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USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67)

USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) (formerly CVA-67), the only ship of her class, is an aircraft carrier, formerly of the United States Navy. Considered a supercarrier, she is a variant of the Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carrier, and the last conventionally-powered carrier built for the Navy, as all carriers since have had nuclear propulsion. Commissioned in 1968, the ship was named after John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States. John F. Kennedy was originally designated a CVA, for fixed-wing attack carrier, however the designation was changed to CV, for fleet carrier.

After nearly 40 years of service, John F. Kennedy was decommissioned on 1 August 2007. She is berthed at the NAVSEA Inactive Ships On-site Maintenance facility in Philadelphia, formerly the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, and, until late 2017, was available for donation as a museum and memorial to a qualified organization. In late 2017, the Navy revoked her "donation hold" status and designated her for dismantling.

She has been succeeded by the Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier Pre-Commissioning Unit USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), laid down in July 2015, launched in October 2019, and scheduled to enter service in 2025.

Design and early years
Designed under Ship Characteristics Board project SCB-127C, the ship's keel was laid on inclined Shipway 8 by Newport News Shipbuilding on 22 October 1964. By 1965, the larger semi-submerged Shipway 11 became available, where final construction was completed. The ship was christened 27 May 1967 by Jacqueline Kennedy and her 9-year-old daughter, Caroline, two days short of what would have been President Kennedy's 50th birthday. The ship entered service 7 September 1968.

John F. Kennedy is a modified version of the earlier Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carriers. Originally scheduled to be the fourth Kitty Hawk-class carrier, the ship received so many modifications during construction she formed her own class. The ship was originally ordered as a nuclear carrier, using the A3W reactor, but converted to conventional propulsion after construction had begun. The island is somewhat different from that of the Kitty Hawk class, with angled funnels to direct smoke and gases away from the flight deck. John F. Kennedy is also 17 ft shorter than the Kitty Hawk class.

After an ORI (operational readiness inspection) conducted by Commander, Carrier Division Two, John F. Kennedy left for the Mediterranean in April 1969. The ship reached Rota, Spain on the morning of 22 April 1969 and relieved USS Forrestal (CVA-59). Rear Admiral Pierre N. Charbonnet, Commander, Carrier Striking Forces, Sixth Fleet, and Commander, Carrier Striking Unit 60.1.9, shifted his flag to John F. Kennedy. The turnover complete by nightfall, the carrier, escorted by destroyers, transited the Strait of Gibraltar at the start of the mid watch on 22 April. The next day, John F. Kennedy refueled from USS Marias (AO-57), and acquired the company of a Soviet Kotlin-class destroyer (Pennant No. 383).

1970s
John F. Kennedy's maiden voyage, and several of her subsequent voyages, were on deployments to the Mediterranean during much of the 1970s to help deal with the steadily deteriorating situation in the Middle East. During the 1970s John F. Kennedy was upgraded to handle the F-14 Tomcat and the S-3 Viking.

John F. Kennedy was involved in the Navy response to the Yom Kippur War in the Middle East in October 1973, with her actions and the larger U.S. Navy picture being described in Elmo Zumwalt's book On Watch.

In 1974, she won the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award for the Atlantic Fleet.

On 20 June 1975 John F. Kennedy was the target of possible arson, suffering eight fires, with no injuries, while at port in Norfolk, Virginia.

On 22 November 1975, John F. Kennedy collided with the cruiser USS Belknap (CG-26), severely damaging the smaller ship. As a result of the collision with John F. Kennedy's overhanging deck, JP-5 fuel lines were ruptured spraying fuel over an adjacent catwalk, and fires ensued aboard both ships. Belknap's superstructure was gutted almost to the main deck, and seven of her crew killed. Aboard John F. Kennedy, smoke inhalation claimed the life of Yeoman 2nd Class David A. Chivalette of VF-14, CVW-1. On 14 September 1976, while conducting a nighttime underway replenishment 100 mi north of Scotland, the destroyer USS Bordelon (DD-881) lost control and collided with John F. Kennedy, resulting in such severe damage to the destroyer that she was removed from service in 1977. Earlier the same day, one F-14 Tomcat, following a problem with the catapult, fell off of the flight deck of John F. Kennedy, with AIM-54 Phoenix missiles in international waters, off the coast Scotland. Both crew members ejected and landed on the deck, injured but alive. A naval race (surface and submarine) followed between the Soviet Navy and U.S. Navy to get back not only the plane (because of its weapon system), but also its missiles. After a prolonged search, the U.S. Navy retrieved the aircraft and its missiles.

In 1979 John F. Kennedy underwent her first year-long overhaul, which was completed in 1980. While the carrier was at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Virginia for the overhaul, arson attacks were carried out on the ship on two occasions. On 9 April 1979, she experienced five fires which killed one shipyard worker and injured 34 others, and on 5 June 1979 the carrier was the target of two more fires; no one was injured in the latter incident. In 1979 she won her second Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award.

1980s
On 4 August 1980, John F. Kennedy left Norfolk, Virginia and voyaged to the Mediterranean Sea.

On 4 January 1982, John F. Kennedy, with Carrier Air Wing Three (AC), sailed as the flagship for Carrier Group Four (CCG-4) from Norfolk, Va. on her ninth deployment, and her first visit to the Indian Ocean after port visits to St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Malaga, Spain, and transiting the Suez Canal. In her time in the Indian Ocean John F. Kennedy conducted her only port visit to Perth/Fremantle, Western Australia, anchoring in Gage Roads on 19 March 1982 for a R&R visit, departing on 25 March back to the Indian Ocean. During this time John F. Kennedy played host to the first visit of the Somali head of state. Her cruise ended with port visits to Mombasa, Kenya and Toulon, France, and another visit to Malaga, Spain before returning home on 14 July 1982.

In October 1983 John F. Kennedy was diverted to Beirut, Lebanon from her planned Indian Ocean deployment, after the Beirut barracks bombing killed 241 U.S. military personnel taking part in the Multinational Force in Lebanon, and spent the rest of that year and early 1984 patrolling the region. On 4 December 1983 ten A-6 aircraft from John F. Kennedy along with A-6 and A-7 aircraft from USS Independence (CV-62) took part in a bombing raid over Beirut, in response to two U.S. F-14 aircraft being fired upon the previous day. The Navy lost two aircraft during the raid: an A-7E from Independence and an A-6E from John F. Kennedy were shot down by SAMs. The A-7E pilot was picked up by a fishing boat, but the A-6E pilot Lt. Mark Lange died after ejecting and the B/N Lt. Robert "Bobby" Goodman was taken prisoner and released on 3 January 1984.

In 1984 the ship was drydocked at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for a one-and-a-half-year complex overhaul and upgrades.

In 1985 John F. Kennedy received the initial awarding of the Department of Defense Phoenix Award for Maintenance Excellence for having the best maintenance department in the entire Department of Defense. Setting sail in July 1986, John F. Kennedy participated in the International Naval Review to help mark the Re-dedication of the Statue of Liberty. John F. Kennedy served as the flagship for the armada before departing on her eleventh overseas deployment to the Mediterranean in August –highlighted by multiple Freedom of Navigation exercises in the Gulf of Sidra, and operations off of the coast of Lebanon as a response to increasing terrorist activities and U.S. citizens being taken hostage in Beirut. The ship returned to Norfolk, Virginia in March 1987 and was dry-docked a second time for fifteen months for critical upgrades and major repairs.

In August 1988 John F. Kennedy departed on her twelfth overseas deployment. During this deployment, a pair of MiG-23 Flogger fighter aircraft from Libya approached the carrier task force, which was 130 km off the shore of Libya near the declared Libyan territorial waters of the Gulf of Sidra. John F. Kennedy launched two F-14 Tomcats from VF-32 "Fighting Swordsmen" to intercept the incoming MiGs. The U.S. planes were sent to escort the MiGs away from the task force. During the course of the intercept, the MiGs were determined to be hostile and were both shot down.

1990s
John F. Kennedy returned to the U.S. in time to participate in Fleet Week in New York and Independence Day celebrations in Boston, Massachusetts before receiving an "All-hands" recall on 10 August 1990, for Operation Desert Shield. The ship was empty of fuel, and ordnance and equipment as she was ready to join the yards for some SRA maintenance. Once the Warning order was issued, the ship went into 24-hour supplies replenishment procedures. She took on all the supplies and equipment she had just been offloading. She took on additional fuel and ordnance while crossing the Atlantic Ocean. She departed the United States combat ready faster than any ship had accomplished since the Vietnam War. She departed on 15 August 1990, and became the flagship for the commander of the Red Sea Battle Force. At midnight on 17 January 1991 John F. Kennedy's Carrier Air Wing 3 commenced the first strike operations against Iraqi forces as part of Operation Desert Storm. Between the commencement of the operation and the cease-fire, John F. Kennedy launched 114 airstrikes and nearly 2,900 sorties against Iraq, which delivered over 3.5 million pounds of ordnance. On 27 February 1991 President George H. W. Bush declared a cease-fire in Iraq, and ordered all U.S. forces to stand down. John F. Kennedy was relieved, and began the long journey home by transiting the Suez Canal. She arrived in Norfolk on 28 March 1991.

While at Norfolk the ship was placed on a four-month selective restricted-availability period as shipyard workers carried out maintenance. Extensive repairs to the flight deck, maintenance and engineering systems were made. Additionally, the ship was refitted to handle the new F/A-18C/D Hornet. With the upgrades completed, John F. Kennedy departed on her 14th deployment to the Mediterranean, assisting several task forces with workup exercises in anticipation of intervention in Yugoslavia. When John F. Kennedy returned she was sent to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, where she underwent a two-year extensive overhaul. Upon completion of the overhaul the ship was transferred to the Mayport Naval Station near Jacksonville, Florida, which remained the ship's home port.

