"Dancehall: Origins, History, Future" — Donna P. Hope

A synopsis paper by Donna P. Hope setting out where dancehall comes from, the themes it runs on and where it was heading. It was written for a seminar audience, and unusually direct for that reason.

It is the source of the six Gs as a way of naming what dancehall talks about: gun (violence and war), gyal (sex and sexuality), ghetto (gully, garrison, poverty), gays (anti-homosexuality and deviance), ganja, and God (Jah, Jesus, Selassie), with clash and competition and money and bling alongside. It traces dancehall back through mento, ska, bluebeat, dub and rocksteady to the drumming and fife playing of the plantations, and names the 1950s and 60s sound systems (Duke Reid's Trojan, Coxsone's Downbeat) as the direct antecedent, competition and violent clashes included.

Two of its observations bear directly on other records here. On the gun it refuses to settle the argument, holding open whether the lyric is celebratory, promotional or social commentary. And on money it notes the erosion of the traditional promoter: corporate sponsors, some of whose spokespeople publicly denounce dancehall, now stage the shows, leaving Sting, Reggae Sumfest and Rebel Salute as the surviving promoter-run stage shows.

Held here as a standing reference for the archive's editorial work, and cited wherever it is drawn on.