Dancehall

Many of the ideas about hip-hop we discussed in class can be applied to Dancehall. The genre features even more 'booty' fetishisation than most rap videos I've seen both lyrically and in its visual representations. Dancehall artists often release songs that have a corresponding dance. These dances are then featured in the artists music video through the use of dancers who preform the moves and lyrics related to the dace. Dancehall is all about frenetic dance energy and primarily dances reflect the energy of the music visually. Dancehall competitions serve as a way for audieces to have a dialogue with Dancehall artists as prominent Dancehall artists respond to the latest dance crazes. A good example is of this kind of video is Mr. Vegas – Hot Wuk



that features many Dancehall dancers performing the sexually provocative Hot Wuk dance in which women mimic sex on stage. All of the major Dancehall dances are performed solely by women. Dancehall has been criticised for being misogynistic in the past. However the sexual content of the music comes from all angles through prominent Female Dancehall artists sexually explicit lyrics. and dancers that sexualise themselves on stage. Dancehall music however widens the representation of women from those normally seen in other black-urban genres like hip-hop and R&b videos to include bigger women and more emphasise on natural looking bodies.