On 1 October 1995, John F. Kennedy was designated to be an operational reserve carrier and Naval Reserve Force ship with a combined full-time active duty and part-time Naval Reserve crew complement, assigned to the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. John F. Kennedy would be available to deploy with either an active or reserve carrier air wing when mobilized in support of urgent operational requirements. In this capacity, John F. Kennedy's new primary function would be to provide a surge capability, and in peacetime, to support training requirements. She would participate in routine fleet exercises, aviator carrier qualifications, and battle group training. The impetus for this initiative was post-Cold War defense spending in the mid-1990s, however, the Naval Reserve was never adequately funded to accomplish major maintenance actions for John F. Kennedy, further exacerbated by additional defense cutbacks that eliminated Carrier Air Wing Reserve 30 and the downgrading of Carrier Air Wing Reserve 20 to a non-deployable Tactical Support Wing and the return of many of the Reserve's front-line combat aircraft to the active duty force. Following the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States, the Operational Reserve Carrier concept was discontinued and John F. Kennedy was returned to the active duty fleet and placed back in the same maintenance rotation as active duty carriers.

John F. Kennedy made a high-profile visit to Dublin, Ireland during an Atlantic deployment in 1996. Here, more than 10,000 people were invited to tour the ship at anchor in Dublin Bay. The visit was also intended to honor two personalities who had made a great impact on history: John F. Kennedy, for whom the ship was named, and Commodore John Barry, a native of County Wexford, Ireland who played an instrumental role in the early years of the United States Navy. Officers and crew from John F. Kennedy joined local military and civilian organizations in celebrating Barry's achievements at his statue in Crescent Quay, Wexford, and three F-14 Tomcat fighters flew at low level over the town. Jean Kennedy Smith, sister of John F. Kennedy, was the U.S. ambassador to Ireland at the time, and was among those who welcomed the ship to Ireland.

During her visit to Ireland, high winds in Dublin Bay caused the boarding pontoon to tear a large hole in John F. Kennedy's hull.

John F. Kennedy's 15th Mediterranean deployment included two transits of the Suez Canal, and four months deployed in the Persian Gulf. One night in the Gulf two Iranian F-14's were flying low altitude at high speed heading toward the ship. The AEGIS cruiser USS Vicksburg (CG-69) acquired the jets on radar and warned them to turn away, which they did. She returned in time to participate in Fleet Week '98 in New York City.

Shortly before John F. Kennedy's 16th deployment, she became involved in a rescue mission when the tug Gulf Majesty foundered during Hurricane Floyd in mid-September 1999. The ship successfully rescued the crew of the vessel, then headed toward the Middle East, where she became the first U.S. aircraft carrier to make a port call in Al Aqabah, Jordan, in the process playing host to the King of Jordan, before taking up station in support of Operation Southern Watch.

John F. Kennedy was the only conventionally powered U.S. carrier underway at the end of 1999, arriving back at Mayport on 19 March 2000. After a brief period of maintenance (Advanced combat direction system was installed), the carrier sailed north to participate in 4 July International Naval Review, then headed to Boston for Sail Boston 2000. The City of Boston arranged this independent event to take advantage of the transit of Tall sailing ships participating in Operation Sail 2000 as they passed by from New London, Connecticut en route to their final port-of-call in Portland, Maine.

2000s
During John F. Kennedy's last round of refits the ship became a testbed for an experimental system for the Cooperative Engagement Capability, a system that allowed John F. Kennedy to engage targets beyond original range.

In 2001, during a pre-deployment trial, John F. Kennedy was found to be severely deficient in some respects, especially those relating to air group operations; most problematic, two aircraft catapults and three aircraft elevators, which are used to lift aircraft from the hangar deck to and from the flight deck, were non-functional during inspection, and two boilers would not light. As a result, her captain and two department heads were relieved for cause.

As the 11 September attacks of 2001 unfolded, John F. Kennedy and her battle group were ordered to support Operation Noble Eagle, establishing air security along the mid-Atlantic seaboard, including Washington, D.C. John F. Kennedy was released from Noble Eagle on 14 September 2001.

During the first six months of 2002, John F. Kennedy aircraft dropped 31,000 tons of ordnance on Taliban and al Qaeda targets in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

In August 2002, John F. Kennedy visited the city of Tarragona in Spain.

In July 2004 John F. Kennedy collided with a dhow in the Persian Gulf, leaving no survivors on the traditional Arab sailing boat. After the incident the Navy relieved the commanding officer of John F. Kennedy. The carrier herself was unscathed, but two jet fighters on the deck were damaged when an F-14B Tomcat assigned to VF-103 slid into an F/A-18C Hornet assigned to VFA-81 damaging the wing of the F-14 as well as the upper section of the radome and forward windscreen of the F/A-18 as the ship made a hard turn to avoid the tiny vessel. A popular misconception is that John F. Kennedy's captain waited to make the turn at the last possible moment to recover aircraft critically low on fuel returning from airstrikes. The official review board determined this was not the case and the aircraft could have remained safely aloft until John F. Kennedy maneuvered to avoid the dhow.

John F. Kennedy was the most costly carrier in the fleet to maintain and was due for an expensive overhaul; budget cutbacks and changing naval tactics prompted the U.S. Navy to decide to retire her. On 1 April 2005 the Navy formally announced that the carrier's scheduled 15-month overhaul had been cancelled.

Before decommissioning she made a number of port calls to allow the public to "say farewell" to her, including a stop at her "homeport" Boston Harbor. John F. Kennedy also took part in the 2005 New York City Fleet Week festivities at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum. She was decommissioned in Mayport, Florida on 23 March 2007.

The ship's unique in-port cabin, which was decorated by Jacqueline Kennedy with wood paneling, oil paintings, and rare artifacts, was disassembled, to be rebuilt at the National Museum of Naval Aviation at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.

Ex-John F. Kennedy was towed to Norfolk, Virginia on 26 July 2007. She remained in Norfolk until a shoaled area near Pier 4 in Philadelphia could be dredged to enable the ship to safely dock. On 17 March 2008 at about 1700, she was seen leaving Norfolk Naval Station under tow of the tug Atlantic Salvor. On 22 March 2008 ex-John F. Kennedy arrived, with the afternoon high tide, at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia.

Retirement
In November 2009, the Navy placed John F. Kennedy on donation hold for use as a museum and memorial. A report in the Boston Herald newspaper on 26 November 2009 mentioned the possibility of bringing John F. Kennedy to the Boston, Massachusetts area, as a museum or memorial at no cost to the city, if desired.

In August 2010, two groups successfully passed into Phase II of the U.S. Navy Ship Donation Program: On 4 January 2010, Portland, Maine City Council unanimously endorsed the efforts of the USS John F. Kennedy Museum while Gov. John Baldacci also offered his support. One year later on 19 January 2011 the Portland, Maine City Council voted 9–0 to not continue with the project to bring the ship to Maine.
 * Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame, Providence, Rhode Island
 * USS John F. Kennedy Museum, Portland, Maine

Plans as of September 2014 had the Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame working to secure Pier 2 of the Naval Station Newport. These developments come after the former USS Saratoga (CV-60) was sold for scrapping earlier after years of being moored in Newport.

With the advent of the nuclear carrier, USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) and John F. Kennedy were the last two candidate carriers to become museum ships as they have conventional propulsion. Nuclear carriers, such as USS Enterprise (CV-65) and the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, require extensive deconstruction to remove their nuclear reactors during decommissioning, leaving them in an unsuitable condition for donation. In October 2017, it was announced that Kitty Hawk would be disposed of by scrapping, leaving John F. Kennedy the last available carrier capable of conversion to a museum.

In late 2017, the Navy revoked John F. Kennedy's "donation hold" status and designated her for dismantling. There are still several groups, from Florida, Maine and Rhode Island, with the assistance of the USS John F. Kennedy Veteran's Association, hoping to persuade the Navy to reinstate the "donation hold" status, while they pursue the goal of obtaining her as a museum.

On 6 October 2021, John F. Kennedy and Kitty Hawk were sold for one cent each to International Shipbreaking Limited.

In popular culture
The TV series Supercarrier was partially filmed on board the ship between September and November 1987, while the ship was undergoing a period of upkeep.

title: USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67)


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Power metal

Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within a symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contrast with the heaviness and dissonance prevalent in, for example, extreme metal. Power metal bands usually have anthemic songs with fantasy-based subject matter and strong choruses, thus creating a theatrical, dramatic and emotionally "powerful" sound.

The term was first used in the mid-1980s and refers to two different but related styles:
 * the first largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal;
 * a later, more widespread and popular style based in Europe with a lighter, more melodic sound and frequent use of keyboards.

Origins

Anthropologist Sam Dunn traced the origins of power metal back to the late 1970s, when the groundwork for power metal lyrical style was laid down by Ronnie James Dio. The fantasy-oriented lyrics he wrote for Rainbow, concentrated around medieval, renaissance, folk, and science fiction themes, directly influenced modern power metal bands. According to Dunn, the songs "Stargazer" and "A Light in the Black" from the 1976 album Rising, as well as "Kill the King" and "Lady of the Lake" from the 1978 album Long Live Rock 'n' Roll, might be among the earliest examples of power metal. In his 2011 documentary series Metal Evolution, Dunn further explained how Rob Halford of Judas Priest created a blueprint for power metal vocal delivery. His almost constant high-pitched singing became one of the main characteristics of power metal. The twin-guitar sound promoted by Judas Priest's duo of K. K. Downing and Glenn Tipton also highly influenced this subgenre.

Another British band, Iron Maiden, brought epic and melodic sensibility to metal, creating anthemic, singalong music, an approach widely embraced by modern power metal musicians. The emergence of the early German power metal scene in particular was made possible by Scorpions and Accept. Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen made a significant impact on many future power metal guitarists, with his accurate and fast neo-classical style. His bandmate Jens Johansson modernized the keyboard sound of Deep Purple's Jon Lord, which was further incorporated into the genre. Manowar's mythological sword and sorcery lyrics influenced a number of power metal bands.

Throughout the early 1980s especially in the years 1982 and 1983, a US power metal style first emerged from traditional heavy metal, the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM), and thrash/speed metal influences. The exact first origin is often contested, but bands such as Cirith Ungol, Jag Panzer, Manilla Road, Omen, Riot, Savatage, and Warlord are thought to have influenced the earliest development of the style.

More concretely, in 1987 German band Helloween released their second album, Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part I, cited by AllMusic as "a landmark recording that remains arguably the single most influential power metal album to date. Its volatile combination of power and melody would inspire an entire generation of metal bands". This release influenced a European power metal style to evolve, which proliferated throughout the globe and since the start of the 1990s is still the most commonly heard style of power metal.

