Three weeks in 3 of Jamaica’s major musical hubs – Kingston, Montego Bay & Negril – checking outand soaking up as much Jamaican music and dance culture as possible.
Not much time to truly know anything much about any place. No time to know anything about the rest of Jamaica (including Ochos Rios – another hub).But enough time to experience some things of Jamaican music & dance culture – which I’m happy to be told are wrong. And lots of time to talk with Jamaicans themselves.
Snapshots…
Edgy, Non-Touristy Kingston
City life, busy life. Urban sprawl amongst green mountains. Few tourists. Go about your business without any attention.
Parties. Some live shows. Clubs. Bars. Recording studios. Dance crews. Festivals (check out KOTE). More parties.
Fashionable, touristy Montego Bay
Gritty, busy, small downtown + the ‘Hip Strip’ – one side of the road lined with souvenir shops, the other with expensive resorts that own most of the main beach. Shop owners and taxi drivers on the Hip Strip will talk to you to get your business, but elsewhere nobody will pay you any attention.
Parties. Dance crews. Dancehall dance competitions & shows (including International Dancehall Queen in early August). Fashion shows. Reggae Sumfest in July. Other festivals. Some live shows. More Parties.
Chilled, touristy Negril
Miles of stunning Caribbean beach (free, as it should be) lined with an uncountable number of resorts, bars, restaurants, hustlers and hawkers competing to lure the many tourists. More rootsy and chilled vibe than MoBay- but intensely hustled. Expect that everyone who talks to you wants something from you.
Parties. Regular live music gigs (some original). Beach sound systems. Beach Bars & clubs. More Parties.
That’s Beaver’s over-simplified, general snapshot of Kingston, Negril and MoBay anyway.
Jamaicans Say
What do Jamaicans themselves in Kingston, Montego Bay & Negril say about Jamaican music and dance culture?
Dance
“I hear the music and I just have to dance. I can’t help it.”
Fusion Music
“Ya Mon. Jamaica have music mixing different styles. Some bands play reggae. Some bands play ska. Same play Dancehall. Some bands play mento. Some other bands play calypso.”
“You can’t mix reggae with other things. Reggae is reggae.”
Live Music
“Live shows are the best. That’s where the energy is at.”
Parties
“There are parties going on every night in MoBay at this place and that place. Take your pick.”
“Jamaican parties don’t start til about 12 am. People keep partying til the morning. When do Jamaicans ever sleep? I can get 5 or 10 minutes sleep and I’m okay.”
Jamaica’s Holy Music Grail
“Lots of international music artists come to Jamaica searching for da musical essence.“
“People outside Jamaica keep trying to steal our music culture.”
Regulating Music
“Kingston and MoBay have the same laws for shutting down events at 2 am. Parties go later in MoBay because the laws are enforced in Kingston, not in MoBay. There are tourists spending money in MoBay.”
Radio
“Any Jamaican radio stations that don’t play lots of commercials? Nah, only some that have short segments without ads. The independent radio stations are on the ground, in the streets.“
Kingston v Negril
“The difference between Negril and Kingston for music is that Kingston has the best recording studios and is great for that, but not for live shows. Lots more live shows happen in Negril and there’s lots of tourists so there’s more chance to display your talents.”
Talent
“Jamaica is a blessed island. We have so many music stars.“
Happiness
“Jamaica has la crème de la crème of happy people.”
Loss of Inhibitions, and Discretion
“What happens in Jamaica, stays in Jamaica.”
They are the things Jamaicans told me about their music and dance culture (plus some things I already wrote about when I was in Kingston). Some are positive, some negative, like what’s going on everywhere in the world.
Beaver Says…
Fun Jamaican Parties
Parties, Parties & more Parties can be found happening at one location or another, on every night of the week. Ask a Jamaican “What’s happening tonight?” and they’ll answer “Well, today is Wednesday [or whatever other day it is]. That means this Party is on there”.
Lots (all?) of Jamaican Parties seem to be sponsored by big corporate companies. Maybe in these days if the sponsorship wasn’t here then the parties wouldn’t happen? Way back when in Jamaica, when sound systems started up, people just set up on the street and had the party. Jamaicans can’t do that now because of laws and regulations about ‘noise’.
Music and Dance are the core of the Parties.
The dance & movement happening at those Parties is pretty darned incredible.
People at the Parties are having fun.
Free parties, are the most fun – and a realer taste of Jamaica because they don’t cost money that Jamaicans don’t have but tourists do.
Dress right for the Parties, and anywhere else you go. Image and fashion are key in some Jamaican sub-cultures, Dancehall especially.
Music in Public Spaces
The best of the musical experiences in Kingstonand even more so in Montego Bay & Negril, is being able to hear music in public and private spaces everywhere you go – day and night.
Most music you hear played in Jamaica is reggae or dancehall. Or a fusion of reggae & dancehall. Some with a tiny touch of hip hop in some.
Most music you hear in Jamaica is pretty great quality. The exception is the very badly-chosen North American pop music, from all decades + much dancehall.
I heard no rock music. No jazz music. No blues music. No world music. No metal.music, no funk music, or any other genre of music – except for the blues, jazz and Latin music played at Redbones Blues Cafe in Kingston.
Jamaicans are fiercely proud and protective of Jamaican reggae and dancehall music. So many Jamaicans I spoke with gave me the impression they weren’t interested in what’s happening musically in the rest of the world. Some were surprised to hear reggae music is created in other countries, including in their neighbouring Latin American countries.
I want musical diversity in my life, and the music I love most is a fusion of genres of some sorts. I would miss that global music diversity living in Jamaica and hearing mostly just reggae, dancehall and terrible USA pop music around me.But whatever the type of music being played in Jamaica – it is all music, and it is being heard by people in public spaces everywhere – day and night. It made my Jamaican days happy ones.
Hearing music makes life richer. Especially in public life .
I want more of it in my life, and everyone else’s.
Better yet if the music is great.
Music and dance are truly alive, well, and pumping in and through Jamaica.
There might’ve been less original, live shows as I’d hoped to find. I might’ve been disappointed that it was hard to find contemporary Jamaican music to buy in Jamaica. There might be more Dancehall than I can handle, and pop music that I’m not into. But the music is there – being played, and being heard. I love being around it. I love being in it. `
Jamaica – may you never ever “Hush”!
Jamaica Again
Definitely more Jamaican music and dance vibes on it’s Caribbean shores are coming in my lifetime. I just need a little rest for now :).
Until I get back I’ve got my take-away bag of contemporary Jamaican music to delve into soon. Lots of musical surprises are awaiting me and that’s a pretty exciting thing yes?
My music bag got bigger at Montego Bay Airport on my way out of Jamaica. I found what I think might be THE coolest airport shop of any kind in the world – and definitely 1 of the 3 best music stores I found in Jamaica: Tad’s International.
Reggae music in the airportmusic shop, as well as in all other Jamaican airport stores, is the last thing you hear as you leave Jamaica. It’s a beautiful thing 🙂 .