By Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer

Book launch of What the Deejay Say at the University of the West Indies, Mona on Friday, November 24. - Nathaniel Stewart

While recordings of dancehall events are commonplace in Jamaica, their effect on the spread of the style of music and accompanying culture may not be full appreciated by some. However, in giving a lecture and launching his book 'What The Deejay Said: A Critique From the Streets on Friday Evening,' Dr. William 'Lezlee Lyrix' Henry showed just how critical early tapes were to the music scene in England.

"We started getting live sound tapes from Jamaica in the late 1970s. It revolutionised how we thought about Jamaica," he said to the audience at the Neville Hall Lecture Theatre, University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus.

Illustrating his presentation with audio recordings, Henry, who deejayed under the name Lezlee Lyrix, pointed out that Soldier Tek Over came first from General Echo, referring to a tape from Stereophonic Sound System in 1980, and not Yellowman as commonly thought.

Influential deejays

When Echo hit a rapid delivery section in the lyric, Henry linked it with the later, famous speed deejay section of Papa Levi's Mi God, Mi King. He named Prince Jazzbo, the now deceased Johnny Ringo, Big Youth and General Echo, also deceased, as among the more influential deejays. And there was laughter when Henry said that deejays in England used to imitate their Jamaican counterparts, to the extent that a deejay in England would regularly talk about "me go Barbican, me go Fern Gully."

"Reggae music is the music of love. Reggae music is the music of peace. But it is a music of truth and it will tell you about yourself and some people don't like it," he said.

As such, he said that the music from Jamaica provided the youths in England with a vehicle to express their frustration, citing lyrics from Papa Levi, Papa Benji and Lana G to illustrate those racial and political concerns expressed in the dancehall.

Henry ended his presentation with a personal tribute to Nicodemus, also deceased, the very influential deejay who introduced the non-stop style of delivery. There was attentive quiet in the lecture theatre as Henry played a tape of himself in full Lezlee Lyrix mode, delivered non-stop at length, chuckles coming at points when the lyrics struck home.