Original dancehall will gain crossover success – Serani
Having recently struck gold in the United Kingdom with a track that is more than a decade old, internationally renowned recording artiste Serani believes it is “original” dancehall music that will gain crossover success.
“When I did No Games, you couldn’t really fight it because the song itself was so relatable. I think I managed to say something that has stuck with popular culture from then till now. The musical arrangement on the track also made it stand out because it was a beat that was originally created by Dave Kelly, and then I put my touch on it with the base, and the chords and that combination was just awesome. The track going gold 12 years later just goes to show how powerful original dancehall music is,” he said.
Serani suggested that if current artistes want an easier way to connect with the world, they should make music that the world is familiar with.
“Mix up your nowadays style with the original style. I would never tell them not to make their ‘dancehall trap’, but learn to balance the thing. Original dancehall is not something weh yuh affi fight with to cross over,” he said. “We see more and more evidence each day that the original dancehall is the formula. That’s where the money is. From Murder She Wrote come straight up. Dat track still a play inna every club, everywhere inna di world.”
Serani also opined that the music being produced today isn’t gaining that ‘crossover buzz’ because the current crop of producers are not necessarily musicians.
“They didn’t go into a studio and learn from a great veteran producer. They literally just make music on their own knowledge and sometimes the knowledge that they have is basic. No disrespect to them, but we need producers to learn from those before them. I started my career being in the studio every day, and I would learn and pick up things from producers like Master Lee and Jeremy Harding. Dem man deh were musicians,” he said. “I also played in a band, and so artistes from our era had an ‘ear’ for music. That is very important when you’re producing music. You have to know what will work for different markets and produce work accordingly.”
Serani says that despite chatter that that he has fallen off his game, he says he doesn’t feed into negativity because he knows the work he had been putting in over the years.
“After the big hype died down, I have been taking my time, creating, writing, and I have been getting better at my craft. When mi ready back for the people dem, mi ready, and mi ready now,” he said. The track, Secrets, done with Burna Boy, has been doing well overseas and earned him a Grammy nomination.
“That’s my first hit song since
Skip To Ma Lou, and so I have definitely been at it,” said Serani, who will be releasing a ninetrack album titled
Love on a Piano in 2021.