Musical characteristics
Power metal is today associated with fast tempo and melodic harmonies, the sound tempered by characteristics of speed metal, power metal's musical forerunner.

Vocals
Power metal is highly focused on the vocalist, with "clean" vocals being much more prevalent than the growling vocals often associated with extreme metal. Inspired by Ronnie James Dio, Bruce Dickinson, Rob Halford, Geoff Tate, and other rock and heavy metal vocalists, power metal vocals are often in a high register, and the singer's vocal range is usually wide. The majority of the genre's vocalists sing in the tenor range and are capable of hitting very high notes, for example Timo Kotipelto of Stratovarius, Tony Kakko of Sonata Arctica, Michael Kiske (Helloween) and Andre Matos (ex-Angra). There are many exceptions who sing in either baritone or bass range. Some vocalists sing in a harsh, thrash metal style, including Chris Boltendahl of Grave Digger, Kai Hansen of Gamma Ray, Peavy Wagner of Rage, and Wintersun's Jari Mäenpää. Many power metal vocalists, most notably Hansi Kürsch of Blind Guardian, record multi-layered vocals reminiscent of Queen, creating a choral effect.

Lyrical themes

Themes that frequently feature throughout other metal subgenres, such as religion and politics, are comparatively rare in power metal - albeit not unheard of. Power metal's lyrical themes often focus on fantasy and mythology, camaraderie and hope, personal struggles and emotions, war and death, or combinations of the aforementioned. For example, Finnish band Sonata Arctica have been known for focusing their lyrics of their songs on fantasy but also have many songs based on reality, love and relationships.

Many power metal bands based their concept albums on fantasy books and national epics; Blind Guardian based Nightfall in Middle-Earth on Tolkien's The Silmarillion, while Kamelot based Epica and The Black Halo on Goethe's Faust. Some bands have even written their own imaginary stories, like Rhapsody of Fire's Emerald Sword Saga and The Dark Secret Saga, Iced Earth's Something Wicked Saga, or Avantasia by Edguy's Tobias Sammet.

Historical themes have also seen usage in the works of bands, most famously Sabaton, whose lyrics extensively focus on historical wars, battles, and individuals that received notable recognition for their wartime accomplishments. Examples include World War I, World War II, Vikings, Samurai, and much more from around the world including the American, Swedish and German militaries. Serenity, an Austrian (symphonic) power metal band, focuses mainly on historical figures and events, including Sir Francis Drake, Marco Polo, Galileo, Beethoven, and Napoleon.

Contrary to traditional power metal music, Powerwolf focuses on Transylvanian werewolf and vampire legends and dark myths. The lyrics of the band are characterized by the treatment of Christianity and ancient Romanian legends. Powerwolf, however, do not consider themselves a religious band, but rather call themselves spiritual.

Instrumentation
Power metal guitarists and bassists generally play rapid streams of notes, but change chords comparatively slowly, with a harmonic tempo of once per measure or slower. Fast and technically demanding guitar solos, however, are almost guaranteed. The slow changing of chords is significant in defining power metal just as the fast rapid chord changes often define traditional thrash metal. Power metal often makes use of Major chord progressions as well as circle progressions. Some of the most influential and acclaimed power metal guitarists are Kai Hansen of Gamma Ray, Michael Weikath of Helloween, and Timo Tolkki formerly of Stratovarius. It is a common trait in power metal for the bass guitar to take a back seat, so to speak; often simply providing the chord root notes and being drowned out by the more prevalent rhythm guitars. However, some power metal bands incorporate bass that is more audible with colorful patterns distinct from the rhythm guitars, such as Helloween, Hibria, and Symphony X.

Many power metal drummers play double bass patterns with either two bass drums, or utilize a double bass pedal; using them to play a constant stream of sixteenth notes (semiquavers) with snare drum accents on the beat, a style not restricted to, but most often associated with, power metal. The style was used by drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg of Helloween, setting a blueprint for many other drummers to follow. Others, such as the drummers of Blind Guardian and Iced Earth, use a more thrash metal style of drumming with rapid bursts of double bass that involve three to six beats with the double kick.

Power metal bands often incorporate keyboards into their musical arrangements, something popularized by Jens Johansson of Stratovarius, though their usage varies from subtle accents to a full-blown melody line. Some power metal bands also record with symphonic elements, and as such, they utilize a full orchestra to fill the role usually played by the keyboardist.

American style
The American branch of power metal emerged in early 1980s in the United States, drawing influence primarily from traditional metal and the NWOBHM. Though very close to its roots, US power metal (often abbreviated USPM) is often faster and more energetic than traditional heavy metal, with a more riff-driven approach and a relative lack of keyboard usage compared to its later European counterpart. However, it is often more melodic than thrash metal, with a greater emphasis on guitar leads. USPM is also notable for its widespread (but not universal) use of high-register operatic vocals, a trend which would continue with the rise of European power metal in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This style is not exclusive to North America, as European bands such as Sacred Steel, Majesty, and Australian band Pegazus later adopted a style inspired by USPM bands in the 1990s.

The early releases of progressive metal bands Queensrÿche and Fates Warning, such as The Warning (1984) and The Spectre Within (1985), heavily influenced a number of bands that were to develop a common sound towards the late 1980s. Among the better known representatives of the style, such as Manowar, Vicious Rumors, Virgin Steele, Riot, or Jag Panzer, a small number of bands enriched their sound with progressive and epic elements (the most obvious examples being Crimson Glory, Savatage, Sanctuary and the epic doom metal band Cirith Ungol); or even with thrash metal elements, e.g., Iced Earth. US power metal saw a sharp decline in popularity at the beginning of the 1990s, though the style has rebounded somewhat in the past decade, with bands such as Liege Lord or Heir Apparent reforming for live performances and many, such as Helstar and Omen, still releasing new material.

European style
European power metal originated from speed metal and the NWOBHM, emerging in late 1980s, particularly in Germany, with Helloween, Running Wild, Rage, Grave Digger, and Blind Guardian. The second and third Helloween albums; Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part I (1987) and Part II (1988) are usually considered the first proper European power metal albums. Alongside the early German bands came Finland's Stratovarius in late 1980s. These bands pioneered the genre, but took it in somewhat different directions. Helloween, followed by early Gamma Ray, mixed fast palm muted speed metal riffs with high-pitched clean vocals, and with a strong focus on melody and uplifting, positive themes. Stratovarius further developed this melodic direction by making heavy use of keyboards, with lyrics dealing with emotions and personal issues. Blind Guardian utilized the technique of vocal and guitar overdubbing to create an epic atmosphere, with lyrical content strongly based on fantasy novels, myths and legends. The symphonic and neo-classical elements also found their way through power metal with bands like Rhapsody of Fire (Italy), Serenity (Austria) and Nightwish (Finland). At the same time, bands such as HammerFall simplified their power metal to bring it closer to traditional heavy metal.

Over the late 90s and early 00s, power metal spread over Europe especially as well as the rest of the world, often incorporating new influences. Italy's Elvenking, Sweden's Falconer, Spain's Mägo de Oz, and Denmark's Wuthering Heights integrated elements of folk music with power metal. Angra, Kamelot, and especially Symphony X are known for combining progressive and power metal. Some bands are known for combining power metal with more aggressive musical forms; Children of Bodom were one of the earliest who combined elements of power metal and an early form of melodic death metal.

European-style power metal became widespread in comparison with US style as of the mid 1990s, with numerous North American bands such as Theocracy, Borealis, Forgotten Tales, Avian, Pharaoh, Circle II Circle, and Kamelot demonstrating the style. This European style of power metal is sometimes considered the "second wave" of power metal since its spread was in the late 1980s and especially the mid-late 1990s rather than proliferating throughout the 1980s, and the widespread influence and development of the genre that came in its tow while US "first wave" style markedly declined.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Power metal


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Dub music

Dub is an electronic musical style that grew out of reggae in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is commonly considered a subgenre of reggae, though it has developed to extend beyond that style. Generally, dub consists of remixes of existing recordings created by significantly manipulating the original, usually through the removal of vocal parts, emphasis of the rhythm section (the stripped-down drum-and-bass track is sometimes referred to as a riddim), the application of studio effects such as echo and reverb, and the occasional dubbing of vocal or instrumental snippets from the original version or other works.

Dub was pioneered by recording engineers and producers such as Osbourne "King Tubby" Ruddock, Hopeton "Scientist" Brown, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Errol Thompson and others beginning in the late 1960s. Augustus Pablo, who collaborated with many of these producers, is credited with bringing the distinct-sounding melodica to dub, and is also among the pioneers and creators of the genre. Similar experiments with recordings at the mixing desk outside the dancehall scene were also done by producers Clive Chin and Herman Chin Loy. These producers, especially Ruddock and Perry, looked upon the mixing console as an instrument, manipulating tracks to come up with something new and different. The Roland Space Echo was widely used by dub producers in the 1970s to produce echo and delay effects.

Dub has influenced many genres of music, including rock, most significantly the subgenre of post-punk and other kinds of punk, pop, hip hop, post-disco, and later house, techno, ambient, electronic dance music, and trip hop. Dub was a basis for the genres of jungle and drum and bass, as well as a major influence on dubstep, with its orientation around bass and utilization of audio effects. Traditional dub has survived, and some of the originators such as Mad Professor continue to produce new material.

Name
The use of the word dub in a recording context originated in the late 1920s with the advent of "talking pictures" and referred to adding a soundtrack to a film; it is an informal abbreviation of the word double. Over the next 40 years or so the term found its way into audio recording in general, often in the context of making a copy of a recording on another tape or disc.

