Dancehall artist Skippa is pushing back against the idea that Jamaican artists are not making enough positive or uplifting music, arguing that the bigger issue is what audiences and media choose to highlight.
Speaking with Billboard, Skippa acknowledged that some of his own music explores the harder side of dancehall, but said those songs tend to attract significantly more attention than his uplifting material.
“I mean, we do. You have dancehall artists that do make uplifting music, it’s just that it’s not getting highlighted as much,” Skippa said.
The artist pointed to his own catalogue as an example, explaining that listeners who know him primarily through his more provocative or hard-edged records may not be as familiar with the other side of his music.
“So even though I have music that might be on the next side of the spectrum, I do make uplifting music, but it doesn’t get as much highlighted as the next,” he said.
His comments touch on a longstanding conversation surrounding dancehall: whether artists are responsible for the themes that become dominant in the genre, or whether audiences, media outlets, DJs and digital platforms also play a role by giving greater attention to certain types of records.
For Skippa, the presence of positive music within dancehall is not the problem. The challenge is getting that music the same level of visibility.
“So we do still have artists that make uplifting music, it’s just not getting highlighted,” he said, before offering a challenge to those helping to shape the conversation around the genre: “You guys probably should look into that.”
Skippa’s argument ultimately shifts some of the focus from what dancehall artists are recording to what the wider music ecosystem chooses to amplify. While songs dealing with darker, more controversial or street-oriented subject matter may command much of the public conversation, he maintains that they do not represent the full range of music being created by dancehall artists.
And, according to Skippa, anyone looking for the genre’s more uplifting side may simply need to pay closer attention.
