State Of Jamaican Music
Music writer, Tv host and cultural insider Donovan “JR” Watkis took time from his increasingly busy schedule to answer a few questions
Music writer, Tv host and cultural insider Donovan “JR” Watkis took time from his increasingly busy schedule to answer a few questions about where he feels Jamaican music is currently and where it can go in the near future.
1.) Referencing your knowledge of Jamaican music, where do you think Jamaican music went wrong in terms of maintaining global visibility and reach?
Jamaican music took a turn when artists lost their visa for one reason or another. A major part of spreading the culture and the music is the artists ability to travel and several top male artists are still unable to access the main music markets in North America. This not only rest on the artists but the systems that are in place preventing them from traveling.
Musically, many of the artists lost touch with what audiences wanted outside of Jamaica so there is a lot of music for domestic consumption being made but that can change overnight as was the case with Skillibeng’s Whap Whap that caught wind in New York. Even the more seasoned artist like Sean Paul finding it hard to market his new music as he did in the past.
2.) What do you think can be done on a wider scale to foster better Jamaican music practitioners moving forward?
There is music and there is music business. Everyone in the industry must improve their knowledge and best practices so the industry can advance. If it remains a hustle business then it’s harder to compete overseas. That’s why we created World Music Views and worldmusicviews.com as a trade publication focused on the business of dancehall, reggae, Afrobeat and other genres. Without the ability to measure the industry it’s difficult to grow it. So now we have numbers to assess the progress daily, weekly, monthly and yearly with out music reports and breaking stories.
3.) How could Jamaica turn itself to be a regular tour stop for major touring acts?
I was just in Las Vegas every hotel has its own theatre for residencies, we could start there with residences with major acts funded by the tourism industry. Already major stars come to Jamaica to make music at Geejam, Rio Chico and elsewhere and they pay big dollars to stay for weeks. So they’d be interested in performing the hits they make for a Jamaican audience if the space and events were accommodating. The small role government must play in Ana long this is to free up the street level music and stop turning off events. The mist came from the streets so let the streets benefit as much as any touring act that may come.
Jamaica used to be a place where music must come first to break internationally. Artist and labels would use the Jamaican audience as a template to judge it new music will work. Not so much anymore with the advent of streaming. Jamaica also need more venues that can accommodate majors performances with the right acoustics and seating capacity.
4.) If you had the resources, where would you build a state-of-the-art concert venue in Jamaica?
I’d first make walk way space for Street performers in major towns and cities. You can tell the energy of a city by who you see in the streets and although Jamaica is touted as a music city there aren’t many musicians or artist in the streets performing like you see in New York subways or Paris or South Beach. As for a concert hall, I’d put it in the heart of downtown Kingston.
5.) Who do you think is the current Jamaican act that has the potential to become Jamaica’s next global superstar?
Good question, I haven’t seen any new face with the discipline and musical output but with the globalization of music any song can become global overnight with streaming. I think U.K. – Jamaican artist Stefflon Don has all the right ingredients and she’d do well for the culture.
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