Dunw3ll Says Those Who Only Buy Beats Are Investors, Not Music Producers
Dancehall producer Mario ‘Dunw3ll’ Dunwell has rued the mushrooming of beat-buyers ascribing themselves the title of music producers, pointing out instead that unless they know the rudiments of song production, they are investors, and not producers.
“To be honest, I think that’s probably one of those underlying issues that has been happening over the last four years in the music that people haven’t really been talking about and it’s kind of a serious problem. We have people that are coming in the music and they buy a beat, pay a artiste fi voice, pay dis man to play it, pay for video, whatever, and then they call themselves a producer,” he said during an interview on The Entertainment Report.
“And it’s like, there is nothing wrong with what you are doing, but you are an investor; you are not a producer. And a lot of artiste also, dem find a song and dem look at dem friend: yow, you gonna be the producer and you goin be the manager. And these people aren’t people who have sat down and done the work, done the research, done the practicing, done the training. And I don’t mean formal school, but I mean actually studying the craft of producing,” he told veteran entertainment journalist, Anthony Miller.
He added: “That’s more than just making a beat, but more like making a song, marketing a song. The problem is talent not working with talent. You cannot beat dat. What you expect to happen?”
When Miller suggested that “some of them have found a market,” Dunw3ll questioned the longevity of the songs being produced, and the artists themselves.
“But is it lasting, that the bigger question. Are you trying to make music for the moment or are you trying to set a legacy?” he asked.
Dunw3ll’s most successful productions include Shenseea‘s Pon Mi, Dexta Daps and Masicka‘s Leader, Jahmiel‘s U Me Luv, Masicka and Tarrus Riley‘s Corner, and Vybz Kartel‘s Fever, which is certified Gold in the US for sales exceeding 500,000 units.
His concerns are similar to that of Platinum-selling music producer JonFX.
In early October, JonFX, in admitting that Jamaican music was in a crisis, had pointed out that new-day Dancehall songs are failing to rack up numbers on streaming platforms such as Spotify, as the majority are improperly produced, and lack “the basic rudiments of music structure”, particularly melodies.
The producer had said that at the heart of Dancehall’s dilemma, was that beatmakers, who do not know the rudiments of song production or songwriting, were the ones assuming the role of producers.
Pointing out that he used to be a beatmaker while growing up, but subsequently evolved into a producer after learning for years at the feet of Dancehall’s production greats, Jon FX had said that what is now taking place in Jamaica, was mostly beatmakers, or buyers, “guys who just take beats, take some loops, splice or whatever, and then just give you some beats”.
As a consequence, because of the lack of professional production the Gun Session producer said many songs lack “intro, pre-hook, chorus and bridge which have been critical elements of top Dancehall records over the years.
At the same time, he pointed out that ‘although the songs that the young people are doing are great’, the requisite expertise to get them to international standards are lacking with many songs having “a bunch a words and no melody”.
The producer, whose given name is John Alexander Crawford, had also explained that when the Jamaican Dancehall and Reggae music were globally dominant, there were quality checks and balances at every stage of the music writing and production process, as opposed to at present.
In March this year, Dela Move deejay Admiral Bailey had said too, that the Dancehall genre was in deep trouble, as the majority of the new persons ascribing onto themselves the title of music producers, do not know the basic tenets of music, including the Musical Alphabet: “A, B, C, D, E, F, G”.
The veteran Dancehall artist, had said that due to this ignorance, the artists themselves were affected in terms of their performances, as they were unable to sing on key during live performances.
“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,” the B-flat deejay had pointed out.
Bailey also said that the fast-money and the exploitation of the music by persons who have no real love for Dancehall, why the genre was in a state of inertia.
“Dem get in some likkle man and dem guh pon di laptop and dem squeeze and it play a likkle riddim and dem sehe: ‘yeh man, a bad riddim’”,” he added.