Jamaicans Call Out Saweetie For Tapping ‘Dancehall Queen’ Inspired Look
American rapper ‘Icy Girl’ Saweetie drew some heat from Jamaicans recently for wearing an outfit that was reminiscent of 90’s Dancehall Queen splendor.
The hip hop siren sent tongues wagging as some felt her risque attire was appropriating Dancehall culture without acknowledgment. The sexy two-piece ensemble, platinum blonde wig, and matching thigh-high boots were likened to those worn by Carlene Smith, a pioneer of the phenomenon and Jamaica’s reigning Dancehall Queen from 1992 to 1999.
“It’s amazing how much is borrowed from Jamaican dancehall culture without even a shout-out lol,” Dominic Bell wrote on Twitter, alluding to the culture’s ineluctable influence. Dancehall culture is rarely absent from the world stage and is the driving force behind everything from slangs to the Verzuz organizers’, Timbaland and Swizz Beatz, favorite moment in the series so far.
“Give Ms. Carlene her flowers”, another popular comment insisted, citing Smith’s contribution–nails, hairstyles, and costumes–to the empowering aesthetic through fashion and flirty moves.
“All this came because of my unique designs,” Carlene told Caribbean Beat some years ago. “It was never a dancehall clash that made me dancehall queen. It was a fashion clash.”
These displays in the 90’s Dancehall golden era usually attracted spectators and scholars alike, eventually infiltrating the world of film. One director, Cori McKenna, gave the rationale for her documentary as “these bold and daring women have turned Jamaican street dance into a massive global phenomenon. These women use dancehall to express themselves, to own their sexuality, and to gain confidence in every part of their lives.”
Saweetie, whose debut EP is called High Maintenance (2018), is a shameless proponent of such concepts.
“Yes, I’m a fashion girl. Yes, I’m an artist. I love the glitz and glamour, but most of all, I like that money and I like handling my business,” she told PEOPLE magazine last week.
While she and Carlene may be birds of a feather, the issue fans took with the outfit from her January 7th Doja Cat duet, Best Friend is that credit wasn’t given to what they see as its obvious source.
“She literally look like Marcia against Oliveen in Dancehall Queen [the 1997 movie],” said one fan while another agreed, “she jacking Carlene right here.”
Dancehall vixen Jada Kingdom added her thoughts on the look, “Coincidence dem seh …neva wa giwi credit yet.”
https://twitter.com/JamaicanDancers/status/1349041997475176452
https://twitter.com/JamaicanDancers/status/1349028637706772480
One thing about Dancehall of the 90’s you can spot the inspiration of a look from miles away. https://t.co/Km0eQww55F pic.twitter.com/8lho3Clh4U
— Views From 876 🇯🇲 (@ViewsFrom876JA) January 12, 2021
Others didn’t agree with the argument at all, as risque, next-to-nothing outfits are commonplace in the music industry.
“Because dancehall queen alone dress like this?” one fan quipped. “I’m confused there’s literally no similarities. Anyone literally can dress like this. We’ve seen many women dress like this in the music industry. Jamaican people always want presidential attention just stop.”
Another more forgiving individual privy to production standards added that it might not even be Saweetie’s blunder: “Maybe is her stylist we fi blame for that.”