‘MORE JUGGLIN’ NEEDED’
Achallenge has been issued to the local dancehall community to revitalise the juggling culture.
This call has come from music producer Jordan Mcclure of local record label Chimney Records, who took to Instagram on the weekend to draw attention to what he sees as a vital, yet fading part of the dancehall music space. Out of this, he hopes to see a more unified approach to a common goal and success for the music industry and its many players.
“My intention for this challenge is to develop the ‘jugglin’ culture which we in the dancehall/reggae industry have created and nurtured over a number of years. I do not in anyway think it is a dead culture, however, we have allowed our differences and egos to affect its progress and effectiveness. Jugglin’ is something that allows us as a genre to showcase different talents and styles of music — all on one platform [rhythm],” Mcclure shared in an interview with the Jamaica Observer.
He is challenging his fellow industry players to deliver one jugglin’ project for the year 2021. He noted that he was aware of the time and energy required to produce such a project but reminded the fraternity that there are 10-anda-half months left in the year and, therefore, it was possible.
Mcclure noted that he issued this challenge based on a few things he has noticed in the industry.
“Over the last few years, I have had many conversations with lots of our producers, artistes and other industry players who have also expressed concerns about this particular issue.
It is something that many of us have noticed and would like to see moving in a more positive direction. I have noticed, from my own personal experience, where even one jugglin’ has benefited the careers of so many different talents, including, but not limited to, our label Chimney Records. I believe what is missing is common understanding and common vision, and because there are so many talented people in this industry I believe everyone is proving that they can do it on their own — which is true now with the access we all have to technology and social media — however, when we combine forces I feel like we can achieve a lot more.”
“The response so far has been great. Lots of people have reposted and replied to it saying positive things; many of the people I mentioned have indicated their support and intention to participate,” he added.
Mcclure and his team at Chimney Records are fully committed to walk the walk based on his talk, and are putting their efforts behind producing jugglin’ for the 2021 calendar year. He further shared that this will continue to offer opportunities to up-and-coming artistes facing this challenge.
“As I said in my post, this is not a typical challenge like an Instagram or Tiktok challenge.
It is more a call to action for myself and my co-workers to make an effort to improve this part of the industry, which will ultimately benefit us all. Therefore, Chimney Records will be participating the same as everyone — produce some more jugglin’. In the early days of trying to establish Chimney Records as a player in the industry, without the support of more established artistes and producers we would not have been able to achieve what we have. From then, we have always kept that in mind and made it our duty to ensure we do the same in return. The majority, if not all of our projects, have included young and [up-andcoming] talents, and we will certainly continue to maintain that.”