Munga Honorable Blasts The “Gatekeepers” Who Criticize New Sounds In Dancehall Music
Dancehall veteran Munga Honorable says he’s quite happy with the new trends in Dancehall music these days.
The deejay sat down with the folks over on The Fix a few days ago when the conversations quickly delved into the “current landscape” of Dancehall and what his views were on the young bloods in the industry right now. “Music is transcending and growing … who’s complaining?” he answered, seemingly oblivious to the temperamental debates surrounding the emergence of new-gen sounds like Traphall music in recent times.
Once hosts, Naro and Ari got him up to speed, Munga wasn’t the least bit surprised that the critics had set their sights on these millennial artistes, as they too had “crucified” him in the past for infusing subgenre flows and hip-hop impressions in music of his own.
The Nah Mad deejay explained that these so-called critics or “gatekeepers” as he calls them, will never be happy to see the youths prosper since figuratively, they are the ones with the lock and key preventing them from getting through the door. “Man tie sheet and sinting and when one ah we escape and reach over the place (fence) we start pick lock and let in we friend. Dem nah go happy, we did not expect dem fi happy. Weh di ghetto youths dem fi do? …” he said sneeringly.
He went on to say that what the artistes of today are doing differently from those back in the day is “music business.” -This he exampled with those using media platforms such as YouTube to monetize music streams. It also contributes to why they outshine the active vets in the business.
We’ve heard from the likes of Beenie Man, Bounty Killer and Capleton, who all aren’t too fond of these new Dancehall beats. In an interview with Entertainment Report in October, Beenie said he felt that the new generation of deejays were somewhat threatening the genre’s survival.
“Right now dem trap di music … dem need fi find di foundation in music; keep di music authentic and don’t try to mix it with somethings. Get back to where Dancehall is coming from and build some more Dancehall beat, so we can be known as di people dem weh always keep di music real,” he said,
Similarly, Capleton spoke with ER’s Anthony Miller last month, sharing the same sentiments. The Fire Man says there is no sustenance in trap songs and the lyrics are often unmemorable. “You can find a two-months hit or a three-months hit, or a six-months hit, but nobaddy nuh waa hear it again. All the next hundred years, that’s why Bob Marley and Burning Spear and all a di ancient one dem song today still relevant because dem have substance. Dem song is real; it is authentic,” he explained.
Bounty, in an interview on the Odyssey with Yendi Phillips referred to traphall music as a “vandalising sound,” which captures too much of another genre, that being said, lacked originality.
Nonetheless, their compatriot, Munga Honorable says these “gatekeepers” will never impact the direction of the new music nor will they stop the rise of these new artistes who seek fusions of a different flare.
Watch Munga’s full interview on The Fix here –