Rub-a-Dub Style

September 13, 2012 9:31 AM

Beth Lesser, perhaps best known for her photography of the Jamaican music scene, has made her book "Rub-a-Dub Style: The Roots of Modern Dancehall" (pdf) free to download on her website.

The author summarises the book as:

Some of the subjects that are covered include the development of sound systems in post independence Jamaica, “slackness” v “culture”, political war and its effect on sound system activity, the “digital” breakthrough in 1985, women entertainers’ struggles to make it in a male dominated field, the ‘sing-jay’ style and how deejay lyrics changed throughout the years, how dance cassettes spread the rub-a-dub style, the reggae business model and the problems it created, the fight against the dance hall style and its ultimate triumph as the premier sound of Jamaica today.

Due to poor documentation (or more frequently complete lack) of legal contracts, many performers of this era see no compensation for the use of their music, so Lesser suggests that people who have enjoyed the book can send any money they might have spent on its purchase to the Jamaican Association of Vintage Artists and Affiliates.

posted by Dim Siawns (7 comments total)

Dancehall is awesome, and I wish I wasn't too old and too straight-laced to get into the scene.
posted by infinitewindow at 10:18 AM on September 13, 2012

Sleng Teng changed everything.
posted by Aquaman at 10:28 AM on September 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

Irie!
posted by ZipRibbons at 10:34 AM on September 13, 2012

Sleng Teng changed everything.
posted by Aquaman at 10:28 AM on September 13


This is true.
posted by kanemano at 10:44 AM on September 13, 2012

I will totally download this thing. Thanks, Dim Siawns!
posted by box at 11:07 AM on September 13, 2012

Thanks!
posted by etherist at 1:03 PM on September 13, 2012

We have Clinton Fearon here in Seattle and that fellow has been around since the Ark. A few weeks ago a gang of players and I were lamenting that he hasn't documented his experience better. Many of the They Were There When crowd will be gone before we know it.

Thank god this history is slowly getting collected. Black history has been obscured for so long and there's no reason for it to be. Write now for the Truth.
posted by artof.mulata at 2:33 AM on September 14, 2012