It was in this sense that the term was first used in the Jamaican recording industry: new recordings were often initially copied onto one-off acetate discs, known colloquially as soft wax or dub and later as dubplates, for exclusive use by sound system operators; playing a song as an exclusive recording on a sound system was a good way for a producer to test the potential popularity of a recording before committing to the pressing of hundreds or thousands of copies of singles for retail sale. Initially, these acetates would simply be the standard recording of a song that was yet to be released on a single; around 1968-69, however, they started to be exclusive mixes with some or all of the vocal mixed out. Producer Bunny Lee notes:

"'Yeah...it was really VERSION those days - it wasn't dub yet beca' it was jus' the riddim. One day an incident: Ruddy's (sound system operator Ruddy Redwood) was cutting dub, an when it start, Smithy (recording engineer Byron Smith) look like 'im start bring on the voice and Ruddy's say: no, mek it run and 'im take the whole backing track off it. 'Im say, alright, run it again, and put in the voice. 'Im didn't do no more like that yet.'"

After describing how Redwood then had his deejay first play the vocal version and then the instrumental version at a dance, and how popular this novelty was, Lee continued:

"'The next day now, 'im start it and just bring in the riddim. Or...down in the tune, bring a little voice and drop it out again...yes. Ruddy use to handle that part himself, drop in the voice and drop it out. All Smithy do was cut the dub...'"

Jamaican soundsystems had always sought exclusive recordings from their origins in the late 1940s. However, when they played American rhythm & blues records through the 1950s, these were simply records that rival sound system operators didn't have and couldn't identify. This progressed from the late 1950s onwards via having local musicians record a song exclusively for play on a particular sound system to having exclusive mixes of a song on acetate, which became possible with the arrival of multi-track recording in Jamaica. From the concept of a version with some or all of the vocal mixed out dubbed to acetate, the novelty-hungry sound system scene rapidly drove the evolution of increasingly creative mixes in the first few years of the 1970s. Within a few years the term dub became attached to these regardless of whether they were on an exclusive acetate or "dubplate". As the use of the term widened and evolved, Bob Marley and The Wailers used the order "dub this one!" in live concerts to mean, "put an emphasis on bass and drums". Drummer Sly Dunbar similarly points to a usage of the related term dubwise to mean using only drums and bass.

It is possible that the existing use of the word dub for other meanings in Jamaica around the time of the music's origin may have helped to cement its use in the musical context. The most frequent meanings referred to either a form of erotic dance or sexual intercourse; such usage is frequently present in names of reggae songs, for instance, of The Silvertones' "Dub the Pum Pum" (where pum pum is Jamaican slang for female genitalia), Big Joe and Fay's "Dub a Dawta" (dawta is Jamaican patois for daughter). I-Roy's "Sister Maggie Breast" features several references on sex: I man a-dub it on the side Say little sister you can run but you can't hide Slip you got to slide you got to open your crotches wide Peace and love abide

However, all three of these songs were recorded after the use of dub for a style of remixing was already prevalent.

Characteristics
Dub music is characterized by a "version" or "double" of an existing song, often instrumental, initially almost always pressed on the B-sides of 45 RPM records and typically emphasizing the drums and bass for a sound popular in local sound systems. A "version" is an alternative cut of a song made for the DJ to "toast" over (a form of Jamaican rapping), usually with some or all of the original vocal removed. These "versions" were used as the basis of new songs by rerecording them with new elements. The instrumental tracks are typically treated with sound effects such as echo, reverb, with instruments and vocals dropping in and out of the mix. The partial or total removal of vocals and other instruments tends to emphasise the bass guitar. The music sometimes features other noises, such as birds singing, thunder and lightning, water flowing, and producers shouting instructions at the musicians. It can be further augmented by live DJs. The many-layered sounds with varying echoes and volumes are often said to create soundscapes, or sound sculptures, drawing attention to the shape and depth of the space between sounds as well as to the sounds themselves. There is usually a distinctly organic feel to the music, even though the effects are electronically created.

Often these tracks are used for "toasters" rapping heavily rhymed and alliterative lyrics. These are called "DJ Versions". In forms of sound system based reggae, the performer using a microphone is referred to as the "DJ" or "deejay" (where in other genres, this performer might be termed the "MC", meaning "Master of Ceremonies", or alternately, the later developed slang terms: "Microphone Commander" or "Mic Control"), and the person choosing the music and operating the turntables is called the "selector" (sometimes referred to as the DJ in other genres).

A major reason for producing multiple versions was economic; a record producer could use a recording he owned to produce numerous versions from a single studio session. A version was also an opportunity for a producer or remix engineer to experiment and express their more creative side. The version was typically the B-side of a single, and used for experimenting and providing something for DJs to talk over, while the A-side was more often dedicated to the original vocal-oriented track. In the 1970s, LPs of dub tracks began to be produced; these could be, variously: a collection of new dub mixes of riddims previously used on various singles, usually by a single producer; the dub version of an existing vocal LP with dub mixes of all the tracks; or, least commonly, a selection of previously unissued original riddims mixed in a dub style.

History

Dub music and toasting introduced a new era of creativity in reggae music. From their beginning, toasting and dub music developed together and influenced each other. The development of sound system culture influenced the development of studio techniques in Jamaica, and the earliest DJs, including Duke Reid and Prince Buster among others, were toasting over instrumental versions of reggae and developing instrumental reggae music.

"Versions" and experiments with studio mixing (Late 1960s)
In 1968, Kingston, Jamaica sound system operator Rudolph "Ruddy" Redwood went to Duke Reid's Treasure Isle studio to cut a one-off dub plate of The Paragons hit "On The Beach". Engineer Byron Smith left the vocal track out by accident, but Redwood kept the result and played it at his next dance with his deejay Wassy toasting over the rhythm. The instrumental record excited the people at the sound system and they started singing lyrics of the vocal track over the instrumental. The invention was a success, and Ruddy needed to play the instrumental continuously for half an hour to an hour that day. The next day Bunny Lee who was a witness to this, told King Tubby that they needed to make some more instrumental tracks, as "them people love" them, and they dubbed out vocals from "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" by Slim Smith. Because of King Tubby's innovative approach, the resulting instrumental track was more than just a track without a voice – King Tubby interchanged the vocals and the instrumental, playing the vocals first, then playing the riddim, then mixing them together. From this point on, they started to call such tracks "versions". Another source puts 1967 and not 1968 as the initial year of the practice of putting instrumental versions of reggae tracks to the B-side of records.

At Studio One the initial motivation to experiment with instrumental tracks and studio mixing was correcting the riddim until it had a "feel," so a singer, for instance, could comfortably sing over it.

Another reason to experiment with mixing was rivalry among sound systems. Sound systems' sound men wanted the tracks they played at dances to be slightly different each time, so they would order numerous copies of the same record from a studio, each with a different mix.

Evolution of dub as a subgenre (1970s)
By 1973, through the efforts of several independent and competitive innovators, engineers, and producers, instrumental reggae "versions" from various studios had evolved into "dub" as a subgenre of reggae.

The innovative album The Undertaker by Derrick Harriott and the Crystallites, engineered by Errol Thompson and with "Sound Effects" credited to Derrick Harriott, was one of the first strictly instrumental reggae albums on its release in 1970.

In 1973, at least three producers, Lee "Scratch" Perry and the Aquarius studio engineer/producer team of Herman Chin Loy and Errol Thompson simultaneously recognized that there was an active market for this new "dub" sound and consequently they started to release the first albums strictly consisting of dub. In the spring of 1973, Lee "Scratch" Perry released Upsetters 14 Dub Blackboard Jungle, mixed in collaboration with King Tubby and more commonly known as "Blackboard Jungle Dub". It is considered a landmark recording of this genre.

In 1974, Keith Hudson released his classic Pick a Dub, widely considered to have been the first deliberately thematic dub album, with tracks specifically mixed in the dub style for the purpose of appearing together on an LP, and King Tubby released his two debut albums At the Grass Roots of Dub and Surrounded by the Dreads at the National Arena.

Dub history (Early 1980s–present)
Dub has continued to evolve, its popularity waxing and waning with changes in musical fashion. Almost all reggae singles still carry an instrumental version on the B-side and these are still used by the sound systems as a blank canvas for live singers and DJs.

In 1986, the Japanese band Mute Beat would create dub music using live instruments such as trumpets rather than studio equipment, and became a precursor to club music.

In the 1980s, the United Kingdom became a new centre for dub production with Mikey Dread, Mad Professor and Jah Shaka being the most famous. It was also the time when dub made its influence known in the work of harder edged, experimental producers such as Mikey Dread with UB40 and The Clash, Adrian Sherwood and the roster of artists on his On-U Sound label. Many bands characterized as post-punk were heavily influenced by dub. Better-known bands such as The Police, The Clash and UB40 helped popularize Dub, with UB40's Present Arms In Dub album being the first dub album to hit the UK top 40.

Side by side with reggae at this time (early 1980s) running B side dub mixes, a rising number of American (mostly New York state and New Jersey-based) post-disco record producers in collaboration with prominent DJs decided to supply 12 inch singles with alternate dub mixes, predating the era of "remixes". Reflected in the production of records such as The Peech Boys' "Don't Make Me Wait", Toney Lee's "Reach Up", and artists mostly on New York City labels Prelude or West End. In the aforementioned mixes the beat of the record was accentuated, "unnecessary" vocal parts dropped, and other DJ-friendly features making it easy to work with, like picking out key sections to play over other records, heightening the dancefloor effect.

Contemporary instances are also called "dubtronica", "dub-techno", "steppers" or electronic music influenced by dub music.

Influence of dub
Yale professor Michael Veal described dub as "the sound of a society tearing itself apart at the seams". His book, "Starship Africa", says that the African diaspora is reflected in dub by the "extensive use of reverberation/delay devices and the fragmentation of the song surface" – he considers dub's use of reverb a "sonic metaphor for the condition of diaspora." Veal wrote that dub creators used echo and reverb to elicit memories of African culture in their listeners. King Tubby, Lee Perry, Eroll Thompson, Mad Professor, Jah Shaka, Denis Bovell and Linton Kwesi Johnson influenced rock musicians. From the 1980s forward, dub has been influenced by, and has in turn influenced, techno, dubtronica/dub techno, jungle, drum and bass, dubstep, house music, punk and post-punk, trip hop, ambient music, and hip hop, with electronic dub sound. Musicians such as Culture Club, Bill Laswell, Jah Wobble, New Age Steppers, PiL, The Pop Group, The Police, Massive Attack, The Clash, Adrian Sherwood, Killing Joke, Bauhaus and others demonstrate clear dub influences in their respective genres, and their innovations have in turn influenced the mainstream of the dub genre.

