Buju and Beenie are iconic artists who were part of the Golden Age of Dancehall in the 1990s. However, Buju’s conversion to Rastafarianism was followed by a transition from Reggae to Dancehall. Beenie Man is a Dancehall artist, but he has also made Reggae songs for purposes of social commentary. Secondly, both have substantive Black World (a.k.a Pan-Afrikanist) aesthetic, social, and political commentary in their music.
Given the compromising nature of the eurasian music industry that they engage, I do not take entertainers seriously as political movement leaders. Nana Omowale Malcolm X is apt when he says entertainers and comics, for said reasons, cannot be expected to do so. Instead, I look at Buju and Beenie’s commentary within the context of their insights as musical artists – nothing more or less. This is likewise for other artists mentioned in this article. I think a comparative analysis helps clarify how we should evaluate Black music in this compromised environment.
I see “consciousness” as an overarching cultural force that is present various aspects of our music that expresses who we are as Kmtyw/Abibifoɔ/Black People. In this way, we can properly identify Black music and, when present, properly identify eurasian interference in it. For example, I am critical of the privileging of socio-political commentary as “conscious” music because it is rooted respectability politics, rather than our actual culture. Rather, I see socio-political commentary as a type of consciousness, rather than the totality of consciousness itself. A holistic approach to consciousness, in short, helps us understand and evaluate the nuances Black music from a Black Cultural Nationalist (Garveyite Pan-Afrikanist) perspective.
Beenie gives us the more effective conceptual understanding of Dancehall and Reggae than Buju. More specifically, I explain how Buju falls victim to the dichotomization of eurasian philosophy, while Beenie Man's explanation aligns with a holistic perspective. As such, Beenie man provides a tangible example of how we can think about consciousness in music in a holistic way.
Buju Banton 
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Buju says Dancehall is “more sexualized” and “slangly”, while Reggae was given to us by “our ancestors” and is “god’s gift” to the Black people of Jamieka (Jamaica) – Dat no mek no sens! A brief observation of the lyricism and choreography of Dancehall shows that it is clearly Kmtyw music ‘n’ dance. However, Buju is a victim of the western eurasian miseducation system and abrahamic religious indoctrination, like many of us (including myself). Consequently, his familiarity with the music of “our ancestors” is limited. The christianism within Rastafarian perspective on sex is embodied in the “slackness” characterization of dancehall, hence Buju’s “more sexualized” descriptor. This slackness fallacy reflects the general eurasianism/bakra foolishness ina Jamieka that posits bakra/brutish culture as “refined” and Kmtyw/Jamiekan kolcha as vulgar. As a corrective, I describe these songs lova man/gyal chuun and, for the dance focused equivalents, wain-op chuun.
Moreover, he describes the language in Dancehall as ‘slangly’ which reflects the cultural schizophrenia of Jamiekan language politics. Many Jamaicans, due to bakra conceptual indoctrination, see our language as a ‘broken’ or less intelligent version of english. Historically speaking, english has been the predominant language of Reggae, while the Jamiekan language predominates Dancehall. The Language use and expression has led to major aesthetic differences between Reggae and Dancehall.
The language problem is likely tied to the christinsanity problem. The discourse surrounding the Jamaican Creole Bible Translation Project (JCBTP) done by the Bible Society of the West Indies shows how the christinsanity clashes with Jamiekan expression. The Jamiekan critics of the project argued that the “holy word” could not be translated in Jamiekan. The Gleaner, a national newspaper, did a comedic translation of the immaculate conception myth – “Holy Spirit briid Mieri” – to further criticize the project. The focus groups consulted in the JCBTP acknowledged that briid ‘breed’ would be the most natural translation, but they found it inappropriate for the holiness of the bible, so they opted for prignant ‘pregnant’ instead [1]. Evidently, the critics of the JCBTP were right – for the wrong reasons. The translation fails not because of our language, it fails because immaculate conception is rooted in eurasian fundamental alienation – it no mek no sens.
