Dancehall (Sound Systems) and Gender

 


After reading the Henriques chapter on MCs in the Jamaican sound systems, the first person that came to mind was the man in the image, Bishop Escobar. He is not aligned with any particular sound system and he works with many, he's arguable the most popular MC in dancehall from about 2018 until now. He is known for his raunchy lyrics, comedic comments, the loudness and bass of his voice, and the antics he carries on with in the dance. In my opinion, he made the job of an MC of greater importance in dancehall, so much so that he is now signed under Romeich Entertainment. He is the only MC that Romiech manages and is the only MC that I know of, who has formal management.

Here is a video of him at work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N_D3ubXTcQ&t=93s

Henriques mentions that the MC is most time not in the video light however that is no longer the case. Most, if not all MCs that I have seen since 2016 until now, have been in the video light as much as the selector and the dancers, etc. 

Throughout these changes in the MC occupation, I have yet to see women doing the job. In the Marie Thompson reading about Gendered Sound, she speaks about women's feminine voices being deemed as unsuitable for radio because of the high pitch, which might be the reasoning behind the lack of female MCs in dancehall even though I think it is just an issue of sexism that still exists in Jamaican culture in general, in addition to the fact that dancehall is a masculine gendered culture. There are barely any female disc jockeys and barely any female artistes compared to the number of male artists. In my last year of my undergrad, studying gender and sexuality in dancehall, I formally learned that females in dancehall are one of few things, 'mama', dancehall queen, wife, matey (side chick), and sketel (promiscuous woman). Even though I love my culture dearly, it is not very welcoming to women, of any kind, especially not in the money-making occupations within the industry.

With the gendered sound readings in mind and after watching the MC work at a Jamaican event, I have two questions for you:

1. What do you think is the reason/s for the lack of female MCs, selectors, and artistes in dancehall? And are there any other roles in other music cultures (heavy metal, country, hip hop, pop, RnB, etc.) that mirror this 'male favoritism'?

2. Do you think that there is more to gendered sound than which gender has a high or low pitch? Do sexism and patriarchy play a role (or any other theories/discourses), or is it just based on the technicality or sound (bass, pitch, vocals, volume, etc.)?

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