In 1987, US grunge rock band Soundgarden released a dub version of the Ohio Players' song "Fopp" alongside a more traditional rock cover of the song. DJs appeared towards the end of the 1990s who specialised in playing music by these musicians, such as the UK's Unity Dub. In the UK, Europe, and America, independent record producers continue to produce dub. Before forming The Mars Volta, Cedric Bixler, Omar Rodriguez and other members, recorded a series of dub albums under the name De Facto since 1999.

Influence of dub on punk and rock music
Since the inception of dub in the late 1960s, its history has been intertwined with that of the punk rock scene in the UK. The Clash worked on collaborations involving Jamaican dub reggae creators like Lee "Scratch" Perry (whose "Police & Thieves", co-written with Junior Murvin, was covered by the Clash on their first album) and Mikey Dread (on the Sandinista! album). As well, the English group Ruts DC, a post-Malcolm Owen incarnation of the legendary reggae influenced punk group The Ruts, released Rhythm Collision Dub Volume 1 (Roir session), with the expertise of the Mad Professor. Many punk rock bands In the U.S. were exposed to dub via the rasta punk band Bad Brains from Washington, D.C., which was established and released their most influential material during the 80s. Blind Idiot God placed dub music alongside their faster and more intense noise rock tracks. Dub was adopted by some punk rock groups of the 90s, with bands such as Rancid and NOFX writing original songs in a dub style. Often, bands considered to be ska punk play dub influenced songs; one of the first such bands to become popular was Sublime, whose albums featured both dub originals and remixes. They went on to influence more recent American bands such as Rx Bandits and The Long Beach Dub Allstars. In addition, dub influenced some types of pop, including bands such as No Doubt. No Doubt's fifth album, Rock Steady, features an assortment of popular dub sounds like reverb and echoing. As noted by the band themselves, No Doubt is heavily influenced by Jamaican musical aesthetics and production techniques, even recording their Rock Steady album in Kingston, Jamaica, and producing B-sides featuring dub influences on their Everything in Time B-sides album. Some controversy still exists on whether pop-ska bands like No Doubt can regard themselves as a part of dub lineage. Other bands followed in the footsteps of No Doubt, fusing pop-ska and dub influences, such as Save Ferris and Vincent.

There are also some British punk bands creating dub music. Capdown released their Civil Disobedients album, featuring the track "Dub No. 1", while Sonic Boom Six and The King Blues take heavy influences from dub, mixing the genre with original punk ethics and attitudes. The post-punk band Public Image Ltd, fronted by John Lydon, formerly of Sex Pistols, often use dub and reggae influenced bass lines in their music, especially in their earlier music through various bassists who were members of the group, such as Jah Wobble and Jonas Hellborg. Their track "Rise", which reached #11 in the UK Chart in 1986 uses a dub/reggae influenced bass line.

The British post-punk band Bauhaus were highly influenced by dub music, so far that Bauhaus' bass player, David J mentioned that their signature song, "Bela Lugosi's Dead", "was our interpretation of dub".

Shoegaze bands such as Ride with their song "King Bullshit" and the intro to "Time Machine" have explored and experimented with dub. Slowdive also penned "Souvlaki Space Station" and their instrumental "Moussaka Chaos" as a testimony of dub influence, while the Kitchens of Distinction released "Anvil Dub".

Steve Hogarth, singer with British rock band Marillion, acknowledged the influence of dub on their 2001 album Anoraknophobia.

Al Cisneros, founder and bassist of Doom Metal outfit OM has gone on record regarding the influence of Reggae and Dub on his bass playing style.

21st-century dub
Traditional dub has survived, and some of the originators of dub such as Lee "Scratch" Perry and Mad Professor have produced music in the 21st century. New artists continue to preserve the traditional dub sound, some with slight modifications but with a primary focus on reproducing the original characteristics of the sound in a live environment. Some of these artists include Dubblestandart from Vienna, Austria (who recorded the album Return from Planet Dub in collaboration with, and performing live with, Lee "Scratch" Perry); Liquid Stranger from Sweden; New York City artists, including Ticklah (also known as Victor Axelrod, Earl Maxton, Calbert Walker, and Douglass & Degraw), Victor Rice, Easy Star All-Stars, and Dub Trio—who have recorded and performed live with Mike Patton and are currently touring as the backing band for Matisyahu); Subatomic Sound System (who have remixed material by Lee "Scratch" Perry and Ari Up); Dub is a Weapon; King Django; Dr. Israel; Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad from Rochester, New York; the Heavyweight Dub Champion from San Francisco and Colorado, Gaudi; Ott from the UK, who has released several influential albums through Twisted Records, Boom One Sound System, and Dubsmith from the Boom One Records label; Future Pigeon from Los Angeles; German artists like Disrupt and Rootah from the Jahtari label; Twilight Circus from the Netherlands; Moonlight Dub Experiment from Costa Rica; and Stand High Patrol from France. More eclectic use of dub techniques are apparent in the work of BudNubac, which mixes Cuban big band with dub techniques. Modern dub producer Ryan Moore has received critical acclaim for his Twilight Circus project. In 2022 was released Sly & Robbie vs. Roots Radics "The Dub Battle" produced by the Argentine artist and dub engineer Hernan "Don Camel" Sforzini, this work is the first to reunite all the legends of dub in one album dubbing the entire "The Final Battle" album, Grammy nominated in 2019. This album includes the last dubs produced by Lee "Scratch" Perry and Bunny "Striker" Lee, also dub versions produced by King Jammy, Mad Professor, Dennis Bovell, Don Camel and two unreleased dub versions of King Tubby.

Afrofuturism and Diaspora
Dub music is in conversation with the cultural aesthetic of Afrofuturism. Having emerged from Jamaica, this genre is regarded as the product of diaspora peoples, whose culture reflects the experience of dislocation, alienation and remembrance. Through the creation of space-filling soundscapes, faded echoes, and repetition within musical tracks, Dub artists are able to tap into such Afrofuturist concepts as the nonlinearity of time and the projection of past sounds into an unknown future space. In a 1982 essay, Luke Ehrlich describes Dub through this particular scope:

"With dub, Jamaican music spaced out completely. If reggae is Africa in the New World, then dub must be Africa on the moon; it's the psychedelic music I expected to hear in the '60s and didn't. The bass and drums conjure up a dark, vast space, a musical portrait of outer space, with sounds suspended like glowing planets or the fragments of instruments careening by, leaving trails like comets and meteors. Dub is a kaleidoscopic musical montage which takes sounds originally intended as interlocking parts of another arrangement and using them as raw material, converts them into new and different sounds; then, in its own rhythm and format, it continually reshuffles these new sounds into unusual juxtapositions."

At the same time, dub music's role in the Black musical canon marks a theme of the diaspora the music was birthed from. Due to the sonic structure of echoes and reverberations, dub can create a dream-like world symbolizing the generational trauma of African diaspora as a result of slavery. This understanding of dub gives it the power to take on the darker emotions related to the diaspora, including violence. In King Tubby's dub mixes, one can hear sonic elements of screeching tires, gun fire, and police sirens. Artist Arthur Jafa said this about dub music and the diaspora in 1994 during a keynote address at the Organization of Black Designers Conference: "those group experiences that reconfigure who we [African Americans] are as a community. One of the critical primal sites would be the Middle Passage. If you understand the level of horror directed towards a group of people, then you start getting some sense of the magnitude, impact, and level of trauma that that had on the African American community, and how it was particularly one of the earliest group experiences that reshaped an 'African psyche' into the beginning of an African American psyche. . . . Now, for example, you look at Black music and see certain structural things that really are about reclaiming this whole sense of absence, loss, not knowing. One of the things I'm thinking about is dub music . . . it ends up really speaking about common experiences because the structure of the music is about things dropping out and coming back in, really reclaiming this whole sense of loss, rupture, and repair that is very common across the experience of black people in the diaspora."

William Gibson frequently mentions dub in the 1984 science fiction novel Neuromancer. "As they worked, Case gradually became aware of the music that pulsed constantly through the cluster. It was called dub, a sensuous mosaic cooked from vast libraries of digitalized pop; it was worship, Molly said, and a sense of community. Case heaved at one of the yellow sheets; the thing was light but still awkward. Zion smelled of cooked vegetables, humanity, and ganja."

"'We monitor many frequencies. We listen always. Came a voice, out of the babel of tongues, speaking to us. It played us a mighty dub.'"

Jamaican Sound System
The most straightforward explanation of the Jamaican sound system would be an individual who deals with a mechanical system consisting of musical amplification and diffusion. This would include turntables, speakers, and a PA system. In this system the deejay is the person who speaks over the record. This is not to be confused with the American term DJ, which refers to the one in charge of selecting the tracks at an event with music. This role is known as the selector in the sound system dub culture, who also plays a vital role in the system, especially in Jamaican dancehalls.

The sound system has had a prevalent spot in music production in Jamaica for well over 60 years. The true importance and relationship between the sound system and dub music can be found in the dubbed out versions of sounds that became the source of Dub music. These dubbed out versions of songs consisted of the original track, without the vocals. Through reggae soundscape and the Jamaican Sound System, dub artists were able to creatively manipulate these dubbed out versions or remixes of songs. These dub remixes were heavily influenced with effects, vocal samples, and were essential to the progression of dub. The remixes, often referred to as versions were the B-sides of a specific record. The dub musician would add in dramatic pauses and breakdowns in the version to make the song have a dub influence and feel. The artists who were using the sound system to create dub tracks would refer to their creation of remixes of certain records versioning. In the setting of a sound system, versions allow for more vocal improvisation and expressions from the deejay. These remixes or versions would not have been possible without the Jamaican sound system and its progression over the years.

At the heart of reggae and Jamaican culture lies the sound system. In the early 1950s the sound system consisted of a turntable, amplifier, and pair of speakers. In the 21st century they have become larger scale productions

At the time Jamaica gained independence from Britain in 1962, the culture was in flux, and the country was experiencing a form of identity crisis. Throughout the 40's and 50's Jamaican audiences had come to favor American R&B records over locally produced music. Jamaican sound system culture and dub music helped cement Jamaican musical forms into Jamaican national cultural identity in this critical time in the nation's development.

title: Dub music


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Dancehall

Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably, with digital dancehall (or "ragga") becoming increasingly characterized by faster rhythms. Key elements of dancehall music include its extensive use of Jamaican Patois rather than Jamaican standard English and a focus on the track instrumentals (or "riddims").

