Beenie man

Ageing dancehall still sound of youth

This week, two stories emphasised what I have maintained for some time that dancehall is ageing, but is still the sound of the youth. And I always ask what will Jamaica spawn after dancehall, or is this it?

In other words, is dancehall the final stage of Jamaica's musical development?

'Grandfather' and 'Beenie Man'

The two stories were that Beenie Man is to become a grandfather shortly and Vegas' announcement of his retirement. 'Grandfather' and 'Beenie Man' don't seem as if they should fit in the same sentence. After all, Beenie Man often performs to squealing children. Of course, two generations that have children while still in their teens do lead to grandchildren for someone well under 40.

But we don't associate people in a youth-oriented music like dancehall with the word 'grandparent'.

Vegas' retirement

Then there is Vegas' retirement. Retirement, as we normally understand it, is for people who reach a certain age in the workforce and it is time for them to get some rest. But Vegas is still young, he has had some 'Daggering' success recently and has done the Reggaeton thing successfully.

He says that he is tired of having to prove himself in the business constantly. Fine. His choice. But that 'retirement' word is jarring.

Dancehall roost

So, with mid-30s deejays and even a couple 40-somethings still ruling the dancehall roost, I am beginning to wonder if two of the things that usually happen in popular music are not going to take place in Jamaica. I would have expected that either the younger generation would have rejected the 'oldsters' (and when you are 18, anything over 30 looks ancient) or the music would have changed, making those in the previous genre automatically old. Neither has.

Sure, the rhythms have changed and there is now a definite fusion of hip hop and dancehall. But the dancehall is still very much distinctive.

Jamaica has been through mento, ska, rocksteady, reggae and dancehall. Does it stop there? Will we see Kartel and Mavado at 60 years old rocking an audience of 30-year-olds who are still very much into their sound? Time will tell.