I stopped by a music store today at the mall to check out what the reggae section was looking like in a typical store in Japan. Not to my surprise I saw Hip Hop, Rap & Reggae all bundled together, with Reggae from Jamaica having the least space on the shelf.
So this was the reggae section and as I already figured, it was filled with Japanese Reggae artistes and Mix Cds. Why? That is what is in demand that is what sells. The last row at the bottom was “reserved” for Reggae from Jamaica.
The reggae CDs from Jamaica weren’t the current hits of today, but yesteryears. And of course, a reggae section in a CD shop would not be complete without Bob Marley.
Only the classics could be found. Wow, look at the Barignton Levy cover.
The big man Beres Hammond’s One love One life.
The Maytals, hmmm I need to YouTube some songs as I can’t remember any from the brain at this moment.
The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music.
The Ethiopians, wow this Cd store is full of some classics.
The Paragons on the Beach, gotta love it.
So you get the point. Only the classics are here. The new Reggae & Dancehall didn’t make it into this particular store. In Tokyo it may be a different story. I’ll have to do some research.
The thing with Reggae music compared to a genre like Hiphop, is that the marketing budget isn’t there. Most artistes are focused on singles and digital sales. This is the trend in the music industry in general but Reggae & Dancehall to a higher degree. To have a CD in a stores worldwide takes a lot of resources and access to distribution channels. These Channels aren’t readily available to most reggae artistes, only the few that got signed to overseas record labels like Shaggy, Sean Paul and a hand full of others.
And then again the days of the CD are coming to an end. When was the last time you actually bought a CD? I honestly can’t remember.
Below is a list of reasons why Reggae & Dancehall aren’t as prominent as they used to be. The following are not my opinion but of the minds in the space.
- The language barrier, many have no clue what Reggae artistes are saying at times.
- The music is too raw and there is a lot of violent content ( regarding Dancehall )
- The major markets such as the US have their own music such as hiphop and pop to profit from, and reggae isn’t a part of their agenda at this moment.
- The marketing budget. The only major record label/ distributor from Jamaica is VP records.
- Some are not liking what the genre has to offer at the moment. They are in love with the roots of the genre.
- The genre lacks professionalism with many not understanding how the music industry actually works. Managers are often siblings or friends.
- The music is not being seen or heard.
Despite all mentioned above, I see a bright present and future for Reggae music. The first picture in this post displayed DJ Khaled’s latest album. Khaled is one of the top hit makers today. The lead single on Father of Asahd titled “Holy Mountain” featured Buju Banton, Sizzla and Mavado, three top Reggae/Dancehall acts. This wasn’t to do these Reggae artistes a favor. Khaled clearly sees the value in the genre and knows the influence it has, the history behind it and where it is going.
The number 1 reggae track in the world at the time of writing is Toast by Koffee. It’s a positive song , has hints of the roots, She has proper management that gets her strategically placed to do interviews, promotional shows and they handle her career professionally. Yup, she is signed to VP records.
All around the billboards there are hints of reggae/ dancehall now dubbed tropical house. This has been going on for years. So the sound is there. But the originators aren't present. Afrobeats has become the new exotic trend taking over the airwaves with artistes from Nigeria who admit to being influenced by Dancehall music. What separates Afrobeats from Dancehall is the fact the Afrobeats artistes are focused on feel good music mostly geared towards love and wooing women. While in Jamaica, the hot topic in the Dancehall at the moment is the “lyrical War” between Squash and Alkaline which saw Alkaline posting an Instagram story with death threats and high powered weapons from an unknown source. These songs will be here today and gone tomorrow. They can’t be played in every setting.
But Reggae & Dancehall aren’t dead, they are going through a phase, a re-defining. It kinda reminds me of blockchain technology, many don’t realize the value in it, but the ones who do, they see the bigger picture.
A view of the outside of the Music store.
JOIN OUR Discord ⇒
Web| Tribe| Telegram| Twitter| YouTube