, he's just younger than you know the generation that came before him because he's been grinding for a while. The last time I had seen Massica was at Coney Island. Um, he was performing at On the Reggae Tip, which is hosted by Bobikanazin Java from Hot 97. Um, and he wasn't the headliner there. So to see him be the headliner at Barclays was kind of a full circle moment for his career. And I think from a marketing standpoint, it came together pretty quickly, and it perfectly aligned with the release of his latest album, which I think a lot of times that doesn't happen for our artist, but I am happy to kind of see that his new album, Forever Rain, dropped the day before, and then he had the concert. So I think having the success of singles like Whites, Slip and Slide, Rich Sex, Hit Time Run, you know, I think all of those things really were a nice culmination for him to release uh a project. And I have listened to the project, and I'm really glad. We'll talk about it a little bit later, but I want to give that its own shine. But in terms of just performance and festivals and concerts and really aligning the marketing and the promotion at the same time, I think that was a job well done. I also think it's a great win because a lot of times there are conversations around younger artists being able to sell out big arenas. And it appears that he has sold out that arena and that holds about 18,000 people. Um, and even if he didn't sell it out, it's still a big venue. So I think there was some chatter, of course, mostly amongst, you know, you know, different fans of different camps online, but it's a win for the culture. And I think the narrative here is that the fans are hungry to see their performers in person. And I think that that is one of the biggest wins. The fans are really supporting the music in terms of showing up for performances like these. And it's not just for him, it's also, you know, him building his catalog, having a fan base, and people being fans of dance hall as a whole and really enjoy seeing it on big stages like the Barclays. So I think we're really getting past this narrative around, you know, newer, more contemporary artists being able to sell out big arenas or stadiums or whatever you have. Um, it really just depends on the market. Um, it also depends on the fans and how much they would show up for a particular artist. And I think that even the numbers that we are seeing in concerts and festivals over time are proof of you know the interest in wanting to see dance hall acts on a bigger stage.

Mavado And Vybz Kartel Reunion

Mikelah 4:56

Speaking of dance hall acts on a big stage, Mavado and Cartel, Vibes Cartel, um got together and kind of recreated their magic, I guess you would say. I think at the time where we had seen it live, it was more of a rivalry. And as years have passed, they've kind of put the beef behind them and really got together to celebrate their both of their catalogs at a Taste of Reggae Sumfest over the summer. So if you are a hardcore Dance Hall fan, whether you're up in Gaza or Gully, I think at that time you never thought that this would happen. And so I was not there, but seeing all of the clips on social media, it just gave me this nostalgic, exciting feeling because we witnessed their rivalry, how it came together on the Sting Stage, and they even reprised their outfits from that era, and they were on so many of the same rhythms that I think at that time that they were able to kind of put on a really great show, and it really was a testament to both of their catalogs. And I think sometimes Dansaw doesn't really understand its value until years later because not only did they do this show in Jamaica, but they're taking it on the road, which I absolutely love. They're doing a few more performances, so you know, cartel and the excitement from his release from his incarceration had a really great run, and now he's having almost like a third kind of run um here in the States and across a few um areas in Europe and the UK. They're gonna do a few more shows, and I think it's great for our culture. You know, we have grown up with the culture, and not all of us had gotten to see our favorite artists then. So now the fans of their favorite artists from that era, we have more discretionary income and we can spend, you know, the money to kind of go and see some of our favorites while we still can. And I think it happens in other genres, rock, hip-hop, jazz, you name it, like the elders of the genres are heralded and keep performing. And as long as you have a catalog, if you don't release a whole lot of music, you still have your catalog that you can, you know, continue to travel with. Look at Berris and Beanie and Bonty, like they're all doing those things. And if you even go further back, like, you know, um, Third World, Toots, you know, all these bands are still doing, you know, performances because they can and they have a catalog. And not only are the older fans who were longtime fans seeing them, but also bringing in new generations to understand, and people bring in their kids and being able to have that cross-generational uh understanding of what the catalog of, you know, that predates, you know, younger teens and and adolescents from now. Um, they can experience the catalog similar to what we talk about with them. Um, so I think that that's a great sign for reggae and dance hall as a whole. Um, you know, festivals have been a big, huge thing. None of that is really new. We've seen every year where there are a lot of festivals across the US, uh, South America, around the Caribbean, and even in Europe. And of course, Europe is a really huge market for reggae and dance hall.