Dancehall saw initial mainstream success in Jamaica in the 1980s, and by the 1990s, it became increasingly popular in Jamaican diaspora communities. In the 2000s, dancehall experienced worldwide mainstream success, and by the 2010s, it began to heavily influence the work of established Western artists and producers, which has helped to further bring the genre into the Western music mainstream.

Lead
Dancehall is named after Jamaican dance halls in which popular Jamaican recordings were played by local sound systems. It both refers to the music and dance style. It faced criticism for negatively influencing Jamaican culture and portraying gangster lifestyles in a praiseworthy way.

Early developments - Early 1970s
Dancehall music, also called ragga or dub, is a style of Jamaican popular music that had its genesis in the political turbulence of the late 1970s and became Jamaica's dominant music in the 1980s and ’90s. It was also originally called Bashment music when Jamaican dancehalls began to gain popularity.

They began in the late 1970s among lower and working-class people from the inner city of Kingston, who were not able to participate in dances uptown. Social and political changes in late-1970s Jamaica, including the change from the socialist government of Michael Manley (People's National Party) to Edward Seaga (Jamaica Labour Party), were reflected in the shift away from the more internationally oriented roots reggae towards a style geared more towards local consumption and in tune with the music that Jamaicans had experienced when sound systems performed live.

Themes of social injustice, repatriation and the Rastafari movement were overtaken by lyrics about dancing, violence and sexuality. Though the revolutionary spirit was present in Jamaica due to this social upheaval, the radio was very conservative and failed to play the people's music. It was this gap that the sound system was able to fill with music that the average Jamaican was more interested in. Alongside this music was the addition of the fashion, art, and dance that came along with it. This made Dancehall both a genre, and a way of life.

In contrast to roots reggae, which aimed for respectability and international recognition, dancehall did not hesitate in dealing with the day-by-day realities and basal interests of the average Jamaican—especially that of lower classes—and observing society in a provocative, gritty, and often vulgar manner. Since this put spreading via radio out of the question, dancehall initially gained popularity only through live performances in sound systems and specialized record dealing.

Dancehall's violent lyrics, which garnered the genre much criticism since its very inception, stem from the political turbulence and gang violence of late 1970s Jamaica.

In the early days of dancehall, the prerecorded rhythm tracks (bass guitar and drums) or "dub" that the deejay would rap or "toast" over came from earlier reggae songs from the 1960s and 1970s. Ragga, specifically, refers to modern dancehall, where a deejay particularly toasts over digital (electrical) rhythms.

Origination from the DJ scene
Sound systems and the development of other musical technology heavily influenced dancehall music. The music needed to "get where the radio didn't reach" because Jamaicans often were outside without radios. Yet they eventually found their way into the streets. However, because the audience of dancehall sessions were lower-class people, it was extremely important that they be able to hear music. Sound systems allowed people to listen to music without having to buy a radio. Therefore, the dancehall culture grew as the use of technology and sound systems got better. The Jamaican dancehall scene was one created out of creativity and a desire for accessibility, and one that is inseparable from sound system culture. The term 'Dancehall', while now typically used in reference to the specific and uniquely Jamaican genre of music, originally referred to a physical location. This location was always an open-air venue from which DJs and later "Toasters", a precursor to MCs, could perform their original mixes and songs for their audience via their sound systems. The openness of the venue paired with the innately mobile nature of the sound system, allowed performers to come to the people. Inner city communities were able to gather for fun and celebration. It was all about experiencing a vibrant and trendsetting movement.

Krista Thompson's book Shine further expresses the experience of this trendsetting movement and how particularly women were able to confront gender ideologies to enact change. The use of video light specifically was a way to express oneself and seek visibility in the social sphere in order to be recognized as citizens in a postcolonial Jamaican society.

At the onset of the dancehall scene, sound systems were the only way that some Jamaican audiences might hear the latest songs from a popular artist. Through time, it transformed to where the purveyors of the sound systems were the artists themselves and they became whom the people came to see along with their own original sounds. With the extreme volume and low bass frequencies of the sound systems local people might very well feel the vibrations of the sounds before they could even hear them, though the sound itself did travel for miles. This visceral sensory pleasure acted as an auditory beacon, redefining musical experience.

Jamaica was one of the first cultures to pioneer the concept of remixing. As a result, production level and sound system quality were critical to Jamaica's budding music industry. Since many locals couldn't afford sound systems in their home, listening to one at a dance party or at a festival was their entry into audible bliss. Stage shows were also an entry for exposing artists to bigger audiences.

Writer Brougtton and Brewster's book Last Night a DJ Saved My Life states that sound systems were a product of Jamaican social lifestyle. The success of music wasn't just in the hands of one person anymore, it was a factor of the DJ, speaking poetic words to the audience, the Selector, harmonizing beats in an aesthetically pleasing way, and the Sound Engineer, wiring the sound systems to handle deeper and louder bass tones. Music became a factor of many elements and the physicality of that sound was a strategic puzzle left for musicians to solve.

1980s–1990s
At this point the Dancehall genre was still growing in global popularity. InnerCity Promotions Led by Mike Tomlinson And Lois Grant played a very significant role in the development of Jamaica's popular "DanceHall" music. Their promotion company through a series of concerts led to the then emerging music from which they labelled, "DanceHall." The team started a series called "Saturday Night Live" at Harbour View Drive-In. US soul group Gladys Knight & the Pips headlined the initial concert and the showcase also featured boxing presentations from Muhammad Ali. InnerCity Promotions was responsible for establishing and promoting numerous events, their first DanceHall concert was staged in 1984. This was significant because it marked the beginnings of the music's recognition as the "DanceHall" genre. Mr. Tomlinson recalls the opposition received from journalist, radio and TV managers at the time, some who refused to run the commercials or play the music to promote the DanceHall series.

The series continued into the early 1990s, the team Mike Tomlinson and Lois Grant played an important role in nurturing and promoting the young talents of the inner city and sound system culture of that era. Through their DanceHall live concerts, many performers found a place to use their voice and make a mark due to the opportunities afforded by InnerCity Promotions. This is from the International Reggae Awards special awarded honors(irawma awards).

Sound systems such as Killimanjaro, Black Scorpio, Silver Hawk, Gemini Disco, Virgo Hi-Fi, Volcano Hi-Power and Aces International soon capitalized on the new sound and introduced a new wave of deejays. The older toasters were overtaken by new stars such as Captain Sinbad, Ranking Joe, Clint Eastwood, Lone Ranger, Josey Wales, Charlie Chaplin, General Echo and Yellowman — a change reflected by the 1981 Junjo Lawes-produced album A Whole New Generation of DJs, although many went back to U-Roy for inspiration. He utilized talking over or under a "riddim" which is now known as the deejay's seductive chant, part talking and part singing. Deejay records became, for the first time, more important than records featuring singers. Another trend was sound clash albums, featuring rival deejays /or sound systems competing head-to-head for the appreciation of a live audience, with underground sound clash cassettes often documenting the violence that came with such rivalries. Yellowman, one of the most successful early dancehall artists, became the first Jamaican deejay to be signed to a major American record label, and for a time enjoyed a level of popularity in Jamaica to rival Bob Marley's peak. Yellowman often incorporated sexually explicit lyrics into his songs, which became known as "slackness." He did this to address his radical opinions on society through sex and politics due to the failed Jamaican experiment of socialism while under Prime Minister Michael Manley.

The early 1980s also saw the emergence of female deejays in dancehall music, such as Lady G, Lady Saw, and Sister Nancy. Other female dancehall stars include artistes like Diana King and in the late 1990s to the 2000s Ce'cile, Spice, Macka Diamond and more. Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Mad Cobra, Ninjaman, Buju Banton, and Super Cat becoming major DJs in Jamaica.

With a little help from deejay sound, "sweet sing" (falsetto voice) singers such as Pinchers, Cocoa Tea, Sanchez, Admiral Tibet, Frankie Paul, Half Pint, Courtney Melody, and Barrington Levy were popular in Jamaica.

Nearing the end of the '80s Jamaican Dancehall artists gained a lot of appeal through their no-nonsense music. This expanded the genre's reach beyond the Land of Wood and Water's borders. The main appeal of Dancehall was the music, and so it gained a lot of popularity overtime. Back in Jamaica hand-made posters were used not just to pull in would-be attendees to parties and dances. This process of making vibrant and colorful posters soon became an icon of the genre. It had helped in providing visual aesthetic of how Dancehalls had taken up the space and grown in the country.

King Jammy's 1985 hit, "(Under Me) Sleng Teng" by Wayne Smith, with an entirely-digital rhythm hook took the dancehall reggae world by storm. Many credit this song as being the first digital rhythm in reggae, featuring a rhythm from a digital keyboard. However, The "Sleng Teng" rhythm was used in over 200 subsequent recordings. This deejay-led, largely synthesized chanting with musical accompaniment departed from traditional conceptions of Jamaican popular musical entertainment.

Dub poet Mutabaruka said, "if 1970s reggae was red, green and gold, then in the next decade it was gold chains". It was far removed from reggae's gentle roots and culture, and there was much debate among purists as to whether it should be considered an extension of reggae.

This shift in style again saw the emergence of a new generation of artists, such as Sean Paul, Capleton, Beenie Man and Shabba Ranks, who became famous ragga stars. A new set of producers also came to prominence: Philip "Fatis" Burrell, Dave "Rude Boy" Kelly, George Phang, Hugh "Redman" James, Donovan Germain, Bobby Digital, Wycliffe "Steely" Johnson and Cleveland "Clevie" Brown (aka Steely & Clevie) rose to challenge Sly & Robbie's position as Jamaica's leading rhythm section.

The faster tempo and simpler electronic beat of late-1980s and early-1990s dancehall greatly influenced the development of Reggae en Español.

