Admiral Bailey Says New Dancehall Producers, Artists Don’t ‘Know The Musical Alphabet’
Big Belly Man deejay Admiral Bailey, says the Dancehall genre is in deep trouble, as, among other things, the majority of the new persons ascribing onto themselves the title of music producers, do not know the basic tenets of music, including the seven-letter Musical Alphabet: “A, B, C, D, E, F, G”.
According to the veteran Dancehall artist, because of this ignorance, the artists themselves are affected in terms of their performances, as they are unable to sing on key during live performances.
“I am not here trying to tear it down young artistes because I was once a young artist. But what I want to say is this: there are songs by some of these young artists that when I listen to on the records, I like it and I dance to it. And when I guh to show that they are performing, and listen the same songs, that dem do onstage is when di song finish I realise see a dah song deh him did a do,” Admiral Bailey said.
“Because di song sound totally different. Di key change; di beat change; di energy change suh it dash yuh weh. It nuh sweet; it nuh rock yuh,” the Horse Tonic artist said.
Turning to the issue of offkey artists, Admiral Bailey said that the artists are not even able to ride the riddims properly, a key competence that is expected to be mastered by all deejays and singers in order to “buss”.
“Dem don’t deejay pon key. Dem deejay wid di riddim, but not on key. Dem not even deejay on beat. Dem deejay offbeat. Suh, they are offkey and they are not on beat,” Admiral said during a recent interview with Television Jamaica’s Anthony Miller.
Turning to the musically-deficient producers, Miller said they were in the same bracket as the deejays, laying out that in terms of the Musical Alphabet, they know absolutely nothing.
“These nowadays producers is just as bad as di deejay dem. Dem nuh know key. Dem nuh know A-minor; dem nuh know G-minor; Dem nuh know B-flat. Dem nuh know C; dem nuh know A,” Admiral, who has the distinction of being crowned by legendary producer, King Jammys, as his “B-flat deejay”, said.
“Dem get in some likkle man and dem guh pon di laptop and dem squeeze and it play a likkle riddim and dem she: ‘yeh man, a bad riddim’”,” he added.
Bailey, who is also the coach of the Tivoli Gardens Football Club, said that it was the fast-money and the exploitation of the music by the persons mentioned, who had no real love for Dancehall, why the genre was in a state of inertia.
“It is working for a quick bucks, but it is not working with longevity suh dat di business itself is sustained. Becaw right now Dancehall a get a knock enuh. Internationally Dancehall a get a knock,” he said.
“Some a di man dem inna di business a use di business as front. Mi a call a spade a spade. Dem nuh business if it waan mash up because is a quick buck to dem and dem a meck fi dem money different. A nuh really di music, dem just a use di music as front. An it hurt mi… becaw a nuff people nuh waan hear Dancehall agen enuh. Di best time a Dancehall a di 80s, 90-s and likkle bit a 2000s,” the Della Move artiste.
Admiral said that younger Jamaican deejays were not in high demand overseas, as foreigners had created their own versions of them, and substandard songs were being given pride of place through payola and money pull-ups.
“I remember di days when we used to go pon tour an all dem suppm deh. We could carry half a Jamaica wid wi enuh,” he said.
“We are to be blamed because we are not spending time to do the music the right and proper way because nowadays yuh haffi inna di dance and yuh haffi a do money pull up…A right deh suh di business gone,” he continued.