Reggae Jam Controversy And Respect

Mikelah 8:42

Um, but I kind of, you know, saw this uh social media post that I think it definitely got some heads turning and some people's opinions because it was at a festival in Germany called Reggae Jam. And there was art installation, and most festivals have, you know, areas where you can buy merchandise and see art and you know, experience vendors and have mini experiences that happens like a lot with festivals. Um, so one part of this was a art installation, and it was of a woman who was basically on our head top, overly voluptuous bottom, and it had a a sign that says women at twerk. The confusion and you know, the the anger, I think, was warranted, you know, and to have reggae performers in front of that and they're primarily playing like dancehall, like that feels beyond the exploitation of black women's bodies and you know, over-exploiting from a sexualized standpoint. I think there's a respect factor that that has to be there, you know. Like we share in our culture, we don't mind, you know, people really enjoying it, but it felt more like a caricature, not necessarily a celebration. And rightfully so, people complained about it, and the festival owners took um accountability and they apologized immediately, took down the installation, but the damage was already done, I think. Um, and and it highlights, you know, the the racial tension that kind of happens when, you know, people outside of the culture take it and enjoy it and kind of um exploit it in that way. But the conversations that were happening online is like, well, if you go to a dance hall, you'll see some of that. But my challenge to that is it's labeled as a reggae concert. And I know that dance hall and reggae are like big brother, licker brother, and they borrow from one another. But even as we market reggae in a lot of spaces, a lot of people conflate the two as if they are the same. So if you ask someone who is not of the culture what's their favorite reggae song, some will actually say reggae artists, and some will say dance hall artists. And I think that's also a thing that we have either taken on marketing them as the same thing, and so people get it twisted and think that a Galpanar Ed Top is a great installation to put over a reggae legend, like, you know, performing reggae roots type music. And while they did have dance hall artists there, I think we have to talk about the distinction between reggae and dancehall and how we conflate the two. When we know they're not the same, they borrow from one another, they exchange rhythms, dance hall comes from reggae, reggae comes from skia and mental. We we know all of that, but at its core, reggae, there's a different level of respect and intenseness because it's also rooted in being message music and message and spiritual. And so while glorifying a woman's body, making it a caricature is where we kind of have to understand there should have been a line drawn because that went through multiple reviews, revisions before it even hit that stage. So along the way, there were multiple checkpoints, you know, to say, well, should we do this? Should we not? I think they knew it was going to be risky, but maybe not be aware of how risky it was. And so I think we have to think about how we market both genres together. And like I said, they borrow from one another. I'm not putting either genre in a particular box or putting artists in a box, but this will continue to happen if we as owners and gatekeepers of the culture don't necessarily make a distinction between the two and have a clear line of what should happen in the different spaces. But I would definitely love to hear your thoughts. I uh did snap an image so I can insert it, you know, so you guys can see what it looks like. Um, but what are your thoughts? Please share, send me a note with your comments. I definitely want to hear.