This notion of ‘inappropriateness’ of Jamiekan expression, like the slackness fallacy, is christinsanity talk. Due to the spiritual/mundane dichotomy in christinsanity, sex is considered profane and sinful. The slackness fallacy is strikingly (and unsurprisingly) similar to how early R&B and its accompanying dances were seen as “devil’s music” by the black church or, a more modern example, the twerking complaints in the united states. Likewise, wain ‘whine/wine’, hip gyration dance of Kyaribian Kmt (Caribbean Afrika), and the sexual themes in Dancehall are seen as slackness. So, it is no surprise that Buju would frame dancehall as “more sexualized” as it is a common (if not typical) christinsanity perspective. Due to this compromise of christinsanity, Rasta often speak about “Afrika” (Kmt), but they do not consistently speak from Afrika (Kmt).
Fundamental interrelation is the basis of the Kmtyw worldview and, as such, it is in tune with reality [2]. We value gender complementarity and procreation – wi lov liviti. The Kmtyw worldview informs the directness of Jamiekan expression and its rich metaphors and analogies. Unfortunately, the bakra indoctrination causes linguistic schizophrenia, such as Buju, or pathologization of Jamiekan Language.
It is possible the christianisms in Rastafarianism influences Reggae’s language politics. Reggae does not consistently embrace Jamiekan expression as effectively as Dancehall. For example, Dancehall can (and is) sexually explicit, while Reggae can only address sex through subtlety. This subtlety is seen as more ‘sophisticated’ (as opposed to just simply a different mode of expression) based on the slackness fallacy. This privileging of subtlety is a direct reflection of the ideological christinsanity in Reggae. Buju’s commentary is an example of Reggae’s focus on Kmt (which is important), but the ideological christianism of Rastafarianism limits Reggae’s ability to consistently speak from Kmt.
Over the years, more Reggae artists sing through the language & its aesthetic expression. For current examples, see young artists like KaBaKa Pyramid and Yeza. Yeza stands out the most because of her aesthetic and political consciousness, observe her songs ‘God African’ (2022) and ‘Organic’ (2023) – shi no iizi. Brief example, Organic is an upliftment of the Black women body and criticism of bbl foolishness and bad diet. It is, however, typical Jamiekan expression – not English. The key here is that Yeza is not hindered by the christinsanity conservatism. Overall, Yeza gives social and political commentary on a Reggae riddim with Dancehall-esque lyricism & choreography.
Beenie Man
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Beenie Man gives us two layers of distinction – ridim and content. The ridim distinction is straight forward and requires no further elaboration. Most relevant in this discussion is the content distinction. Beenie Man distinguishes Reggae as social commentary, while Dancehall is 'how the people live' – A DAT MI SE! Reggae artists have been important in social and political consciousness raising, particularly their promotion of Black World Unity, Kmtyw women loving their hair, and musical veneration of Papa Gyaavi (Nana Marcus Mosiah Garvey). That said, the socio-political focus of Reggae makes its content different from Dancehall – not superior. Rather, it makes more sense to compare socio-political dancehall songs to equivalents in reggae head-to-head.
Even within a social and political messaging context, Reggae has a serious ‘one love’ syndrome (listen to Abibitumi SSS #73). For example, chronixxx is known for the ‘Pro-Blackness’ in his music, yet he supports the invasive presence of bakra artists in reggae. In fact, it is not uncommon to see “conscious” reggae artists do duets with farrin people “foreign (as in non-black)”. For example, Buju and Sizzla – who are supposed to represent “consciousness” in social and political sense – both of them did music with arab dj khaled.
Another example, bedroom colonialism is not critiqued in Reggae, likely due to the bob marley syndrome. Beenie Man’s song ‘Africans’ (1996) has an explicit criticism of bedroom colonialism and promotes repatriation which correlates to his promotion of Kmtyw cultural unity in his music and interviews [3]. The only other Reggae song criticizing bedroom colonialism is a relatively recent song ‘Black ‘N’ Proud’ (2021) by Black Queen (a.k.a Maroon Queen). Her song stands out because she addresses the problem of bedroom colonialism amongst di Rasta man dem. Thus, Reggae’s political commentary does not relieve it from farrin interference any more or less than the Dancehall artists.
