Rising reggae-dancehall artiste Chapta Nyne has welcomed the return of juggling rhythms to the genre but says the modern landscape presents challenges that did not exist during dancehall’s golden era.
Speaking in an interview with WMV, the emerging entertainer shared his thoughts on the resurgence of juggling projects, which have become increasingly popular among producers and artistes over the past few years.
“I love it,” Chapta Nyne said of the trend. “It bring back that 90s something where you have all the artistes on one rhythm.”
Juggling rhythms, a staple of 1990s dancehall, helped launch countless hits as multiple artistes recorded songs over the same instrumental, creating friendly competition and giving fans a variety of styles on a single production.
However, while Chapta Nyne appreciates the nostalgia and cultural significance of the format, he believes today’s digital age has changed the dynamics considerably.
“We have to remember that it’s a different time. Everybody have access to social media,” he explained. “So I think right now it’s a bit chaotic, to be honest with you.”
According to the St. Thomas native, the ease of music distribution and promotion has resulted in an overwhelming number of rhythm projects flooding the market.
“In our culture, once something works for somebody, every man reads him,” he said. “Everybody puts out a rhythm right now.”
Chapta Nyne contrasted the current environment with the 1990s, when a smaller group of influential producers largely controlled the dancehall landscape and helped shape the direction of the genre.
“It’s not like in the 90s when there were only a couple of producers, Dave Kelly, Penthouse and Donovan Germain and them,” he noted. “Now everybody a producer.”
Despite his concerns about over saturation, Chapta Nyne recording an unrealized track on Stephen Di Genius’ Hill & Gully Riddim which he hopes to release soon with the consent of the producer. That Riddim has produced two No. 1 YouTube hits from Masicka and Valiant with Slip & Slide and Woii respectively.
