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.These men andwomen have succeeded in conspicuously re-presenting themselves asideals and have arguably become newer, shinier role models for Jamaicanyouths from different socioeconomic backgrounds.Further, as access toeconomic wealth through formal channels becomes more difficult andless financially rewarding in many instances, the once ideal careers oflawyer, doctor or teacher are facing obsolescence as generally acceptedmodels of success.Many young men and women perceive a career as adeejay or promoter in the informal dancehall sector as more accessible,legitimate and having greater and quicker capacity to earn large amountsof wealth than those in the formal sector.However, many dancehall superstars who come equipped with their 24 Inna di Dancehalllyrical fusillades and bashment hype under the brilliantly lit scopes of thewilling videographers who record their every word, gesture and gyra-tion for posterity seem oblivious of the weight of social responsibilitythat has been thrust upon them by a society in transition.Instead, drivenby a consumerist culture thriving in a free-market capitalist environment,they place more emphasis on their increased access to, and conspicuousconsumption of, the symbols of status respectability than on theirincreasing impact on Jamaican society at home and in the diaspora.Infact, by its unconcerned behaviour and its pervasive, unstemmed hype,Jamaica s dancehall continues to expand and defy definition. C H A P T E R 2Defining the DancehallTHROUGHOUT THIS BOOK, I use the term dis/place to impute sociocultu-ral and political meanings to the dancehall space.The identification ofthis space as the dis/place provides a framework within which I locateoverlapping symbols of power and domination and the ongoing strug-gles within the dancehall.First, the word displace is defined in theConcise Oxford Dictionary as follows: to shift from its place; removefrom office; oust; take the place of; put something in the place of .Here,I argue that the dancehall dis/place operates as a site of revolution andtransformation, effectively creating its own symbols and ideologies andnegating, shifting, removing and replacing those functioning in the tra-ditional sociopolitical spaces.Second, I use the Jamaican creole term dis which is translated intoEnglish to mean this .In this usage, dis/place refers to this place thatis, this existential place or space.In this instance, the dancehall dis/placeprovides a mirror of the lived realities of its affectors and affectees andacts as social commentary on the negotiations and relationships withinand beyond the immediate space of the dancehall.Third, the term encapsulates the sociopolitically loaded meaning ofthe Jamaican creole dis , a slang term used in both dancehall cultureand broader Jamaican society where it is an abbreviation of the word disrespect and its derivatives.For example, Da bwoy deh dis mi 25 26 Inna di Dancehall(That boy [man] committed an act of disrespect against my person).Issues of identity and status play a key role in dancehall culture andits symbiotic relationship with inner-city culture.Actors, who are precar-iously placed economically and sociopolitically and who are intent onredefining their ascribed roles and claiming higher levels of wealth,respect and authority by any means, are more defensive and protectiveof their perceived status.In this dynamic space, dis is translated as aperceived act of disrespect committed against an individual s status oridentity.A dis , whether perceived or real, usually results in retaliatoryviolence, which may be on a continuum from a simple string of loudcurse words (badwords) to the extreme act of murder.Often, the reac-tion of the dissed individual may not parallel the seeming slight thathas been identified as a dis .For example, an unsuspecting man whomakes sexual overtures to the woman of a highly respected don willoften have to pay with his life.Consequently, dis/place as used herein refers to this disrespectfulplace where we have been placed ; this place where we are consistentlydisrespected and mistreated ; this place where we are consistentlydenied our legitimate human rights ; this place where we are deniedaccess to resources ; this place where our identities are negated and,even more importantly, this place from within which we are forced tore-create and claim our resources, identities, personhood and self-esteemby any means .Throughout this work any usage of the term dis/place imputes anyone, any combination or all of the foregoing meanings, particularlywhere dis/place is combined with the term dancehall.What Is Dancehall ?Originally, the term dancehall was used to describe a place or hall used for the staging of dances and similar events.There is no generalconsensus on how the term became identified with this form of Jamaicanpopular culture.One can speculate that the proliferation of stage showsand other staged events backed by the sound systems resulted in dance-hall s identification as a music that is tied to a space and place.However, Defining the Dancehall 27dancehall music can be defined as that genre of Jamaican popular musicthat originated in the early 1980s [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.These men andwomen have succeeded in conspicuously re-presenting themselves asideals and have arguably become newer, shinier role models for Jamaicanyouths from different socioeconomic backgrounds.Further, as access toeconomic wealth through formal channels becomes more difficult andless financially rewarding in many instances, the once ideal careers oflawyer, doctor or teacher are facing obsolescence as generally acceptedmodels of success.Many young men and women perceive a career as adeejay or promoter in the informal dancehall sector as more accessible,legitimate and having greater and quicker capacity to earn large amountsof wealth than those in the formal sector.However, many dancehall superstars who come equipped with their 24 Inna di Dancehalllyrical fusillades and bashment hype under the brilliantly lit scopes of thewilling videographers who record their every word, gesture and gyra-tion for posterity seem oblivious of the weight of social responsibilitythat has been thrust upon them by a society in transition.Instead, drivenby a consumerist culture thriving in a free-market capitalist environment,they place more emphasis on their increased access to, and conspicuousconsumption of, the symbols of status respectability than on theirincreasing impact on Jamaican society at home and in the diaspora.Infact, by its unconcerned behaviour and its pervasive, unstemmed hype,Jamaica s dancehall continues to expand and defy definition. C H A P T E R 2Defining the DancehallTHROUGHOUT THIS BOOK, I use the term dis/place to impute sociocultu-ral and political meanings to the dancehall space.The identification ofthis space as the dis/place provides a framework within which I locateoverlapping symbols of power and domination and the ongoing strug-gles within the dancehall.First, the word displace is defined in theConcise Oxford Dictionary as follows: to shift from its place; removefrom office; oust; take the place of; put something in the place of .Here,I argue that the dancehall dis/place operates as a site of revolution andtransformation, effectively creating its own symbols and ideologies andnegating, shifting, removing and replacing those functioning in the tra-ditional sociopolitical spaces.Second, I use the Jamaican creole term dis which is translated intoEnglish to mean this .In this usage, dis/place refers to this place thatis, this existential place or space.In this instance, the dancehall dis/placeprovides a mirror of the lived realities of its affectors and affectees andacts as social commentary on the negotiations and relationships withinand beyond the immediate space of the dancehall.Third, the term encapsulates the sociopolitically loaded meaning ofthe Jamaican creole dis , a slang term used in both dancehall cultureand broader Jamaican society where it is an abbreviation of the word disrespect and its derivatives.For example, Da bwoy deh dis mi 25 26 Inna di Dancehall(That boy [man] committed an act of disrespect against my person).Issues of identity and status play a key role in dancehall culture andits symbiotic relationship with inner-city culture.Actors, who are precar-iously placed economically and sociopolitically and who are intent onredefining their ascribed roles and claiming higher levels of wealth,respect and authority by any means, are more defensive and protectiveof their perceived status.In this dynamic space, dis is translated as aperceived act of disrespect committed against an individual s status oridentity.A dis , whether perceived or real, usually results in retaliatoryviolence, which may be on a continuum from a simple string of loudcurse words (badwords) to the extreme act of murder.Often, the reac-tion of the dissed individual may not parallel the seeming slight thathas been identified as a dis .For example, an unsuspecting man whomakes sexual overtures to the woman of a highly respected don willoften have to pay with his life.Consequently, dis/place as used herein refers to this disrespectfulplace where we have been placed ; this place where we are consistentlydisrespected and mistreated ; this place where we are consistentlydenied our legitimate human rights ; this place where we are deniedaccess to resources ; this place where our identities are negated and,even more importantly, this place from within which we are forced tore-create and claim our resources, identities, personhood and self-esteemby any means .Throughout this work any usage of the term dis/place imputes anyone, any combination or all of the foregoing meanings, particularlywhere dis/place is combined with the term dancehall.What Is Dancehall ?Originally, the term dancehall was used to describe a place or hall used for the staging of dances and similar events.There is no generalconsensus on how the term became identified with this form of Jamaicanpopular culture.One can speculate that the proliferation of stage showsand other staged events backed by the sound systems resulted in dance-hall s identification as a music that is tied to a space and place.However, Defining the Dancehall 27dancehall music can be defined as that genre of Jamaican popular musicthat originated in the early 1980s [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]