Dancehall covers a broad range of topics and themes. Beenie is apt when he gives wain-op chuun as an example of the everyday focus of Dancehall, rather than dismissing it as ‘more sexualized’ as Buju does. Lova man/gyal chuun must also be understood within this context as well. Some notable exemplars in this category are Aidonia, Beenie Man, Charly Black, Dexta Daps, Jada Kingdom, Lady Saw, Shabba Ranks, Spice, and vybz kartel. The celebration of Black women’s fertility and procreation, pum-pum bring laif, afi briid, tik badi gyal an ting, are the constant themes in these songs. These themes and the directness of Jamaican sex terminology make lova man/gyal chuun, on an organic level, more aligned with Kmtyw worldview than abstractness of Reggae love songs.
Classical Kmt illuminates the general Kmtyw context of Lova man/gyal chuun ina Dancehall, especially the tik badi gyal aesthetic. Nana Ptḥ-Ḥtp Ptah-Hotep, whose SbꜢyt Sebayit “Wisdom Literature” is the oldest known book known (ca. 25th century BCE), describes the ideal woman as ḥmt m špnt which translates to ‘gyal/uman wid tik badi’, “tik badi gyal/uman”, or “tikaz” [4]. A Classical Kmtyw Love song from rk n Rꜥ-msu " di Ra-Masu man dem era" (ca. 13th century to 10th century BCE), a man describes his complement as bdš pḥt mrwtyt st ḥry-ib “ar bati big an ar wies likl” (she got a big booty and a slim waist) [5]. This tik badi gyal/uman aesthetic is also shown in the visual art of Classical Kmt and to the rest of Kmt across space and time – A so wi stie. Without the historical context of Kmt and having Kmtyw cultural perspective, we miss the aesthetic consciousness of Dancehall.
Also, socio-political commentary is not uncommon in Dancehall, even from artists who are not “conscious” in their music, such as Masicka, Popcaan, Spice, or vybz kartel. From her most recent album, Spice’s song ‘Mirror’ (2024) celebrates the Beauty of Black women and critiques the bakra ugliness (e.k.a eurocentric anti-black beauty standards) in Jamieka, take the line: “Priti daak skin, mi lov mi melanin” which is one of several reaffirmations throughout the song. Compare Kabaka Pyramid’s “Natural Woman” (2018) which is the same focus and is primarily in our language. He comments “It’s so funny fi see Black people bleach and the white people dem pahn di beach a tan-out” – great point. However, he also says “You are a natural beauty, coulda white, kuda blaka dan a tar” – big problem. The part kuda wait “even if white” somewhat undermines the affirmation of Blackness in the rest of the song. Spice, in contrast, makes no such slips in her song. Kabaka’s slip speaks to the one love syndrome that infects Reggae. Spice is not socially or politically conscious in the level that Kabaka is, but it is telling the ‘conscious’ reggae artist has schupid rhetorical slip. This is why, as noted earlier, it is best to compare socio-political message music ina Dancehall to that in Reggae for proper assessment.
Also, socio-political messaging is sometimes present in lova man/gyal chuun or wain-op chuun. In spite of his well-documented cultural schizophrenia, vybz kartel is has clear examples of this dynamic. His songs “Come Breed Me” (2010) and “Don’t Move” (2011) emphasize the importance of procreation and also critiques abortion. Another example, “Dumpa Truck” (2012) is a praise song for di big bati gyal dem, but he also says in passing:
Lo di gyal dem, no skaan Blaak uman
Go skaan lo-laif man, skaan maama man
“Take it easy on the women, don’t disrespect Black women,
Deal with the low-life and effeminate men who give them problems”
which gives a gender complementary social context to the song. Again, he is not a politically conscious artist by any stretch of the imagination, but there is a clear alignment with Kmtyw mindset in the song. It is significant that this messaging can occur in di lova man/gyal chuun dem. The socio-political commentary in lova man/gyal chuun shows how Dancehall is, in some ways, more holistic and/or dynamic than Reggae. Dancehall is full of dynamic socio-political messaging that reinforces Kmtyw Culture and/or, at least, aligns with critical values.