2000s
By the early 2000s, Dancehall had gained mainstream popularity in Jamaica, as well as in the United States, Canada, Australasia and Western parts of Europe. There was also a big evolution in sound allowing artists to refine and broaden the genre. This was first seen with artists such as Sean Paul, whose single "Get Busy" (2003) became the first dancehall single to reach number one on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Unlike earlier Dancehall, this new evolution was characterized by structures of music commonly heard in mainstream pop music, such as repeated choruses, melodic tunes, and hooks. Some lyrics were cleaner and featured less sexual content and profanity.

At this point it was a part of the public consciousness. Cross-genre collaborations soon became normalized, with songs such as Beyonce & Sean Paul's 2003 hit "Baby Boy" and Beenie Man & Mya's 2000 single "Girls Dem Sugar." Alongside this growth many crews were formed by men, women or a mixture of both. These crews created their own dances which developed fame in the Dancehall scene.

Some of the artists who popularised this new era of Dancehall were Bounty Killer, Beenie Man, Elephant Man, Shalkal Carty, Popcaan, Vybz Kartel, Konshens, Mr. Vegas, Mavado, Ward 21, Lady Saw and Spice, some of whom saw international success. This success brought forward mainstream appeal toward Dancehall which lead into the genre's modern era.

Modern era: 2015—present
Dancehall saw a new wave of popularity in Western markets in the mid-late 2010s, with immense commercial success being achieved by a number of dancehall-pop singles, including Rihanna's "Work" (2016) and Drake's "One Dance" and "Controlla" (2016). Dancehall also reached the attention of many R&B artists who continued to change and evolve the genre.

A variety of western artists have spoken of being inspired by Dancehall music, including Major Lazer, whose commercially successful singles Lean On (2015), Light It Up (2015) and Run Up (2017) all heavily rely upon dancehall music. Several hip-hop and R&B artists have also released material inspired by dancehall music, including Drake, who has cited Vybz Kartel as one of his "biggest inspirations."

In 2014, Drake took an interest into Popcaan and linked him up with MixPak producer Dre Skull to release his debut album 'Where We Come From'. This saw huge commercial success and went on to receive a UK MOBO award for Best Reggae Album in 2015. The year of 2016 saw Popcaan's rival-artist Alkaline release his debut album 'New Level Unlocked' under DJ Frass Records, which topped the charts in Jamaica, as well as being well received in the US and UK.

Popcaan and Alkaline have always been rival music artists in Jamaica and it is much debated who is the new Dancehall King, since Vybz Kartel was incarcerated in 2011. It has been said that Popcaan's success is largely due to early support from Vybz Kartel(KOTD) and more recent support from Drake.

By 2016, Dancehall had re-emerged into global popularity, artists such as Alkaline, Popcaan, Spice, Aidonia and Rygin King are known as some of the most profound and active artists of this period to date. There have also been prominent global collaborations with dancehall artist such as Beyonce & Shatta Wale's 'Already', Davido & Popcaan on 'Story', and Stefflon Don & French Montana on 'Hurtin' me'.

Since 2017, Dancehall artists from Jamaica have been frequently collaborating with UK acts such as Chip, Stefflon Don and J Hus. This is well in-tune with the boost of urban acts in the UK rising up, and the rebirth of Grime in 2014.

In the late 2010s, a new wave of artists rose to popularity in Jamaica. These artists come from rural parishes, especially Montego Bay, outside of the commercial center of the Jamaican music industry. They are influenced by American trap music, and sometimes refer to lottery scamming in their lyrics. Some of the most popular artists in this style are Chronic Law, Rygin King, and Squash.

Musical characteristics
Three major elements of Jamaican dancehall music are the use of digital instruments, particularly the Casio Casiotone MT-40 electronic keyboard, the Oberheim DX drum machine, and the use of riddims, instrumentals to which lyrics are added, resulting in an unusual process of creating songs from separate components. More specifically, many riddims are created using digital instruments like the MT-40, a practice that first became popular in 1985 with the release of 'Under Mi Sleng Teng,' whose success made the accessibility of digitally-composed riddims apparent (Manuel-Marshall, p. 453).

Riddims
A single riddim can be used in multiple songs, paired with different sets of lyrics, and the inverse is also possible with a single set of lyrics being attached to different riddims. Riddims and lyric sets are not exclusive to any one artist, and these can be and are spread around with one particular riddim, 'Real Rock,' first recorded in 1967 for a song of the same name, being used in at least 269 songs by 2006 over the course of 39 years. Peter Manuel and Wayne Marshall noted in 2006 that most songs were set to one of about a dozen riddims that were in vogue, with the exceptions being the work of individual, often high-ranked, artists. Recording over riddims forms the basis of dancehall, with modern dancehall layering vocals over ostinatos; the DJs providing the vocals thus, in the words of Manuel and Marshall, carry the song, unlike older dancehall where vocals were interwoven with full songs.

These practices' roots can be described with the concept of families of resemblance as coined by George Lipsitz in 1986 – similarities between other groups' experiences and cultures (Lipsitz, p. 160). Here, the term might describe the links between different artists via shared riddims and lyric sets and through common experiences incorporated into the music.

Culture
Donna P. Hope defines dancehall culture as a "space for the cultural creation and dissemination of symbols and ideologies that reflect the lived realities of its adherents, particularly those from the inner cities of Jamaica." Dancehall culture actively creates a space for its "affectors" (creators of dancehall culture) and its "affectees" (consumers of dancehall culture) to take control of their own representation, contest conventional relationships of power, and exercise some level of cultural, social and even political autonomy.

Kingsley Stewart outlines ten of the major cultural imperatives or principles that constitute the dancehall worldview. They are:

 * 1) It involves the dynamic interweaving of God and Haile Selassie
 * 2) It acts as a form of stress release or psycho-physiological relief
 * 3) It acts as a medium for economic advancement
 * 4) The quickest way to an object is the preferred way (i.e., the speed imperative)
 * 5) The end justifies the means
 * 6) It strives to make the unseen visible
 * 7) Objects and events that are external to the body are more important than internal processes; what is seen is more important than what is thought (i.e., the pre-eminence of the external)
 * 8) The importance of the external self; the self is consciously publicly constructed and validated
 * 9) The ideal self is shifting, fluid, adaptive, and malleable, and
 * 10) It involves the socioexistential imperative to transcend the normal (i.e., there is an emphasis on not being normal).

Such a drastic change in the popular music of the region generated an equally radical transformation in fashion trends, specifically those of its female faction. In lieu of traditional, modest "rootsy" styles, as dictated by Rastafari-inspired gender roles; women began donning flashy, revealing – sometimes X-rated outfits. This transformation is said to coincide with the influx of slack lyrics within dancehall, which objectified women as apparatuses of pleasure. These women would team up with others to form "modeling posses", or "dancehall model" groups, and informally compete with their rivals.

This newfound materialism and conspicuity was not, however, exclusive to women or manner of dress. Appearance at dance halls was exceedingly important to acceptance by peers and encompassed everything from clothing and jewelry, to the types of vehicles driven, to the sizes of each respective gang or "crew", and was equally important to both sexes.

One major theme behind dancehall is that of space. Sonjah Stanley Niaah, in her article "Mapping Black Atlantic Performance Geographies", says

"Dancehall occupies multiple spatial dimensions (urban, street, police, marginal, gendered, performance, liminal, memorializing, communal), which are revealed through the nature and type of events and venues, and their use and function. Most notable is the way in which dancehall occupies a liminal space between what is celebrated and at the same time denigrated in Jamaica and how it moves from private community to public and commercial enterprise."

In Kingston's Dancehall: A Story of Space and Celebration, she writes:

"Dancehall is ultimately a celebration of the disenfranchised selves in postcolonial Jamaica that occupy and creatively sustain that space. Structured by the urban, a space that is limited, limiting, and marginal yet central to communal, even national, identity, dancehall's identity is as contradictory and competitive as it is sacred. Some of Jamaica's significant memories of itself are inscribed in the dancehall space, and therefore dancehall can be seen as a site of collective memory that functions as ritualized memorializing, a memory bank of the old, new, and dynamic bodily movements, spaces, performers, and performance aesthetics of the New World and Jamaica in particular."

These same notions of dancehall as a cultural space are echoed in Norman Stolzoff's Wake the Town and Tell the People. He notes that dancehall is not merely a sphere of passive consumerism, but rather is an alternative sphere of active cultural production that acts as a means through which black lower-class youth articulate and project a distinct identity in local, national, and global contexts. Through dancehall, ghetto youths attempt to deal with the endemic problems of poverty, racism, and violence, and in this sense the dancehall acts as a communication center, a relay station, a site where black lower-class culture attains its deepest expression. Thus, dancehall in Jamaica is yet another example of the way that the music and dance cultures of the African diaspora have challenged the passive consumerism of mass cultural forms, such as recorded music, by creating a sphere of active cultural production that potentially may transform the prevailing hegemony of society.

In Out and Bad: Toward a Queer Performance Hermeneutic in Jamaican Dancehall Nadia Ellis explicates the culture of combined homophobia and unabashed queerness within Jamaican dancehall culture. She details the particular importance of the phrase "out and bad" to Jamaica when she writes, "This phrase is of queer hermeneutical possibility in Jamaican dancehall because it registers a dialectic between queer and gay that is never resolved, that relays back and forth, producing an uncertainty about sexual identity and behavior that is usefully maintained in the Jamaican popular cultural context." In discussion of the possibility of a self identifying homosexual dancer performing to homophobic music she writes, "In appropriating the culture and working from within its very center, he produces a bodily performance that gains him power. It is the power or mastery, of parody, and of getting away with it."

Ellis not only examines the intersection of queerness and masculinity within the Jamaican dancehall scene, but suggests that the overt homophobia of certain dancehall music actually creates a space for queer expression. In general, homosexuality and queerness are still stigmatized in dancehalls. In fact, some of the songs used during dancehall sessions contain blatant homophobic lyrics. Ellis argues, however, this explicit, violent rhetoric is what creates a space for queer expression in Jamaica. She describes the phenomenon of all male dance groups that have sprung up within the dancehall scene. These crews dress in matching, tight clothing, often paired with makeup and dyed hair, traditional hallmarks of queerness within Jamaican culture. When they perform together, it is the bodily performance that give the homosexual dancers power.

