Dance hall vs Reggae:Which Do You Choose?

DISCLAIMER:You have to pardon my lack of knowledge about the subject at hand. If you disagree or have any suggestions, please let me know.

I decided to ask a few people who they considered popular, legendary, and successful Reggae artists. Below is a quick list of names give or take a few:

Bob Marley & The Wailers (only because EVERYONE knows who he is), Sean Paul, Elephant Man, Damien Jr. Gong, Shabba Ranks, Red Rat, Bounty Killer, Spragga Benz, Movado,Maxi Priest, Beenie Man, Mr. Vegas, Baby Sham, Buju Banton, Chaka Demus, Tenor Saw

Notice majority of the artists mentioned came to rise during the dance hall era. I've heard a number of people say they prefer Reggae as opposed to dance hall. In fact a few of my friends have said, " I like the painful music, the music that tells a story. I don't like that shake your ass trash." So my questions are, when did we officially make the transition from Reggae to Dance hall? When did one style become more popular and almost immediately send the other into "EXTINCT" status? Finally, why are more people familiar with dance hall artists if most prefer Reggae music? Let's start by defining the two.

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s.While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady. Reggae is based on a rhythm style characterized by regular chops on the off-beat, known as the skank. Reggae is often associated with the Rastafari movement, an influence on many prominent reggae musicians from its inception. Reggae song lyrics deal with many subjects, including faith, love, sexuality, relationships, poverty, injustice and other broad social issues.

Dance hall is a type of Jamaican popular music which developed in the late 1970s, initially as a more sparse and less political and religious variant of reggae than the roots style that had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably, with digital dance hall (or "Ragga") becoming increasingly characterized by faster rhythms with little connection to earlier reggae rhythms. Modern dance hall is also known as bashment

I did a little bit of research and noticed the transition from Reggae to Dance hall came in two waves. If I'm not mistaken artists such as Bob Marley & The Wailers, Larry Marshall, and Johnny Nash initiated the Reggae movement, followed by Shaggy (I know people really don't consider him as a Reggae artist), Patra, Super Cat and Shabba Ranks who sought the transition to Dancehall as early as 1990 segueing to artists like Elephant Man, Sean Paul, and Beenie Man in the mid-to late 90s. According to Joel Whitburn's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles 1942-2004 , Bob Marley & The Wailers had 6 Top 100 Billboard hits.

Roots, Rock, Reggae Peaked at 37
Exodus Peaked at 19
Waiting in Vain Peaked at 38
Wake Up and Live Peaked at 93
Could you Be Loved Peaked at 56
Buffalo Soldier Peaked at 71

*I'm beginning to question the billboard charts because hardly any of his more recognizable songs made the Top 100... hmmm :o(
Flipped through the book a little more and came across Super Cat who had 5 Top 100 Billboard hits between 1992-1995

Super Cat Top 100 Hits
Ghetto Red Hot Peaked at 89
Dem No Worry We Peaked at 87
Dolly My Baby Peaked at 64
Scalp Dem Peaked at 49
Girlstown Peaked at 59

Finally I looked up Sean Paul who had 12 Top 100 Billboard hits (some of them as a featured artist), with 5 of them peaking at least at #10 and below on the charts.

Hot GalToday f/ Mr. Vegas Peaked at 66
Deport Them Peaked at 80
Gimme The Light Peaked at 3
Hey Sexy Lady Shaggy f/ Sean Paul Peaked at 97
Gimme The Light (Remix) f/ Busta Rhymes Peaked at 4
Breathe Blu Cantrell f/ Sean Paul Peaked at 83
Get Busy Peaked at 1
Like Glue Peaked at 9
Baby Boy Beyonce f/ Sean Paul Peaked at 1
Shoomp De La Soul f/ Sean Paul Peaked at 43
I'm Still In Love With You f/ Sasha Peaked at 13
Say Ay Ay Ay Tony Touch f/ Sean Paul Peaked at 77

Compare those numbers to Bob Marley and The Wailer's 6 top 100 hits (only Exodus peaking at #19)its obvious Dance hall is the more popular brand. With the rise in Dancehall popularity there was more opportunity for dancehall artists to collaborate hence the many Sean Paul callabos making the top 100. It may have taken time for people to adjust to the changes (the 2 waves throughout the 90s) within the genre, but the popularity of Dance hall has skyrocketed to heights old school reggae has never seen.
I'm sure there are a number of reasons Reggae didn't see the same success as Dance hall. This could be due in part to certain artists resisting crossover music (sell out music) thus limiting their exposure. (Although I've heard many people believe Bob Marley was becoming more and more commercial once his celebrity status began to grow exponentially) Some believe encompassing crossover elements causes the music to loose track of its agenda. Referring back to the Wikipedia definition, Reggae song lyrics deal with many subjects, including faith, love, sexuality, relationships, poverty, injustice and other broad social issues. Dance hall as opposed to Reggae doesn't cover such a wide range of social issues. I tend to think the music has lost its passion by loosing the message. In addition, digital instrumentation became more prevalent in the mid-1980s changing the sound considerably, with digital dance hall (or "Ragga") becoming increasingly characterized by faster rhythms with little connection to earlier reggae rhythms(Wikipedia), thus becoming more popular in the mainstream. (clubs, radio, television) In conclusion I feel comfortable saying the transition from Reggae to Dance hall was implemented throughout the 1990s. Although the messages imposed in Reggae music may have been lost or compromised for commercialism the history remains deep routed. Lets be real, Dance hall is more widespread because of the exposure it receives. With mediums such as satellite radio, niche cable networks, as well as the Internet, the music reaches twice as many people. (Reggae didn't have as many outlets for exposure in 1970 as Dance hall does in 2008) In my opinion there is a time and place for everything! When I'm in my apartment getting ready for girls night out, please believe Movado, Red Rat, Sizzla, and a little bit of Bounty Killa is on the play list. But when I've had a hard day at work, it's B. Marley and The Wailers all day.


Check this site for the 100 Greatest Reggae artists http://digitaldreamdoor.nutsie.com/pages/best_artists-reggae.html

Please note a couple of the songs are freestyle tracks. For those who aren't familiar with the term, a freestyle track is when a artist performs over instrumentals/beats previously used.(Freestyles are usually performed on mixtape compilations)



I can't leave you without a video. Check out my favorite Marley songs