In a recent article on Dancehallmag.com Shaggy weighed in on the reggae industry and challenged ‘catalog artists'(also known as reggae artists from the 80s,90s,2000s) to continue to make music. He went on to say that old-school reggae is what was in demand as compared to the current music being churned out.
“I think the biggest thing that older artists do, catalog artists do, is stop making records. Catalog music is trending more than current music. So some of these catalog artists are pulling more money sometimes than these new artists. And the reason for this is because there is an appetite for these artists, and if you don’t feed your fanbase with new music and new visuals then they are not gonna come (to shows).” Shaggy said.
I would tend to agree with the man, not because I grew up in the 1990s/2000s but I genuinely believe that reggae and dancehall back then was better. There has been significant influence from Hip Hop and other genres on reggae and I feel reggae has lost its essence as I struggle sometimes to distinguish between reggae and other sounds.
Shaggy goes on, in advocating for a hybrid sound and continually trying to bring out that old-school sound giving an example of his latest track with Spice and Sean Paul called Go Down Deh. The track was masterminded by Romanian producer Costi and according to Shaggy did well in France and other European countries due to that hybrid.
I would tend to disagree with this notion as I feel the track did well because it had two of Jamaica’s most successful exports and one of the best female artists from the island. Wouldn’t it be better to continue making the music like back in the day? Why can’t the youngsters assimilate to it? I did once upon a time. There is a hybrid sound, and then there is losing your identity with the guise of creating a hybrid.
“I went to a particular show recently with some new artists and what startled me in the time when they change-ova, before di artists dem come on, all they played was 90s Dancehall music to hype up the crowd. So what I am saying, is I am not knocking the music, because there is a lot of it I like. But create a hybrid. Because if you see that the numbers ain’t working you have got to find something that does,” Shaggy said in an interview with Jamaica’s Anthony Miller.
With this in mind, there is still a huge demand for 90s reggae/dancehall. So, I am saying, ‘give us more of it’, right? I am not opposed to the hybrid, but, in doing so you cannot lose your identity. Look at Afro-music. The genre has stuck to its roots and it is growing on a more rapid trajectory as compared to reggae and dancehall. There are some ‘catalog artists’ that have maintained that old swagger. Eg Anthony B and Bling Dawg. I would advise them to continue making new music as well, but I say continue making what made you popular all those years ago.
