Producer says there is much cross-over potential in dancehall
Published:Monday | March 13, 2023 | 12:20 AMAaliyah Cunningham/Gleaner Writer
Producer Jermaine ‘Crawba Genius’ Henry of Crawba Production released his newest EP earlier this month. The six -track production features a slew of prominent artistes, and Henry is confident that it has the ability to cross over based on the delicate blend between dancehall and international sounds.
Dubbed Border PO, Henry says the title is inspired by his community.
“I grew up in Border ... that is not a community with a lot of resources but you know, music was one of our ting. Like sound system, my elder family was selector and they used to play music. so that’s where I started out and fell in love with music. It was always a good vibes. So, to be honest, because that’s where it started, I give this project to represent my community. The vibes from the songs on the EP can describe the vibes of my community, because it’s a party community where people enjoy themselves, and I really want to give back to my community and do something that represents my community. That’s the reason for the compilation,” he shared.
The riddim project features artistes such as Busy Signal on the track Party Nice; Iwaata on the song Yea Me Love; It’s Dia from the Bahamas on Tik Tok Damages; and More and More, featuring Bounty Killer, and Short up Shorts, two songs featured on Charly Black’s latest album, No Excuses.
According to Henry, the EP is a solid dancehall project, but it does have a fusion of soca elements, which he believes makes for great party and feel-good music.
Henry has extensive experience producing cross-genre music, including reggaeton, and has songwriting and co-production credits on Maluma’s Agua Jamaica. He previously worked on the Afrobeats-reggae track African Love by Miss V and Warrior King.
The producer said he is passionate about creating music that fans enjoy and promoting Jamaican culture. “I’m working with artistes from other genres, but dancehall flavour and dancehall element are important. No matter what genre or artistes, we always keep the dancehall sound to identify with because we are promoting Jamaica everywhere in the world,” he said.
He added that there are several opportunities for artistes to cross-over if they consider establishing effective marketing and cementing the right collaborations.
“There is success in dancehall also but there is huge potential for crossing over. In dancehall, we don’t have a big machinery like when you’re working with international artistes with a major label. They have the ‘engine’ and support that dancehall doesn’t, but our sound is still large in the world; reggae and dancehall music is international and needs proper marketing to ensure Jamaican music continues to grow and thrive,” Henry said.
As he continues the promotion of this new project, he urges artistes to stay current with the way the industry is evolving.
“You always have to move with the time. Music is a learning process, you never stop learning. Especially once you start to travel, you’ll learn new things. You have to pay attention to what is going on in the international space, and add new styles and fresh sounds to it, while keeping your authentic sound,” he reasoned.