New Albums Worth A Full Listen

Mikelah 13:45

So earlier I spoke about reggae and dance hall artists releasing albums again. And I love a really good project. And the ones that I have been hearing have had really cohesive from beginning to end. Uh, they have a theme, they're sticking with it, they're exploring new sounds, they're not just propping up singles that they have been pushing or known for on the album or project and calling it a full-length album. I think there was a time where artists released so much music that they would just rinse the same um singles and put them on their albums. And I think this is now kind of evolving a little bit. So now we're seeing more albums in a condensed format that, you know, they are really working through. So I really love that. So I have been listening to quite a few. I have heard Calissa's um the good side of things. I have a few that I love on there. This isn't gonna be a review. I'm gonna do a separate review. I'm just sharing what I'm listening to. I'm just excited for full bodies of work from artists. So Calissa's good side of things is really warm. It just has such a really nice flow. It's very laid back. Ronka Supernova is really on my top of top list. I have been going back to that Sonically, that album is just so great. Um, Yaksa, the microphone saved my life. I got caught up in a lot of the social media posts with him. I'm really glad that I took the time to listen to the album because I think that those social media posts and the excitement that he was garnering is kind of only a piece of you know, his story. And he really dives a little bit deeper into um message music and love and gratitude and evolution on his album, The Microphone Saved My Life. Um, Dre Island, oh my gosh, I really, really love Love in This House. Um, we talked about it when he was on the podcast a few episodes ago. If you haven't listened to that episode, please go and check it out. But he talked about doing an all-love um album, and this is it. So Love in This House is 11 tracks. It's such a great yearning album. It's really, really good from beginning to end. Um, and it does have like some of Afrobeats in there. It has a little bit of roots and dance tall in there in terms of like the production. Uh, so I think you guys would like that. Massica's Forever Rain, very, very, very well produced. It is a dancehall through and through album. I think one of my favorites is the one with him and um uh Damian Marley. It's just like per production-wise, it's really, really good. He sounds good, he makes so many different changes to his voice and how he flows um on so many of the songs, and you get to hear him. The content, the lyrical content, he's still talking about the same subject matter, but the way that he changes his flows and the way that it's produced is just really chef's kiss. Budja Bant's Too Too Bad is a dance hall album. It reminds me of Mr. Mention days. He really, really, really is in his dance hall bag with this one. It's 15 songs and they're all dance hall tracks. So he was really leaning into that sound that people really love. And I've heard him do interviews talking about it. So he's leaning into this. So if you like a 90s, 2000s boom bop dance hall style, this is you're gonna like, really like this album. There are some songs I like more than others, but it has 15 tracks. I think you'll like at least 10 out of the 15. So give it a listen. And then I really just listened to Diani's Live Life and Prosper is also out. I just just listened to that. So um that's always good. I mean, I loved his EP. He has such a distinct voice, he has this like yearning thing that it feels like a whisper in your ear. The girls in my gun mad feed. It's really like a great listen. I like that there's not a lot of raunchiness on it, um, which was surprising to me. I don't know why, but I guess maybe because of the EP. But um it's a it's a true, like nice listen, reggae, but like his voice is just what really adds a layer to um how how the album really evolves. And for all of these, I actually have been listening from beginning to end, the way that it's already laid out. So it really tells me that the artists are being extremely intentional about their choice selections for albums and projects, and they're giving such a beautiful contrast of one another. And so it really is a variety of different generations, different interpretations of how the music has evolved. So check out Budjo, Masaka, Ronkus, Yaksta, Khisa, Dre Island, Diani, Big Up on the Self. I will probably do a review on one or a few of them uh in the near future.

What To Stream Next And Farewell

Mikelah 19:34

Uh, I think that's it for this episode. You know, I'm really enjoying that live music is in demand for both genres. Um, catalogs really still matter to everyone. The fans are really getting out there and supporting, particularly in the diaspora, because we've been missing a lot of performances and albums really matter, and the intention of which uh our artists are releasing albums are is great. So hopefully you either stream it, buy it, um, listen to it, listen to a few tracks, um, and also tell me what you guys are listening to. So um that's it for this episode. Thank you guys so much for listening. And of course, share your comments, share this episode with someone who you know is a dental and and reggae lover, and um let me know your thoughts. Until next time, Lieta Me Peeps.