The Jamaica Star :: Entertainment :: Melody makes the music

Sadeke Brooks, Staff Reporter

Mavado

Melody is probably the most important element in the arrangement of songs. However, some veterans in the music industry say dancehall music lacks this crucial factor.

Cocoa Tea, who is an artiste reknown for his smooth sound, believes that melody is very crucial to making music.

"Melody is always important in every music, whether dancehall or reggae. The melody is what people react to. They might not know the lyrics but the melody is catchy, so they will listen to the song.

"If you want to be successful, you have to come with a melody that hits and resonates with the people." he said.

Outstanding melodies

He commented that some of the new dancehall artistes lack melody and points to this as a factor that will hinder their success. He says some reggae artistes like Tarrus Riley, Jah Cure and Richie Spice have outstanding melodies. In terms of current dancehall, he highlighted Mavado as one of the few whose melody stands out.

"As a dancehall artiste, Mavado really stands out because of the melody he has. It is contagious and easy to catch. For you to really have that support you have to have that catchy melody that people really love," said Cocoa Tea.

Musician Dean Fraser agrees that Mavado's melody is noteworthy. "Mavado stands out. As simple as yuh tek it, his style is quite unique and he has many melodies. That's why people catch on to his lyrics so much," he said.

However, he disagrees that the dancehall lacks melody. "Especially our deejays, that is something that we are never really short of. What we are short of is the content. We need to have more originality," said Fraser.

Own styles

He remarked that in the '60s, '70s and '80s, the artistes had more originality. He said many of the current artistes need to create their own styles as opposed to merely following trends.

Winston 'Merritone' Blake, musicologist, says melody and lyrical structure make a song. He says the lack of both account for why dancehall music has been unable to move successfully beyond the dancehall itself.

"Where the money is in the music business is when people can sing over your song and when people around the world understand and can associate with what you are saying," said Blake.

He added: "There are too many misguided people in the dancehall just singing and having a good time. They make some money but nobody will sing over those songs."

Blake says singjays have good melodies but the problem is with the deejays. However, he believes deejays like Buju Banton, Tony Rebel, Sizzla and Capelton are excellent deejays.

He says Jamaican artistes need to pay attention to the content of their songs. He noted that many songs have lyrics that are immoral and do not represent good values.

"One of the greatest songs ever recorded in Jamaica is Nuff Gal by Beenie Man. What is bad in the song is 'nuff gal'. That's crap. It's stupid lyrics, but the instrument and melody structure are wonderful," said an excited Blake.

( L - R ) Left: Winston Blake says there is enough melody in dancehall, but not enough good content. Right: Dean Fraser - file