Dear Editor,
Understanding the world of popular music can be very challenging at times, particularly when there may be outright attempts by mainstream powers to either ignore and/or wrongly label sounds that they either do not understand or refuse to accept. I refer to the latest release by Rihanna and Drake, ‘Work’ from Rihanna’s latest album Anti. When the song was released a few weeks back, Rolling Stone and other leading music magazines immediately pontificated about the genre of the song being Tropical House.
While the so-called genre of Tropical House came into being about two years ago, it somehow seems to be the preferred international stamp to be used by music critics to define songs that have a distinct modern Dancehall influence. Tropical House by definition is mid-tempo house music with arguably some Caribbean influences in the types of instruments used. For example, the steel pan or steel drum – as it is referred to internationally – can be heard on some Tropical House tracks. But to say that Rihanna’s ‘Work’ and Justin Bieber’s ‘Sorry’, along with the remix by Felix Jaehn of OMI’s ‘Cheerleader’, are Tropical House tracks is downright absurd.
After some amount of sparring on social media, reluctantly it seems as if the correct description of Rihanna’s ‘Work’ was given the tagline “Dancehall influenced”. It cannot be denied that there are some aspects of Dancehall music creeping into mainstream music. What I find disturbing is the reluctance by the mainstream marketing powers to be honest in calling out Dancehall-influenced tracks for what they are.
Given that Sean Paul (the modern poster boy of Dancehall) seems to be off the international scene for the time being, there is nothing stopping music critics from giving Dancehall music the recognition it deserves when that time arrives. Producers will sample, and as long as there is Dancehall music, it will be sampled from time to time.
Music cannot be contained. Music crosses borders and is enjoyed by the people of the world. As the evolution of music continues, it is important to understand the origins of the music one hears. Afrosoca seems to be emerging in Trinidad with Olatunji delving into the genre with his hybrid versions of Afrobeats fused with Soca. I would like to hear how international music critics would define Afrosoca.
In the meantime Rihanna has come full circle and returned to her Caribbean roots with ‘Work’. The ‘Sail Away Riddim’ is sampled in ‘Work’. Enjoy! And please note: it is not Tropical House.
Yours faithfully,
Richard Francois