Also, when Jamiekan Dancehall artists link-up with Continental artists who do Dancehall and/or Afrobeats they show and promote Black World Unity on an aesthetic level. In his feature on Tito Da Fire “Beauty from Africa” (2024), he has a line – gyal di wie yu badi tan, mi nuo yu afi bi a Afrikan “Girl, wid a body like that – You must be Afrikan!” Another example, in Spice & Stonebwoy’s “Jiggle & Whine” (2024), Stonebwoy raps a chorus line in Twi – A Spice tel im fi dwiit! This is the first Dancehall song to have both Jamiekan & Twi ina it. Big-op Spice! Also, when she does videos with continental artists, she is in Black hairstyles and does not wear false hair (eurasian furstyles) like in Jiggle & Whine. This wain-op chuun that reaffirms and advances a Black World Unity through music and language. These collaborations with Continental Dancehall and Afrobeats reaffirms and promotes a Black World aesthetic and, by their very nature, exemplifies an intuitive understanding of Kmtyw cultural unity. In short, we see Kmtyw consciousness in various ways in Dancehall.
That said, the presence of eurasian dumb thought, such as materialism and individualism, and the false hair pahn di uman dem, is a problem. This problem, however, is reflective of the bakra system in Jamieka and the Black World in general. The change in our conditions will reflect in the music. Put another way, the closer we get to establishing an uncolonizable space(s) and environment, the better our music.
Dancehall reflects the people’s perspective on their everyday realities (albeit including their bakrafication and behaviors) which makes it holistic in scope. Though content may not always be about Kmt (Afrika), the Dancehall speak from Kmt (Afrika) naturally because of the organic context of the genre’s aesthetic. The fact that Beenie Man articulates this holistic perspective, without having the full context of the Kmtyw ourstory, speaks to the Kmtyw intuition and consciousness of Dancehall.
Conclusion
Beenie Man’s perspective aligns with fundamental interrelation, while Buju’s commentary is conceptually incarcerated in fundamental alienation via christinsanity. Let me be clear, Beenie Man is a victim of christisanity, but Dancehall is not ideologically compromised by christinsanity, so it’s not as aesthetically restricted as Reggae. Consequently, Beenie Man’s groundation ina Dancehall blocks the christinsanity interference in this situation which, in turn, gives him the conceptual clarity that Buju lacks. Beenie Man sees the value in both genres as they speak to different aspects of Jamiekan reality and accompanying perspectives on said reality. Overall, Beenie Man’s commentary on Reggae and Dancehall shows us how to think holistically about Black music.
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[1] For further discussion of this JCBTP discourse see: Jones, Byron M. “Appropriateness versus Naturalness in the Jamaican Creole Bible Translation Project”, The Bible Translator 73.1 (2022), 39-52.
[2] For further discussion of Fundamental Interrelation see: Kambon, Ọbádélé Bakari, and Lwanga Songsore. "A Cross-linguistic Study of Body Part Expressions in Classical and Contemporary Afrikan Languages: Akan, Yoruba, Kiswahili and Mdw Ntr." Ghana Journal of Linguistics 10.1 (2021): 150-76.
[3] The term ‘bedroom colonialism’ refers to a black person who is in a sexual and/or marital relationship with a non. For further discussions on the problem of bedroom colonialism, see the following Abibitumi TV videos - Abibitumi SSS 57: Bedroom Colonialism and the Interrelated Mulattofication (Kambon & Adodo 2023), I Never Knew TV Interview – Bedroom Colonialism (Adodo 2024).
[4] The Jamiekan translations are mine. However, for the Medu Netcher and transliteration of this text, see Shemsw Bak, The Instructions of Ptahhotep: the world’s oldest service guide for state officials (Per Ankh, 2019)
[5] The Jamiekan translations are mine. However, for the Medu Netcher and transliteration of this text, see Shemsw Bak, Skhmkht Ea/On Love Sublime: A multilingual translation of an ancient African love poem (Per Ankh, 2018)
