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Dancehall opens Japanese chapter
Mel Cooke, Star Writer
Sachiyo Morimoto - Contributed
At Stone Love's 36th anniversary celebrations, held at Mas Camp, New Kingston, in December, MC Nuffy called up a flashily dressed Japanese man who eagerly displayed the latest moves onstage.
But long before the Japanese were making their presence felt at concerts and the weekly round of street dances, dancehall culture was finding its way into Japan through audio and video recordings, as well as artiste performances.
Critical analysis
And one of the early enthusiasts, Sachiyo Morimoto, has moved from fan to critical analysis of some of dancehall's recurrent topics as editor of LT1 Gender and Sexuality in Jamaica, published by her Mighty Mules imprint in November 2008.
"I came to know Jamaica in the early '90s, the height of the slackness. I wondered why the words like ..... were so much in the lyrics. I was amazed at how fashionable the dancehall clothes were," Morimoto said.
Then in her late teens, she saw the fashion on videos of Stone Love dances and concerts such as Ghetto Splash, Sunsplash and Sting. Among the Jamaican performers who visited Japan were Supercat, Tiger and Ninja Man.
Gender issues
Then, Morimoto was not thinking about a deeper examination of gender issues ("I hadn't thought about gender and sexuality when I was a dancehall fan"
, although she was curious about the attitude towards women which came out in the lyrics and the insistence that "... fe dead".
"A lot of the lyrics of dancehall music, men tend to boast how promiscuous they are, how good they are in bed, how many women they conquered," Morimoto said.
Jamaican issues had made the Mighty Mules imprint before, but the death in July 2008 of a teacher whom Morimoto respected and who had encouraged her immensely resulted in her setting out a number of questions about the perception of Jamaican men and women, which she posed to a number of Japanese. Then she contacted Jamaican scholars, writers and performers for their contributions and by November 2008, LT1 Gender and Sexuality in Jamaica was published.
<span style="font-weight: bold">Chapters </span>
Among the chapters in the book, which is in English and Japanese, <span style="font-weight: bold">are chi Chi Man Fi Get Sladi</span>: <span style="font-weight: bold">Exploring Homophobia as Alternative Discourses of Masculinity in Dancehall Culture; (Dr Donna Hope); Rastafari, Politics and Gender Relations in Jamaica: A Womanist Critique (Dr Imani M Tafari-Ama); Bogle a De Order Fi Di Day: Engendering Dialogue: Random Thoughts on Gender and Culture (Owen 'Blakka' Ellis); Dance and Identity in Jamaican Dancehall (Dr Sonjah Stanley-Niaah); Sweet and Sour Sauce: Sexual Politics in Jamaican Dancehall Culture (Professor Carolyn Cooper) and Paternity Leave and a New Man (Professor Barry Chevannes). </span>
Not a good thing
<span style="font-style: italic">Morimoto says that the Japanese perception of Jamaica is "shaped mostly by dancehall music. <span style="font-weight: bold">I think it is not a good thing. </span></span>"I<span style="font-weight: bold"> don't like the perceptions</span>,
but many Japanese think the trends in dancehall are good - 'daggering' and promiscuity included.
"I like dancehall culture, but I want people to look at Jamaica from different viewpoints," Morimoto said. "Jamaica is not only a country with gangsters and so on. There is more."
Mel Cooke, Star Writer
Sachiyo Morimoto - Contributed
At Stone Love's 36th anniversary celebrations, held at Mas Camp, New Kingston, in December, MC Nuffy called up a flashily dressed Japanese man who eagerly displayed the latest moves onstage.
But long before the Japanese were making their presence felt at concerts and the weekly round of street dances, dancehall culture was finding its way into Japan through audio and video recordings, as well as artiste performances.
Critical analysis
And one of the early enthusiasts, Sachiyo Morimoto, has moved from fan to critical analysis of some of dancehall's recurrent topics as editor of LT1 Gender and Sexuality in Jamaica, published by her Mighty Mules imprint in November 2008.
"I came to know Jamaica in the early '90s, the height of the slackness. I wondered why the words like ..... were so much in the lyrics. I was amazed at how fashionable the dancehall clothes were," Morimoto said.
Then in her late teens, she saw the fashion on videos of Stone Love dances and concerts such as Ghetto Splash, Sunsplash and Sting. Among the Jamaican performers who visited Japan were Supercat, Tiger and Ninja Man.
Gender issues
Then, Morimoto was not thinking about a deeper examination of gender issues ("I hadn't thought about gender and sexuality when I was a dancehall fan"
, although she was curious about the attitude towards women which came out in the lyrics and the insistence that "... fe dead". "A lot of the lyrics of dancehall music, men tend to boast how promiscuous they are, how good they are in bed, how many women they conquered," Morimoto said.
Jamaican issues had made the Mighty Mules imprint before, but the death in July 2008 of a teacher whom Morimoto respected and who had encouraged her immensely resulted in her setting out a number of questions about the perception of Jamaican men and women, which she posed to a number of Japanese. Then she contacted Jamaican scholars, writers and performers for their contributions and by November 2008, LT1 Gender and Sexuality in Jamaica was published.
<span style="font-weight: bold">Chapters </span>
Among the chapters in the book, which is in English and Japanese, <span style="font-weight: bold">are chi Chi Man Fi Get Sladi</span>: <span style="font-weight: bold">Exploring Homophobia as Alternative Discourses of Masculinity in Dancehall Culture; (Dr Donna Hope); Rastafari, Politics and Gender Relations in Jamaica: A Womanist Critique (Dr Imani M Tafari-Ama); Bogle a De Order Fi Di Day: Engendering Dialogue: Random Thoughts on Gender and Culture (Owen 'Blakka' Ellis); Dance and Identity in Jamaican Dancehall (Dr Sonjah Stanley-Niaah); Sweet and Sour Sauce: Sexual Politics in Jamaican Dancehall Culture (Professor Carolyn Cooper) and Paternity Leave and a New Man (Professor Barry Chevannes). </span>
Not a good thing
<span style="font-style: italic">Morimoto says that the Japanese perception of Jamaica is "shaped mostly by dancehall music. <span style="font-weight: bold">I think it is not a good thing. </span></span>"I<span style="font-weight: bold"> don't like the perceptions</span>,
but many Japanese think the trends in dancehall are good - 'daggering' and promiscuity included. "I like dancehall culture, but I want people to look at Jamaica from different viewpoints," Morimoto said. "Jamaica is not only a country with gangsters and so on. There is more."
I am deadin wid laff ova yah
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