Entertainment

Good Time to Buss

( left - right ) Shane O and Busy Signal - file photos

BASED ON THE public's growing acceptance of them, it certainly seems as if this is the year for the young voices of dancehall to be heard.

Since January, a host of young acts in the hardcore dancehall business have been getting great reactions from show and dance crowds, as if they were already established in the business.

When they are billed for shows, their names have started to get pumped-up applause and traditional whistles of approval from a public known to be highly intolerant and impatient of new acts.

In our dancehall business, where a single artiste breaking in appears harder than striking gold, this is no regular feat. Last year, a block of Rastas which included Fanton Mojah, I-Wayne, Mr Perfect, Turbulence and others broke in. This year, it seems that new dancehall voices are coming into the business en bloc as well, and there has never been a more perfect time to break in.

Icons

The dancehall public traditionally sticks to the icons it creates, and it tends to mercilessly shut out others, allowing the deejays of former years to rule in eras.

There was the Shabba era of dancehall music, where fans worshipped every tune he did. There was also the Buju Banton era, the Bounty Killer/Beenie Man, and the Elephant Man era, and more recently the Vybz Kartel and Assassin periods as other examples.

Nowadays however, it appears as if for the fans, no one act has total domination over the business anymore, and their ears are ready for young voices to 'break out' and become accepted by the masses.

As it stands now, Busy Signal, Shane O, Aidonia, Gyptian and a few more get impressive acceptance for new acts when they hit stage shows. It is as if the public's ears are searching for the next big thing to take dancehall music to where they have never seen it go.

Producer Rohan 'Jah Snowcone' Fuller agrees that the dancehall floor is accepting the group of new voices now. He told THE STAR in a recent interview that the public is simply finally warming up to newness.

"The people just a welcome the younger ones in the business and a open up to the fresh voices now, yu can't lose from the youths right now," he stated.

"The bigger artiste dem set a pace already which the younger ones a just try follow. They are new and fresh and bring a new look pon things. Yu still work with the big ones dem still, cause dem blaze dem trail already, but now people a listen to the younger ones dem."

However, Snowcone also believes young acts should work on achieving longevity.

"I think dem just need to get good songs, so that 10 years down the road people can listen the song dem and seh, yea a good dancehall song that."

Newness

Donovan Germaine, another veteran producer, says that in the dancehall, newness always generates excitement, which explains what is happening now.

"Newness always brings excitement in the business, because if we have been going to see certain artistes for the past 14 years, what are we going to see new in the show now?" he asked.

"When we see a new youth, and the people never see him much yet, and he has five or six wicked song, the curiosity will soar, and people will say he is bad. With the newness, people will want to come out and see this artiste."

"The public now is calling for the new voices, they are tired of what is happening and they want the freshness and newness. It is the public demanding it right now."

Not surprisingly, several producers are now taking the time to work with acts that are not yet mainstream acts.

Loyal Soldiers, the outfit that brought I-Wayne to the public, is currently working with new faces. Calibud, son of Bobby 'Digital' Dixon is working on fresh faces as well, and so too are Cordel 'Scatta' Burrell, Donovan Germaine, the Down Sound Records camp and others.