Grammy winning platinum producer Stephen Mcgregor is hitting back at the disparaging way in which some people comment on dancehall’s modern culture. In a series of tweets DiGenius voiced his displeasure stating that it was the same way they tried to put him in a box earlier in his career.
He said, “Amazing to watch all the dancehall/reggae purists bawl and complain everyday bout the state of the music while NOT making any real effort to do anything about it . Jus complaining & vibes. But what do I know”
Amazing to watch all the dancehall/reggae purists bawl and complain everyday bout the state of the music while NOT making any real effort to do anything about it🙃😅 . Jus complaining & vibes😄. But what do I know 🤷🏽♂️🚶🏾♂️🚶🏾♂️
— Di GENIUS (@DiGenius1) March 25, 2022
Stephen who has produced some of the biggest hits in dancehall further said, “Tired of Critics with no credentials. either u make the music and make it work and prove to everyone your theory is right or just leave the convo alone. Otherwise it’s just adding to an already confusing narrative that most talking about hardly understand fully tbh”
He also stated that working in the music business for a long time does not give someone authority to beat down the young creatives.
“And all due respect, having any involvement or a hit 5000 yrs ago doesn’t justify you beating down what the kids are ACTIVELY making & putting out now. Anyone who TRULY understands the biz knows it’s a lot more than just an original beat that makes a song really work”
Di Genius started out producing riddims out of his “Big Ship” recording studio, then later went on to produce and write songs for international artists such as Sean Paul, Drake , Nelly Furtado , Lianne La Havas, Shakira, and John Legend. The New York Times named him a “Reggae Veteran At The Age of 18.”
In 2017, Billboard.com listed Di Genius as one of the producers who brought dancehall back to the mainstream, noting his work on Drake’s hit song “Controlla” off the multi-platinum selling album Views.
The Cyah Friend Again producer made it clear that his tweets should not be seen as an attack on the “elders” for whom he has the “utmost respect”.
“FYI this is not me attacking any of the elders with strong opinions. I have the utmost respect 4 all the ppl before me. But it’s quite irresponsible and unfair to just have this 1 sided “this music is better than that music” kinda convo. Let the Artists figure out their art.”
Since Dancehall Mag published an article indicating that Billboard has scrapped the Reggae Digital Singles chart in favor of an Afrobeat chart several persons have casted blame at the feet of the new music players in the dancehall industry.
Disc Jock and producer Trevor Forrest tweeted a screenshot of the article and caption
I can’t help but think our genre has lost its way…. sigh”
They just want to turn us against each with our music.while the music industry is big enough to facilitate bought Reggae/dancehall music and afrobeat ..I just want to see my ppl winning don't matter where we are from..carribean& African ..
— sassy Krissy 🇯🇲Blacklivesmatter (@ebonyshalet) March 25, 2022
It is not know the exact reason why Billboard discontinued the Digital Reggae Singles chart but the most recent Global Music Report by IFPI showed that Global Recorded Music Revenues Grew 18.5% In 2021 and although not specifically indicating reggae and dancehall, states that music from the Latin American region including the English speaking Caribbean saw growth of 31.2% – one of the highest growth rates globally.
The report further stated that streaming accounted for 85.9% of the market, one of the highest proportions in any region.
World Music Views reports show that last year more artists from jamaica streamed more than 1 million times than any previous time in history.
Although Billboard decided to cut the reggae digital singles chart, In February last year Spotify became available in Jamaica and the Caribbean region which was welcoming news for dancehall and reggae artists because it meant that there is one more platform to chart and access music in the region.
After a year of streaming on the platform, Spotify provided data to World Music Views showing that there was a resurgence of Ska and Reggae music in Jamaica. Julia Lavender, Spotify’s Communications Manager for
says
“Much of the music energy is still untapped, but with our launch we believe that we can give Jamaica’s music culture a boost both locally and globally – and that the access to our creator tools will help propel Jamaican artist’s careers.”
Spotify is one of the leading streaming platforms globally for paid streaming service and streams earned on the platform are worth more dollars than those gained on YouTube’s free service.
“Data from our dedicated Caribbean Hub shows us that there’s a tremendous interest in sounds from the country, and Jamaican genres have seen massive increases in listenership since Spotify first entered the market”, she further stated.
She claimed even dying genres like Ska have seen an increase over the years on the platform.
“Ska Revival has seen a 191% increase, Early Reggae a 183% increase, and Ska has a 105% increase. Globally, the playlist “Reggae Classics” is by far the most streamed Caribbean playlist in the past year. Sunshine Reggae, One Love and Dancehall Throwback are also amongst the most streamed playlists of the past year.”
Similar to YouTube, reggae is more streamed globally but dancehall is the leading genre in Jamaica. On YouTube However, Vybz Kartel leads, while in Spotify Alkaline forges ahead this year.
“Whilst reggae playlists dominate globally, Dancehall playlists dominate amongst Jamaican listeners, with Dancehall Official, Back a Yard, Island Pop, Dancehall Throwback and Dancehall Party on the top 5.”
She says has taken careful note of Jamaica’s music industry and is already helping dancehall artists at home and abroad.
“Besides the Caribbean Hub, we in 2021 supported emerging artists with Jamaican heritage such as Griff, Skillibeng, Jorja Smith and Capella Gray – and hope to expand that support to more local artists and their releases. It’s clear that there’s an appetite for Jamaican sounds and in 2022 we want to continue surfacing local talents and introduce them to more Spotify listeners so they have the opportunity to discover unique local sounds, voices, and cultures.”
As for what streamers should expect in 2022 from Spotify, Julia said there will be new ways to monetize, innovate and improve the listening experience.
“This year we continued to go all in on the limitless power of audio and our mission to connect creators with fans and empower creators to live off of their art with more to come in 2022.”
“We aim to shape a new ecosystem with new tools and formats for creators to..reach new audiences and monetize their work, as well as continuing to innovate around the listening experience including Enhance, Blend and Lyrics.”
