IslandMix - Soca, Reggae, Zouk and Caribbean Entertainment

Caribbean Music and mainstream success


Count backwards from now and lets see how many times we have been represented in the mainstream with a song that made us look like a progressive positive people. MOST times the songs are sexual in Nature and not sexual in a way that you would talk to your parents about but just staright raunchy. To go mainstream it looks like we have to be the over sexed up, partying, pretty dressing jumping around idiots that mainstream (whoever that is) expects of us! Just my views on the direction of Caribbean music and the so called mainstream thing! I know Iwayne has hit the chart and i am sooo happy for the RAS. Everyone blazes fire on the females in that song "one man can't satisfy her" but no one seem to be looking at the men who are satifying her! The Ras mentions burning the sex buyers, somehow that is just a line that most don't hear! So in his song if she dies and it took zed amount of men to satisfy her, which woman is safe considering that these men who satisfied her probably...............(u can fill in the rest)
All of the mainstream songs from the Caribbean were done buy men so guess what image they are sending of our Caribbean wombman!


Fire pon mainstream. Did you find any songs starting fom 2005 going backwards that didn't have sexual topics?

No letting Go by Wayne Wonder closest thing to a love song so far that didn't treat our women as nothings! I was thinking out loud wheni wrote this but i could be dead wrong, what do you think!

Hmmm... will be back to comment on this more 'cuz I kinda feel you

I don't consider No Letting Go to be a "love song" lol

OKay so I read what you wrote again...there are plenty songs that are not quite SEXUAL in connotation that come of the Caribbean, granted much of it isn't newer music.

Most newer dancehall songs that I can think of are along the lines of sex...as Vybez Cartel say 'siddung pon it' and all that other shyt...And in some ways many of those songs are not degrading persay, because as much as the position is some what maligned women like sex just as much as men do, if not even more . but I think of reggae that is not so raunchy/degrading toward women.

I can give you some examples

Arab Attack Riddim

Beenie has a raunchy type song "Wickedest Slam" ...Buju on the other hand has the more affectionate type of song "Only Man"

Buju in his older days has his share of raunchy type songs but de RAS ting calm him down...ALOT Bonafide Love, Love Sponge, all those songs he had with Beres Hammond, Beres Hammond alone

Almost all of the songs on the Love I Can Feel Riddim
Jah Cure's "Longing For" is a love song to the core

Sizzla... "Dry Cry" , "Gimme A Try"

I guess you're right 'cuz all of the people who I am thinking of are Rastas, or can be in some way identified with that kind of belief system...I don't know if I helped or hindered with this thread...

Lemme try soca...

That might actually be even worse ...Jeez

So many inneundos...tongue in cheek phrasing, double entendres ...lord for get it

CaribNov:

You kinda got a point.

But MY question is WHO has gone Mainstream?

Lets see....

I would take it back to the BEGINNING.

So that would be...Mr. Harry Bellafonte'

Who was THE first person in music to go Platinum...ever!!

Look it up for yourself.

And he did it singing Calypso music.

Anyway, the other modern mainstream artist I know is Shaggy.

And MOST of his mainstream songs are quite "good" to women.

To fairly and properly have this argument/discussion I think there FIRST needs to be some sort of list of so-called mainstream artists.

That way we know we're all on the same page.

Feel me?

I feel you...well what are the criteria?

Sean Paul.. de planitmun kid

Figure Rupee is now mainstream.... He has a couple of songs that mainstrem America knows:
1. Jump- no sexual content
2. Enjoy your self in the dance- no sexual content
3. Tempted to touch- has sexual content but it doesn't trash talk women; it appreciates our body...the way we move makes you tempted touch.

I agree.

The good thing about Soca music is that it's not so much disrespect to woman as a SEVERE and HARDCORE love, enjoyment and appreciation of them.

I mean ladies...just look at yourselves...aren't you wonderfully and marvelously made?

I can't complain.

I love women so badly.

I can't help myself.

I don't even care if they don't love me back.

I still love them all.

I'm so sorry, but the Lord made me that way.

I think it's a bit early to start complaining how women are portrayed through mainstream soca or reggae. At least for recent songs that have made the radio. It's not like the artistes all of a sudden starting singing about sex either. If you want to take Lady Saw CD and compare them to her cd's from years ago...she still slack. Sean Paul wasn't singing about anything different than when he started. Move over to soca music, and your selections are even more limited. I'd hardly call Rupee's or KL's songs raunchy. Sure they are sexual in content...but I hardly think mainstream America will be able to relate to Carnival. Compare any of the soca/reggae songs that are played compared to the more popular hip-hop tunes...what makes it any worse?

If the artistes that are played on radio stations all of a sudden went from conscious to slack just to gain attention, then there might be an issue. Elephant Man been around for years...and aside from doing all the blasted dances, he hasn't changed much. If persons such as him are the ones chosen by record companies because of their marketability, who are you really vex at? Can you be specific in which songs you really have issues with? Perhaps I'm just not thinking hard enough as to who/what gives the Caribbean a bad impression.