Dances
The popularity of dancehall has spawned dance moves that help to make parties and stage performances more energetic. Dancing is an integral part of bass culture genres. As people felt the music in the crowded dancehall venues, they would do a variety of dances. Eventually, dancehall artists started to create songs that either invented new dances or formalized some moves done by dancehall goers. Many dance moves seen in hip hop videos are actually variations of dancehall dances. Examples of such dances are: "Like Glue", "Bogle", "Whine & Dip", "Tek Weh Yuhself", "Whine Up", "Shake It With Shaun" (a mix of various genres), "Boosie Bounce", "Drive By", "Shovel It", "To Di World", "Dutty Wine", "Sweep", "Nuh Behavior", "Nuh Linga", "Skip to My Lou", "Gully Creepa", "Breakdancing" ,"Bad Man Forward Bad Man Pull Up", "Keeping it Jiggy", "Pon Di River", "One Drop", "Whine & Kotch", "Bubbling", "Tic Toc", "Willie Bounce", "Wacky Dip", "Screetchie", "One Vice" and "Daggering".

Cultural elements
Dancehall combines elements of materialism and stories of hardships of Jamaica. This is seen in the use of gun talk by artists like Buju Banton and Capleton, or the sporting of bling-bling by "Gangsta Ras" artists like Mavado and Munga. The term Gangsta Ras, which combines thuggish imagery with Rastafari is according to Rasta critics, an example of how in dancehall, "the misuse of Rastafari culture has diluted and marginalised the central tenets and creed of the Rastafari philosophy and way of life".

Kingsley Stewart points out that artists sometimes feel an "imperative to transcend the normal", exemplified by artists like Elephant Man and Bounty Killer doing things to stand out, such as putting on a synthetic cartoonish voice or donning pink highlights while constantly re-asserting hypermasculine attributes. Donna P. Hope argues that this trend is related to the rise of market capitalism as a dominant feature of life in Jamaica, coupled with the role of new media and a liberalized media landscape, where images become of increasing importance in the lives of ordinary Jamaicans who strive for celebrity and superstar status on the stages of dancehall and Jamaican popular culture.

Another point of dissension of dancehall from reggae, and from its non-western roots in Jamaica, is on the focus on materialism. Dancehall has also become popular in regions such as Ghana and Panama. Prominent males in the dancehall scene are expected to dress in very expensive casual wear, indicative of European urban styling and high fashion that suggest wealth and status. Since the late 1990s, males in the dancehall culture have rivalled their female counterparts to look fashioned and styled. The female dancehall divas are all scantily clad, or dressed in spandex outfits that accentuate more than cover the shape of the body. In the documentary It's All About Dancing, prominent dancehall artist Beenie Man argues that one could be the best DJ or the smoothest dancer, but if one wears clothing that reflects the economic realities of the majority of the partygoers, one will be ignored, and later Beenie Man returned to perform as Ras Moses.

Guns and violent imagery
According to Carolyn Cooper in Sound Clash, written in 2004, dancehall music and its following were frequently attacked for frequent references to guns and violence in lyrics, with Cooper responding by arguing that the emergence of firearms was less a sign of genuinely violent undercurrents in dancehall and more a theatrical adoption of the role of guns as tools of power. That ties into the concepts of the badman, a defiant, rebellious figure who often use a gun to maintain a level of respect and fear. Said concepts, Cooper argues, originate in historical resistance to slavery and emulation of imported films, specifically North American action films with gun-wielding protagonists.

Adding to the concept of gunfire as theatrical element is the use of gunfire as a way to show support for a performing DJ or singer, which eventually gave way to flashing cigarette lighters, displaying glowing cellphone monitors, and igniting aerosol sprays. Gunfire as a form of cheering has extended beyond dancehall culture with the phrase "pram, pram!" becoming a general expression of approval or support.

However, Cooper's assessment of the presence of guns in Jamaican dancehall is not wholly uncritical, with a discussion of Buju Banton's 'Mr. Nine' interpreting the song as a denouncement of what Cooper describes as gun culture gone out of control.

Part of the criticism of Jamaican dancehall appears to be the product of cultural clash stemming from a lack of insider knowledge on the nuances of the music's content and the culture surrounding said music. This struggle is something ethnomusicologists struggle with, even within an academic setting, with Bruno Nettl describing in The Study of Ethnomusicology how "insider" and "outsider" viewpoints would reveal different understandings on the same music. Indeed, Nettl later mentions growing questions of who ethnomusicological studies benefited, especially from the groups being studied. And even then, in May It Fill Your Soul, Timothy Rice mentioned that even insider scholars required a level of distanciation to scrutinize their own cultures as needed.

Anti-gay lyrics
After the popularizing of Buju Banton's dancehall song "Boom Bye Bye" in the early 1990s, dancehall music came under criticism from international organizations and individuals over anti-gay lyrics. In some cases, dancehall artists whose music featured anti-gay lyrics have had their concerts cancelled. Various singers were investigated by international law enforcement agencies such as Scotland Yard, on the grounds that the lyrics incited the audience to assault gay people. For example, Buju Banton's 1993 hit "Boom Bye Bye" advocates the violent assaults and murders of gay people. Another example, T.O.K.'s song "Chi Chi Man" which advocates the killing of gay men and women.

Some of the affected singers believed that legal or commercial sanctions were an attack against freedom of speech and were affected by anti-Black attitudes in the music industry internationally. Many artists have over time apologized for their mistreatment of LGBTQ+ communities, particularly in Jamaica, and agreed to not use anti-gay lyrics nor continue to perform or profit off their previously anti-gay music. "Stop Murder Music" is/was a movement against homophobia in dancehall music. This movement actively targeted homophobia in dancehall music and was partially initiated by a controversial UK based group OutRage! and supported by the Black Gay Men's Advisory Group (UK based) and J-Flag (Jamaica based). It led to some dancehall artists signing the Reggae Compassionate Act. Dancehall artist Mista Majah P has created dancehall music more recently that celebrates and advocates for LGBTQ+ people.

Some artists agreed not to use anti-gay lyrics during their concerts in certain countries internationally because their concerts kept being protested and cancelled. However, this fails to address the most serious effects of the anti-gay lyrics in dancehall music which are on the LGBTQ+ people of Jamaica, where this music is most present.

The global treatment of dancehall can often represent the continued anti-Black association of homophobia with Blackness. For example, dancehall artists that have not used anti-gay lyrics and even write music advocating for gay rights have been excluded internationally from certain spaces because it is assumed they are homophobic. Additionally, groups internationally have acted as though the gay-rights criticism of homophobic dancehall songs or artists is not important to Black communities. This represents the anti-Black and anti-gay attitude that work to erase intersectional Black LGBTQ+ identities. In fact, many LGBTQ+ Black people, particularly with connections to Jamaica, continue to experience the complexities of dancehall music, both culturally important and at times deeply violent. This is demonstrated in the film "Out and Bad: London's LGBT Dancehall Scene" which discusses the experience of a group of LGBTQ+ Black, and mostly Jamaican, people in London. Dancehall is important to their culture, both in connection with Jamaican heritage and in how social interactions are constructed around dance and music. However, it is discussed how many dancehall songs contain homophobic and transphobic lyrics. One interviewee comments "We still enjoy ourselves to these kinds of music because [what matters to us is] the rhythm of the music, the beat, the way the music makes us feel."

Scholars have theorized around the significance and meaning around the use of anti-gay lyrics in dancehall music. Donna P. Hope argues that dancehall culture's anti-gay lyrics formed part of a macho discussion that advanced the interest of the heterosexual male in Jamaica, which is a Christian society with strong Rastafari movement influence as well. Dancehall culture in Jamaica often included imagery of men dressing and dancing in a way stereotypically associated with gay-male style. However, the cultural, religious, and social gender-norms continued to advance the ideal man as macho and heterosexual, any divergence from this would be identified as inadequate and impure portraits of true masculinity.

Some authors have suggested that this duality, the presentation of "queerness," in dance style and dress, and the violent homophobia, in dancehall spaces can be explained by the ritualistic "doing away with 'homosexuality'." Scholar Nadia Ellis suggests that when songs with homophobic lyrics are played, the environment of dancehall spaces can become serious and individuals can use the opportunity to reinstate their allegiance to heteronormativity. These songs thus act to "consecrate" the spaces as straight and masculine. In the safety this ritualized hetero-normativity creates, the space may be opened to more free expression and participants can then more openly engage with styles and dancing that might have been seen as queer. Ellis writes: "The songs are played; no one is 'gay'; everyone can turn a blind eye."

The backlash to Banton's violently anti-gay "Boom Bye-Bye", and the reality of Kingston's violence which saw the deaths of deejays Pan Head and Dirtsman saw another shift, this time back towards Rastafari and cultural themes, with several of the hardcore slack ragga artists finding religion, and the "conscious ragga" scene becoming an increasingly popular movement. A new generation of singers and deejays emerged that harked back to the roots reggae era, notably Garnett Silk, Tony Rebel, Sanchez, Luciano, Anthony B and Sizzla. Some popular deejays, most prominently Buju Banton and Capleton, began to cite Rastafari and turn their lyrics and music in a more conscious, rootsy direction. Many modern dancehall Rasta artists identify with Bobo Ashanti.

Women's message of power and control
Dancehalls are used to communicate messages of women's power and control in a protest against their gendered experience embedded in Jamaican culture. Danger, a dancehall queen and the winner of the International Dancehall Queen Competition in 2014, expresses her power through dancehalls as she explains: "We are queens, we are not afraid to go out there to do what we want to, demand what we want, and to live how we want, and represent women all over the world and to let them know it is okay to be yourself and that it is ok to not hold back" Raquel, also known as Dancing Princess, describes her ability to communicate through the dancehall: "What you've lived, what you feel, put it in the dance. That's what dance is, expressing with your body what you feel and who you are. (...) dancehall is the way of the woman to say no, I am a woman respect me." As evidenced by these women, dancehall is a space that allows for women to be empowered and to communicate their liberation from the boundaries imposed on them. Rather by negotiating their own boundaries in the dancehall, by taking control of their bodies, and by communicating their power, they are demanding respect when confronted by those who do not believe they deserve it.

title: Dancehall