Sound Clash: Jamaican Dancehall Culture at Large

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Megawattage sound systems have blasted the electronically enhanced riddims and tongue twisting lyrics of Jamaica’s dancehall DJs across the globe. This high energy raggamuffin music is often dismissed by old school roots reggae fans as a raucous degeneration of classic Jamaican popular music. In this provocative study of dancehall culture, Cooper offers a sympathetic account of the philosophy of a wide range of dancehall DJs: Shabba Ranks, Lady Saw, Ninjaman, Capleton, Buju Banton, Anthony B and Apache Indian. She demonstrates the ways in which the language of dancehall culture, often devalued as mere ‘noise,’ articulates a complex understanding of the border clashes that characterize Jamaican society. Cooper also analyzes the sound clashes that erupt in the movement of Jamaican dancehall culture across national borders.